News

4-H Family Prepares for the Best Time of the Year

Submitted by mchenrycfb on Thu, 05/29/2014 - 15:04

The Maddock Family from rural Marengo is counting down the days until the McHenry County Fair this summer. Julia, John, Joseph, and Justin are all members of the Legendary Pioneers 4-H Club. Cynthia Maddock homeschools the kids and the 4-H projects tie in with their curriculum but, most of the production animals arrive once they wrap up the school year. The Maddocks are very busy during fair week but, they love it. Each day they get up by six in the morning to feed the animals at home and then head to the fair to take care of the animals there. Fair days they are busy showing their projects and every once in a while they get a break at their camper that they bring to the fairgrounds. On average they get to head home at ten but, on occasion, they can be working until midnight.

Meet Rebecca Riley, MCFB Summer Intern

Submitted by mchenrycfb on Wed, 05/28/2014 - 17:20

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca Riley and I am grateful and privileged to announce myself as the 2014 intern for the McHenry County Farm Bureau. I look forward to working with some wonderful people, learning more about the Farm Bureau and better developing my skills to promote agriculture. I come from a small farm in Huntley, IL, where we originally milked about 45 cows. We sold the cows in 2003 and have had about 200 acres of land for growing corn and soybeans and raising 60-80 steers & a few chickens, ducks and show pigs ever since. When I am not at college, I help on the farm and am a forklift operator at the Dean Foods plant in Chemung, IL, where I load store orders of milk products onto trucks.

Wormleys give support to AITC

Submitted by mchenrycfb on Fri, 04/04/2014 - 03:18

McHenry County Farm Bureau's Foundation would like to thank Jim and Cheryl Wormley of Woodstock for their support of our Ag in the Classroom program. Their contribution will help support our Summer Agricultural Institute program for teachers, Ag Expo and classroom visits. To learn more about supporting Ag in the Classroom please check out our Foundation and Teachers tabs.

How I see it

Submitted by mchenrycfb on Thu, 02/20/2014 - 20:44

The undefined term "factory farm" in itself is an example of a huge problem we face in agriculture. You see it is those evil factory farmers who don't have names, faces or families, who don't care for their animals or the environment; those are the ones that deserve to be attacked.

My name is Dan Volkers and my whole life has been wrapped around agriculture. I grew up on a livestock and grain farm, majored in agriculture and have enjoyed the position of County Farm Bureau Manager for 15 years. I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of farmers and never met a "factory farmer". I have met organic and conventional farmers, I have met grain, vegetable, fruit, tree, fish and livestock farmers, I have met small farmers and large farmers, I have met high tech farmers and low tech farmers. I have met all sorts of farmers, but not one "factory farmer".

Does a farmer become an evil factory farmer when he or she uses technology and equipment to raise a lot of something? I understand that part of our food system doesn't look like it did in the past. But I ask you what is without change? Does your family use different technology than the generations before it? Would you use a horse as your mode of transportation? Would you give up your microwave for a wood stove?

Consumer choice should be celebrated and protected. If consumers want a product produced in a particular way a farmer will find a way to produce it. At the same time, part of our food system must be allowed the opportunity to use technology and innovation to produce more food with fewer resources. So the next time you come across the term "factory farm" ask yourself what does that mean and why are they using the term.