McHenry County Farm Bureau hosted a poster contest for elementary and middle school students to promote National Agriculture Week. Ag in the Classroom Coordinator, Larry Reinhard reported the theme "Horse farms of McHenry County". Students created handmade posters to promote the theme. McHenry County Farm Bureau Women's Committee selected the winning posters and served ice cream for the awards program on May 7.
The Institute for Women's Health Research at Northwestern University is the primary sponsor of the registry. The Registry is database containing answers to a confidential health survey. The questions asked are about symptoms, conditions, diseases, family history of disease, environmental exposures, stress and demographic information.
Twenty three FFA students, two FFA Advisors, and two Farm Bureau staff members made the McHenry County FFA Acquaintance Day a success. On March 16, Marengo and Harvard FFA students loaded a charter bus for Northwestern Illinois to get a first hand look at some of the newest technologies used in the agricultural field.
Profile of the Farmer
More than three million people farm or ranch in the United States. Individuals, family partnerships or family corporations operate almost 99 percent of U.S. farms. Over 22 million people are employed in farm or farm-related jobs, including production agriculture, farm inputs, processing and marketing and wholesale and retail sales.
According to the 2002 Census of Agriculture, 50 percent of the farmers are 55 years of age or older, up only three percent from 1997. Average age of the principal operator is 55.3.
It's a day to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture. Every year, producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and countless other across America join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture.
