By Mike Orso
Five Things to Know About John Henning
1. Favorite hobby: Flying my drone
2. Favorite TV show or movie: The James Bond movies
3. Favorite place to eat in McHenry County: Crandall’s or Joe’s Place
4. If I wasn’t farming I’d be: Working in horticulture or landscaping
5. What most people don’t know about me is: I really like plants, specifically perennials and trees.
Autumn harvest can be one of – if not the busiest times of the year for farmers. Add the birth of a first child to the mix and it had McHenry County farmer John Henning very busy, yet thankful.
“That was kind of a nice blessing,” said Henning, 27, on the birth of his daughter right as harvest preparations began. “My wife Keridan has been really good about everything. She does a lot, especially during the night because she’s like, ‘I don’t want you to be too tired when you’re driving a semi down the road or a big tractor.’ But when a baby’s crying there’s only so much sleep you can get, too.”
The young farmer, recently elected to the McHenry County Farm Bureau (MCFB) board of directors, is doubly thankful for a year in which the weather, for the most part, cooperated for him and many area farmers, resulting in some big crops.
“We got really good, timely rains,” said Henning. “I think we had probably the best yields we’ve had in my time of farming here in the last 10 years.”
Henning farms with his dad and uncle in Boone, DeKalb, Kane and McHenry counties, raising corn, soybeans, hay and pigs. He especially likes raising hay, a mixture of alfalfa, orchard and timothy grasses that they sell mostly to the area’s flourishing
horse industry.
“I like growing hay,” said Henning, who graduated from Marengo High School and holds an associate degree in horticulture from McHenry County College. “This last year, we probably did 125 acres of hay. We got 3 (cuttings) off of everything. Usually, if we get 3 it puts us well into September.”
Which also meant winding down hay season and ramping up soybean and corn harvest bumped right up to the time when he and his wife welcomed the birth of their daughter, Hazel Jean, on August 30. He’s still getting used to fatherhood.
“As soon as we found out that we were going to have a baby it just really sinks in with you that you want to try to be the best dad you can be,” said Henning. “It definitely makes me want to work harder when I have a family to work for.”
The rising cost of all of the products needed to raise crops and livestock, items such as energy, machinery and the cost to buy or rent land, has Henning concerned.
“Prices have just skyrocketed like crazy,” said Henning. “Rent for good land and fuel costs are extremely high, the price of equipment and parts are really, really expensive now. Trying to find good labor is always hard, too.”
Yet, he’s also excited, not only for the new addition to his family but the potential for technology such as artificial intelligence to reduce labor and agricultural input costs. He cites the emerging use of cameras on machinery that apply crop protection products only to weeds they can sense or detect in a field.
“That’s something that could theoretically be a huge game changer for the ag world because you can save so much time and money on chemical costs,” said Henning. “That’s a big overhead cost right there.”
He also expressed enthusiasm for getting more involved in MCFB, where generations of family members have been engaged in various capacities, for decades.
“Things don’t happen unless you are there and put in the effort to show up there,” he said. “It takes everybody to be involved.”
He doesn’t take decent weather, good crops, excellent health, his wife, new daughter, and other relatives for granted.
“The family is the biggest thing, I think,” when asked what he’s most thankful for this time of year. “Because when you are on a family farm, that’s what gets you through the worst days.”
John and Keridan Henning with daughter Hazel Jean, who was born just before fall harvest began this year. “Definitely thankful for that,” said John Henning, who farms in four northern Illinois counties. (Photo by: Riley Madison Photography)
John Henning takes a few minutes to visit with daughter Hazel while doing some fall field work. “I guess it’s the gratification of knowing that you’re growing something that’s helping people,” said Henning about what he likes about farming. “I feel at the end of the day, it’s nice to look back on like you’ve succeeded.” (Photo by: Keridan Henning)
John Henning on his farm near Marengo. He bought his first farm with his dad, an 80-acre field, in the late 2010s.