Larry Reinhard, McHenry County Farm Bureau's Agriculture in the Classroom Coordinator, and Sue Henning, McHenry County Farm Bureau staff member, gave presentations about cotton to one hundred 5th grade students at Conley Middle School in Huntley, Illinois on November 1st and 2nd.
On Friday, October 22nd, Rep. Deb Mell (D-Chicago) and staff member Melissa
Poulos traveled to McHenry County to visit area farms. Rep. Mell was
"adopted" by McHenry County Farm Bureau earlier this year, and hosted them
for a district visit this past summer. Accompanying Rep. Mell on her visit
were Dan Volkers, McHenry County Farm Bureau Manager, Bona Heinsohn, Cook
County Public Policy Director and Christina Nourie, IFB Northeast
Legislative Coordinator.
Learn more about pest management in season extension production systems such as high tunnels by registering for a new webinar series sponsored by the Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group, the University of Illinois Extension, and a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Professional Development grant. McHenry County Farm Bureau and U of I Extension are hosting these webinars free of charge at the Farm Bureau building located at 1102 McConnell Rd, Woodstock.
McHenry County Farm Bureau held a meeting with Congressman Mark Kirk, candidate for U.S. Senate, on the 17th of September. Area farmers and elected officials discussed key issues with Congressman such as Estate Tax, Renewable Fuels, Clean Water, Free Trade Agreements and Form 1099 requirement repeal.
On Friday, August 20, Rep. Deb Mell (D-Chicago) hosted members from the McHenry and Cook County Farm Bureaus for a tour of her district. The group met at Rep. Mell's office where she provided them with an overview of her district. Their first stop was at Cretor's Manufacturing, a family owned business that has been in Chicago for 125 years. Cretor's manufactures food concessions equipment and are most well known for their popcorn poppers and technological advancements in the popcorn making industry. The group then headed over to the 17th District Police Station where they discussed public safety and crime concerns in the area. Lunch was held at the famous Smoque BBQ where the Farm Bureau members were able to sample some of the best brisket and ribs in Chicago. The final stop was at a neighborhood garden that is run by volunteers who donate the vegetables to a local food pantry. The group presented Rep. Mell with her Friend of Ag Award and thanked her for her support of agricultural issues.
Rep. Mell is looking forward to visiting McHenry County this fall and plans to bring some of her staff with her. Tentative plans are to tour a dairy, grain farm and meet with some specialty growers.