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Randolph County Farm Bureau holds annual meeting

Posted November 23, 2015 10:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Staff Writer

The Randolph County Farm Bureau held its 99th annual meeting on Monday, with author Alan Guebert as the keynote speaker.

President Kevin Luthy noted the departure of Ryan Ford as Farm Bureau manager and the hiring of Smithboro native Katie Cayo as his replacement. Ford left to take a regional manager position.

"She is very much on the ball and a go-getter," Luthy said of Cayo in his president's report. "We feel we did a very good job of keeping our county in a strong position for the future."

Luthy also highlighted the completion of its shed project at the bureau headquarters.

"One of my goals for this year was to get the inside finished and start using it more than what we have been, and that is what we did," he said. "I want to thank all the volunteers that helped us."

Luthy touched on the Farm Bureau's first year with its "adopted" legislator in State Sen. Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake).

"This year with us changing managers, we haven't spent the time with her that we would have liked to," Luthy said. "But we are still in contact with her when issues arise that affect agriculture."

Luthy noted that the goal of the program is to establish a line of communication between the county farm bureau and politicians "so when issues arise that they are not familiar with, they are able to contact us."

In her report, Cayo noted that she is planning the county's trip to the IAA annual meeting in Chicago, a AFBF trip in Orlando, Fla., and committee meetings in January.

"I have pitched a few new program ideas and am excited to get them rolling," she said.

Cayo noted that she will be helping to launch a social media campaign starring "Flat Randy from Randolph County."

"Flat Randy is a farmer from Randolph County that will travel around getting to know the people and their practices," Cayo said. "It is my hope to eventually adopt a classroom in an urban environment to exchange Flat Randy and his adventures."

Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Harle highlighted a trip to Washington D.C. in September in which county Farm Bureau leaders were selected to sit down with legislators.

Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) was the main topic of discussion, which also involved the upcoming Farm Bill and crop insurance.

WOTUS has been under fire from a variety of farming groups due to efforts to redefine how "waters of the United States" are subject to federal regulations under the Clean Water Act.

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution, known as Senate Joint Resolution 22, on Nov. 4 to do away with the rule, sending it to the U.S. House for consideration.

"All-in-all, the trip was worth attending and the Farm Bureau was able to maintain a presence in Washington, D.C.," Harle said in his report.

In her report, Ag. in the Classroom Committee Coordinator Brandi Brockmeyer presented the winners of the Randolph County Farm Bureau's Coloring Contest.

Tyrus Carter, a third grader from Red Bud Elementary, took home first place, while Jack Loesing, a third grader from Sparta Lincoln, won second place.

"During the month of January, I presented a general agriculture unit to third graders throughout the county and discussed the many ways agriculture touches our daily lives," Brockmeyer said. "The children took this information and designed posters around this topic."

Women's Committee Chairwoman Christine Smith noted the four barn quilts in the county (two in the Red Bud area, one in Welge and one in Ellis Grove) in her report. A quilt block pattern is painted on a large sign and placed on barns around Randolph County.

"A map will be created with the locations and a small story about the barn and location of the farm and make it available at the tourism office, among other places," Smith noted in her report. "People can then follow the map, read the stories and drive through our rural communities to look at the quilt blocks."

Guebert, who is a Randolph County native, closed the meeting. Earlier this year, the University of Illinois Press published his first book "The Land of Milk and Uncle Honey," which is co-authored with his daughter, Mary Grace Foxwell.

The duo visited the Chester Public Library in June.

"For my father and I, it's bringing the culture back into agriculture," Foxwell said to the Herald Tribune. "The people, the community and the togetherness of working together."

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