Illinois Commodity Groups Speak on Agriculture Issues During State FairMedia AdvisoryNews ReleaseIllinois State FairState Fairfarm bill

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR AUG. 9, 2024

Media Contact: Sierra Henry
(309)557-2083
[email protected]

ILLINOIS COMMODITY GROUPS TO SPEAK ON
AGRICULTURE ISSUES DURING STATE FAIR
Farmers, agricultural leaders discuss policy initiatives, concerns, programs and achievements

What: Illinois farmers, commodity organizations, and other agricultural influencers are hosting a media availability to share information on current Illinois ag policy initiatives, specific concerns, programs, and achievements. During this event, leaders are available for quick interviews with members of the news media.

Who: Illinois Beef Association, IL Corn Growers Association, Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois FFA, Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association, Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition, Illinois Lamb and Wool Association, Illinois 4-H, Illinois Milk Producers Association, Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council, Illinois Pork Producers Association, Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Specialty Growers Association, Illinois Wheat Association, University of Illinois College of ACES, and others.

When: Friday, Aug. 9, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. during "Ag Day" at the Illinois State Fair

Where: Commodities Pavilion, north end of Grandstand Ave on the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Note: Elected officials, industry partners, university experts, agency representatives, and others are invited and may join us. Please see below for a list of confirmed attendees and their biographies.

RSVP: Media interested in attending should RSVP by Thursday, Aug. 8 to Sierra Henry at [email protected].

State Fair Ag Day Participating Spokespeople

Dave Rylander, Illinois Corn Growers Association President

For 37 years, Dave worked as a design engineer for John Deere, primarily designing and testing planters used in Illinois and around the world. During that same timespan, Dave has been a farmer in western Illinois with his wife, Beth. They started farming in 1984, raising a few hundred head of hogs and growing to a 2000-acre corn and soybean operation. Prior to his retirement and return to the farm full-time, Dave and Beth purchased a farmer's co-op grain elevator and refurbished it. In addition, they repurposed its old feed room and my wife opened a quilt shop called Feed Mill Fabric and Quilting. After his retirement, Dave became a dealer for Precision Planting in order to remain in touch with the latest ag technology.

In addition to working for John Deere and co-managing our farm, Dave also served on several committees and boards in western Illinois. For 16 years, Dave served as the Copley township clerk and/or supervisor. Over the years, Dave served on the Knox County Cooperative Extension foundation board, the Blackhawk East Ag Alumni board, and Faith Lutheran Church Council and Treasurer. Recently, he was appointed to the Black Hawk College East foundation board. After being introduced at the Corn Growers board meeting in August 2016, Dave is excited about the direction in which the IGCA is headed and hopes to continue that progress in the coming years.

Garrett Hawkins, IL Corn Growers Association Vice President

Garrett Hawkins is the Vice President of the IL Corn Growers Association and farms with his father in Waterloo, Illinois. Hawkins studied Agricultural Communications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was elected to the ICGA board in 2017 and serves as a board member for Gateway FS. He has also volunteered as a firefighter for 25 years.

Brian Duncan, Illinois Farm Bureau President

Brian Duncan, of Polo, is the 16th president of Illinois Farm Bureau® (IFB) and serves as full-time executive officer. He is also president of COUNTRY Financial, Illinois Agricultural Service Company and the IAA Foundation. He represents IFB on the coordinating committee for GROWMARK, Inc.

Prior to his election as president, Duncan served as vice president of IFB from 2017-2023, and as president of Ogle County Farm Bureau from 2004-2017.

Duncan and his wife, Kelly, own and operate a diversified grain and livestock farm, with three of their four children part of the farming operation. Their operation includes a wean- to finish pork farm and a custom cattle feedlot. They grow mostly corn, along with some soy and wheat row crops.

Evan Hultine, Illinois Farm Bureau Vice President

Evan Hultine, of Princeton, is vice president of Illinois Farm Bureau. He is also vice president of COUNTRY Financial, Illinois Agricultural Service Company, and the IAA Foundation, and serves as chairman of the IFB Resolutions Committee.

Prior to his election, Hultine served as president of Bureau County Farm Bureau from 2017-2023. He also previously served as IFB Young Leader Chair from 2016-2017 and was a member on the American Farm Bureau Issues Advisory Committee from 2017-2021.

Hultine is a sixth-generation farmer in Bureau County, where he grows corn, soybeans and seed corn.

Dave Duzan, Illinois Beef Association President

Illinois Beef Association President Dave Duzan owns and operates The Duzan Agency, Inc., a livestock insurance agency that specializes in live animal import and export coverage as well as other domestic and international livestock coverage outlets. A cattleman himself, Duzan has a unique perspective into the livestock industry that allowed him to fill a need within the industry by starting the agency. His current cattle operation includes backgrounding cattle with his wife, Kellie, and daughters, Jessica and Lindsay. Currently, Duzan serves as the Illinois Beef Association President, and has served several years on the IBA Board of Governors. He even served the National Cattlemen's Beef Association on a committee focused on cattle market price discovery and transparency.

Ron Kindred, Illinois Soybean Association Chairman

Ron Kindred from Atlanta, Illinois is Chairman for the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA), represents district 9 as a director. He farms with his wife, Jayne, and son Jay, raising soybeans and corn. Kindred is a previous ISA director, having served the association for 13 years, including time as vice chairman, secretary, government relations chairman and participation in several committees. He was also a past chairman of Illinois Soybean Growers (ISG) SoyPac and a Soy Advocate for ISG's Voice for Soy program. Kindred also represented Illinois on the American Soybean Association board and was both vice president and secretary for that group. He is active with Illinois Farm Bureau and has served as President of East Lincoln Farmers Grain Co-op and Atlanta Township Trustee.

Cheryl Walsh, Illinois Pork Producers Association President

Cheryl Walsh is owner/operator of her family farm in Peoria County. As a 4th generation farmer, she grows corn, soybeans and hay with her family. In addition to the crops they have a cow/calf operation where they sell feeder calves, and own a sow farm. Her great grandfather started the business in the 1930's. He started with four bred gilts. Over the years her family has evolved to where they have all their sows in one location, around 2,200. They decided in the late 2000's to quit finishing and just sell weaned pigs. For the last ten years, Cheryl has conducted the Ag in the Classroom project in Peoria County. The program started with 120 classrooms and has expanded to over 250 classrooms. Cheryl and her fiancé have five kids in their blended family, Reagan, Rylie, Ashlynn, Ty, and Brinnley. As a family they enjoy showing sheep, beef cattle, and dairy cows. All the kids participate in school and summer sports. Most nights you can find the Walsh family in the bleachers or in a lawn chair supporting their players.

Cheryl earned her associate's degree from Black Hawk East and her bachelor's degree from Western Illinois University in Agriculture Science.

John Howell, Illinois Wheat Association President

John Howell, of Red Bud, was elected to serve as president of the Illinois Wheat Association in February 2024. He previously served as the organization's vice president. Howell farms alongside his father in Monroe County where they grow winter wheat.

Jenna Spychal, Illinois Specialty Growers Association Chair

Jenna is a third-generation specialty grower from Northern Illinois. She and her husband Mike own and operate Jonamac Orchard alongside family members Kevin & Denice McArtor and her grandparents Gerald & Mary Lynn McArtor. She started working on the farm full time in 2012, but has grown up around the farm most of her life. She hopes her two kids Amy and Cal will want to join the family farm one day as well.

Spychal is honored to serve as Chairperson of the Illinois Specialty Growers Association, during what she feels is a pivotal time for the industry. ISGA is growing and diversifying as we try new growing techniques, welcome new growers, and see younger generations step forward to bring fresh perspectives to their family farms. Spychal believes ISGA's strength lies in producers' ability to learn from one another, support each other, and build strong networks within Illinois.

Dr. Kevin Carey, Illinois 4-H

Dr. Kevin Carey serves as Acting Director and Senior Program Lead for Positive 4-H Youth Development with Illinois 4-H. He is an 11-year 4-H member from Grundy County in Illinois, and he has served in various volunteer roles in support of Illinois 4-H.

Dr. Carey comes to Illinois Extension and Illinois 4-H with a background in higher education and student affairs. He served for 10 years in a variety of roles at colleges and universities focused on student engagement, retention, and success. He is passionate about youth development, program development, and curriculum to enhance skills and knowledge focused on thriving youth!

He holds a B.A. in English from Illinois Wesleyan University, an M.A. in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education from Ball State University, and an Ed.D. from the University of Illinois in Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership with a focus on Diversity and Equity in Education.

Ross Vancil, 4-H Youth Leadership Team Chair

Ross Vancil is an 11th-year 4-H member of the Stronghurst Hustlers 4-H club from Henderson

County. He was raised on his family farm and showed swine and cattle at his county fair. He is currently serving as the chair of the Illinois 4-H Youth Leadership Team. Ross is currently a junior at Illinois State University double majoring in Legal Studies and Political Science. His goal is to attend law school.

Dean Germán Bollero, University of Illinois ACES Robert A. Easter Chair

Dean Germán Bollero is the Robert A. Easter Chair in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He brings more than a decade of administrative leadership to the role, having served as the associate dean for research and director of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station as well as head of the Department of Crop Sciences. A native of Rosario, Argentina, Bollero is internationally recognized for his scholarship employing advanced statistical methods to define, quantify, and find solutions to increase the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of food systems.

Dr. Shelly Nickols-Richardson, University of Illinois ACES Associate Dean and Director of Illinois Extension

Dr. Sharon M. "Shelly" Nickols-Richardson, PhD, RD, serves as an associate dean and director of Extension and Outreach in the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois. In this role, Dr. Nickols-Richardson defines the strategic vision for Illinois Extension and leads a team of passionate faculty and staff in their efforts to positively impact the lives of Illinois families. She joined the faculty at UIUC in July 2013 as Professor and Head of the Food Science Human Nutrition Department. She has taught courses in the areas of Community Nutrition, Nutrition Across the Life Span, Nutritional Assessment, Alternative and Complementary Nutrition Therapies, and Maternal and Child Nutrition.

Don Guinnip, Illinois Nutrient Research & Education Council Chairman

Don Guinnip farms 900 acres in Clark County where he grows corn, soybeans, wheat and milo. He also raises cattle on his farm with a cow-calf beef operation.

Don graduated from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale with a degree in Agriculture Education. After university, he taught at Edinburg High School until he returned home to the farm.

He is married to Susan, who is a retired Extension Agent, and they have two kids Molly and Andy and three grandchildren.

Don currently serves as the Chairman of the Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council (NREC). He previously served as the Treasurer of NREC. Don is also very active in his community. He serves on the Clark County Board, Clark County Farm Bureau Board, holds the Treasurer position for the Clark County Republicans, is active on the SIU Ag Alumni organization, belongs to the Knights of Columbus, a trustee to St. Mary's Church and is a township trustee.

When time permits, Don enjoys travelling, boating at the lake and is an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan.

Cliff Schuette, Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition President

Cliff Schuette graduated from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale with a Bachelor in General Agriculture and Minor in Agriculture Business. Since 2006, he has been President of the Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition (ILGLC). ILGLC promotes grazing in Illinois through regional farmer-led grazing groups, and facilitates pasture walks, grazing schools, and other educational opportunities for graziers in Illinois, as well as no-cost on-farm consultations. He also owns and operates Schuette Seeds, a family-owned business that sells Pennington food plot mixes, law seed and fertilizer, cover crops, and Stine corn and beans.

Schuette is a lifetime cattle producer and farmer. He has served as the President of the Illinois Beef Association, and served two years as Vice President, and has been a member since 2000. He has received the Illinois Beef Association Commercial Producer of the year award for the state of Illinois and the following year received the IBA Environmental Stewardship of the Year award. Schuette has been the Vice President for the Clinton County Farm Bureau since 2006, and a member since 2001. In 2004, he received the Farm Family Award for Clinton County Soil & Water District. He was past Vice Chair and Director of the Clinton County Soil & Water District and has served as treasurer since 2010.

Anne Crider, Illinois Lamb and Wool Association

Active in many aspects of the sheep industry, Anne Builta-Crider has served on the American Sheep Industry board, Animal Health and Research, Legislative and has been the Wool Council Chair. She is also a member of breed organizations and the Illinois Lamb and Wool Association as well as currently involved with the family Crider Farms Lamb.

Additional spokespeople: Lisa Ellis, Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance Executive Director; Julie Hewitt, Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council; Owen Torrance, Illinois FFA State Secretary; and Emma Dinges, Illinois FFA State Treasurer.

Spokespeople for Illinois Milk Producers, Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition, and others to be determined.

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