Peter Metivier, a senior at Normal Community High School, has joined the IL Corn team as a marketing intern during the fall semester. This is a unique opportunity for IL Corn to offer real world experiences to Metivier and we’re thrilled to be able to make an impact to help him grow professionally. Due to his involvement with FFA, Peter connected with IL Corn. He traveled with IL Corn this summer along with the rest of the Illinois Association FFA State Officer Team to Washington D.C. for Corn Congress. While there, Peter discovered a new interest in learning more about the relationship between the government and commodity producers. Through learning the challenges that farmers are facing within legislation and the part that IL Corn takes to ease those challenges; Peter, a Bloomington-Normal native, told us, “Interning for IL Corn was the obvious choice!”
We know how many hats farmers wear but do you? Agronomist, mechanic, economist, teacher, communicator, advocator, supervisor, environmentalist, veterinarian, entrepreneur are just some (and that doesn’t include farmers with other outside jobs). Today we are adding another to the list: Quotemaster. Here are 20 sayings we grabbed from farmers in Illinois.
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Today, IL Corn celebrates being named as a valued partner in multiple projects funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. Farmers for Soil Health Funded at $95 million, the Farmers for Soil Health (FSH) project will incentivize farmers to plant additional acres of cover crops. The FSH collaboration includes soy checkoff, Pork Checkoff, National Corn Growers Association and American Soybean Association, resulting in a farmer-led cover crop program that advances the use of soil health practices, meets sustainability goals, and improves farmer profitability.
On Sept. 1, Jim Raben, a past U.S. Grains Council (USGC) chairman and grain farmer from Illinois, was elected by the Council’s board of directors as director for MAIZALL – the international maize alliance. MAIZALL was established in 2013 by leaders from the Council, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), ABRAMILHO (Brazilian Association of Corn Producers) and MAIZAR (the Argentine corn and sorghum federation). Growers in all three countries work together to resolve shared problems with non-tariff barriers in global markets, primarily related to agricultural biotechnology, plant breeding innovation and crop protection.
3 Tips from Seys Farms Like any farm household, spring and fall are not only times to relish in the changing of the seasons but hopefully reaping the bounty of your hard work and blessings of the year. These times are also filled with stress, chaos, and if we’re honest, a few choice words muttered under our breath. We are no amateurs when it comes to juggling full time jobs, a side business, farming, and a house full of kids. We’ve even survived 1 baby during planting and 2 during harvest. It’s funny how in a working farm family, a timely placed leave of absence from work during the busiest seasons can actually reduce stress. This fall will be a new one for us, requiring us to spend more time watching from the sidelines and less actually in the action. I was in a serious car accident in early August that will require months of rehabilitation and the inability to be left alone with our youngest two children. That’s a story for another day but as we head into another busy season, I have some tips on how to stay sane during a season of stress.
The Leopold Conservation Award recognizes farmers, ranchers and forestland owners in 24 states for their efforts to improve soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on their working land. Each award is an annual state-specific program (one recipient from each state). Nationally, Leopold Conservation Award recipients receive hundreds of millions of media impressions annually and serve as ambassadors of agricultural conservation. Illinois is the newest state to offer this prestigious award acknowledging the efforts of those who care for our working lands. “Illinois farmers have made substantial efforts to scale their conservation practices across more farm acres over the past several years and this award is the perfect way to recognize a farmer’s efforts,” says Megan Dwyer, Director of Conservation and Nutrient Stewardship, IL Corn.
Jim Reed, a farmer from De Land, Illinois, was elected by his peers to serve as Chairman of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board (ICMB) for the 2022-23 term. Reed, a Piatt County farmer, has served on ICMB for eight years and previous to that was a part of the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) board for 12 years. As Chairman, Reed will represent ICMB as a whole and will continue his obligations to corn farmers in District 7, covering Woodford, Mclean, Dewitt, Piatt, Macon and Moultrie Counties. Also elected to officer positions were Jon Rosenstiel (Pearl City) as Vice-Chairman, Jeff Scates (Shawneetown) as Treasurer and Tim Thompson (Franklin) as Secretary. Five districts held corn checkoff board elections earlier this summer. District Counties in District Candidate and Hometown 3 Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Rob Elliott Rock Island and Warren 6 Champaign, Ford, Iroquis, Steve Fourez and Vermilion 9 Adams, Brown, Hancock, McDonough Terry G. Smith Pike and Schuyler 12 Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Daniel P. Meyer Douglas, Edgar and Jasper 15 Alexander, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton Jeff Scates Hardin, Jackson, Johnson, Massac, Perry Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Union and Williamson The Illinois Corn Marketing Board was established in 1982 to manage the voluntary checkoff investment that corn farmers in the state agreed to implement that year. The farmers that make up ICMB are elected by their peers to serve unpaid, three-year terms. The ICMB farmer leaders are tasked with developing and maintaining markets for corn which is Illinois' highest valued agricultural commodity. Find out more about ICMB at www.ilcorn.org and the family farmers who contribute to the checkoff at www.watchusgrow.org .
