All Members Invited!
Do you want to be more involved in Knox County Farm Bureau programs and events? All members are invited to attend the first planning meeting on March 21st at 6:00 p.m. at the Knox Agri-Center. Dinner will be provided so contact the office at 309.342.2036 if you’ll be attending. We’d love to see you there!
Task Forces are Education and Outreach, Farm Business, Government & Policy, and Member Relations.
The Knox County Farm Bureau Young Farmers invite all 4-H and FFA members to attend the Lawn Mower & Tractor Safety School on Tuesday, March 26 at Martin Sullivan, 1910 Knox Rd 560 E, Galesburg. Registration will begin at 5:30 pm and the class will start promptly at 6:00 pm.
This program is for all youth who may operate lawn mowers or tractors and is a prerequisite for the Lawn Mower and Tractor Driving Contests that are held at the 4-H Fair in July.
All participates are encouraged to bring a parent, grandparent, or guardian. SMV emblems and other farm machinery areas will be discussed.
Pre-registration is not required. For more information, please contact the Knox County Farm Bureau office at 309-342-2036.
March 12, 2019
7:30 am - 9 am
Lake Storey Pavilion REGISTER HERE
Food & Agriculture Policy: Impact on Local Economy
Keynote: Jonathan Coppess, U of I ACES
Followed by a panel discussion
Trucking regulations can be complicated, and farm exemptions compound that problem. Seems everyone has a different answer to your question. Join the McDonough, Warren-Henderson, and Knox County Farm Bureaus at 1:30 PM on Wednesday, February 6th, 2019 at the Spoon River Outreach Center located at 2500 E Jackson in Macomb to find out what you need to know.
We will be hosting a two-hour seminar that focuses on trucking laws—old and new—specifically for farmers. We’ll introduce you to new rules, remind you of the old ones that still apply and help you to figure out whether exemptions are available.
Throughout it all, you'll have the chance to ask those farm trucking questions that everyone seems to have an opinion about, but no one can agree on an answer.
Trucking laws have been reshaped in recent years with more changes yet to come. Rules recently affected include: farmer exemptions, Harvest Season permit, Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), waivers for insulin-related diabetic drivers, a new class “C” license plate, Covered Farm Vehicle options for small trucks, and the UCR payment schedule and fees for 2019.
Presenting the seminar will be Kevin Rund and Kirby Wagner who specialize in farm transportation issues for the Illinois Farm Bureau®. And they’ll provide take-home materials covering these topics.
The seminar is free courtesy of your county and state Farm Bureaus®, but advance registration is requested. Please call 309-837-3350 to reserve your place at the On-the-Road Seminar.
KCFB Foundation Summer Internship
The Knox County Farm Bureau Foundation is offering an internship with the Knox County Farm Bureau for the summer of 2019. The intern will receive a $2,000 scholarship and is encouraged to explore the possibility of using the internship to fulfill academic requirements for his/her major.
This is the 27th year for the program, which continues to be very successful. The internship is open to Knox County residents who will be a sophomore, junior, senior, or full-time graduate student at a college or university during the fall 2019 semester. Preference is given to applicants who have a farm background and/or are studying an agricultural-related field.
For more information and/or an application, please contact the Knox County Farm Bureau office at 309/342-2036; e-mail: knoxcfb@knoxcfb.org; or visit HERE Applications are due February 15, 2019.
KCFB Foundation Scholarships
The Knox County Farm Bureau Foundation Scholarships are open to Knox County residents who will be a sophomore, junior, senior, or full-time graduate student at a college or university during the fall 2019 semester. Preference is given to applicants who have a farm background and/or are studying an agricultural-related or communication-related field.
For more information and/or an application, please contact the Knox County Farm Bureau office at 309/342-2036; e-mail: knoxcfb@knoxcfb.org; or visit HERE Applications are due February 15, 2019.
Thomas Lincoln $1000 Scholarship
The Knox County Farm Bureau Foundation is currently accepting applications for the Thomas Lincoln Scholarship, awarded annually in memory of Thomas Lincoln, a Knox County Farm Bureau Young Farmer who died in a tragic car accident.
A $1000 scholarship will be given in the spring of 2019 to a graduating high school senior who is a Knox County resident and has been accepted into an agricultural or agricultural-related curriculum at any college or university in the fall of 2019.
For more information and/or an application, please contact the Knox County Farm Bureau office at 309/342-2036; e-mail: knoxcfb@knoxcfb.org; or visit HERE Applications are due February 15, 2019.
The Women in Agriculture Conference committee is pleased to announce that Tyne Morgan will headline the 8th annual Women in Agriculture Conference in Rock Island on Thursday, March 14, 2019. Morgan was named the first female host of U.S. Farm Report in 2014. During her address, she will focus on news and policy that is shaping the agriculture industry.
The keynote will be followed by a variety of breakout sessions as well as lunch.
The closing speaker will be Erin Breneman, Farmer and Farrowing Manager of Brenneman Pork. Raised in the suburbs of Chicago, it was only after Brenneman married and moved to her family’ hog operation that her eyes were opened to what she calls “the beautiful world of farming.” She has since become a strong advocate for the industry and for her own family’s products. She will present “Sharing Your Farm Story.”
Registration for the event starts on January 8th. The Conference is sponsored by the Bureau, Carroll, Fulton, Henry, Knox, Lee, Mercer, McDonough, Rock Island, Stark, Stephenson, Warren-Henderson, and Whiteside County Farm Bureaus in Illinois as well as Illinois Farm Bureau, COUNTRY Financial, River Valley Cooperative, University of Illinois Extension and Iowa State University Extension.
Dr. Steve Johnson, Farm & Ag Business Management Specialist from Iowa State University Extension, will be at the Knox Agri-Center on Monday, November 19th at 7:00 p.m. to present Does Storing Unpriced Crops Really Pay. Topics that will be covered are Crop Supply/Demand & Price Outlook, Determining the Cost of Grain Ownership, Considering Your Cash Flow Needs, and Exploring Strategies, Tools & Market Planning.
Steve serves as the Farm & Ag Business Management Specialist in Central Iowa for Iowa State University Extension. He presents annually at nearly 100 meetings, workshops, seminars and conferences across the Corn Belt and interacts with more than 10,000 producers.
Steve posts monthly free newsletters, webcasts and updates on both ISU Extension Ag Decision Maker and the Polk County Extension Farm Management web sites. CLICK HERE to reserve your seat or call the KCFB office at 309-342-2036.
The Education and Outreach Task Force is hosting a Holiday Food Order from Avanti Foods. Please print the order form HERE and return with payment to the Knox CFB office by November 29, 2018.
On August 17, 2017 the Knox County Farm Bureau Board of Directors hired Hailey Weyhrich, Illinois Farm Bureau Manager Trainee, as the new Executive Director of the Knox County Farm Bureau effective October 1, 2017. Hailey is from Manito and is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural and Consumer Economics with a concentration in Agribusiness Markets and Management. Hailey started with the Illinois Farm Bureau Manager Training Program in May of 2017. “The KCFB is also excited to welcome our new Executive Director, Hailey Weyhrich, to Knox County. The KCFB Board of Directors are confident that Hailey will help lead our organization to new achievements in the future as we continue to represent agriculture and rural interests in Knox County,” stated Strom.
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Hailey Weyhrich
The Knox County Farm Bureau Foundation thanks our members for collecting Prairie Farms milk caps and supporting our cause! Prairie Farms Dairy donated $50 to the Knox County Farm Bureau Foundation through the Our Caps Your Cause program. Members collected 1,000 caps to earn the $50 donation and more caps have been redeemed toward our next 1,000 goal.
To participate, collect Prairie Farms caps from white or flavored milk in gallon or half gallon sizes. Reveal the unique, redeemable code by peeling off the sticker and redeem the code by following the link on www.knoxcfb.org. When prompted with the choice of which organization to give to, please choose Knox County Farm Bureau Foundation, Galesburg, IL. Members may also drop off milk caps at the Knox County Farm Bureau office and staff will enter the codes for you!
By Ted Mottaz
Peoria County farmer George Roberts grows corn and cover crops near Trivoli. The latter crops — ryegrass, oats, triticale, radish — go into the ground while the main crop is still in the field. They continue to grow after the corn and soybeans are harvested.
Cover crops help build organic matter and reduce soil erosion. Most importantly, they hold nutrients (fertilizer) in place for the next year’s crop. Without them, nutrients not used by corn and soybean plants can leave farm fields and enter streams, lakes and rivers, where they might harm water quality.
Roberts also participates in an education and outreach program to other farmers that has had water monitoring equipment installed on his farm. Samples are collected and analyzed to determine which of Roberts’ practices are most effective at keeping nutrients in place.
Roberts’ story is one of 50 in a new online resource, the Conservation Story Map. It includes videos and photos of the many ways farmers protect soil and water. Users can search the Map by stewardship method, locale, type of project, or by farm, conservation and other groups that provide funding and support.
The land and water benefit when nutrients stay where they belong. Farmers also gain. Roberts gets the most out of the fertilizer he buys each year. He gets the best crop yield, ensures that his crops take up the maximum amount of nutrients possible and has fewer weeds to control.
Illinois farmers join cities, towns and others in working to improve water health. The state’s Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy outlines the methods detailed on the Map. Released a year ago, it aims to reduce by 45 percent the phosphorous and nitrate loads in the state’s waters from wastewater treatment plants and from urban and farm runoff. It also speaks to the bigger picture: hundreds of square miles in the Gulf of Mexico impacted by excess nutrients that flow from upstream.
Farmers get help from the Illinois Council on Best Management Practices (CBMP) in doing their part. CBMP is made up of farm groups and of businesses where farmers buy fertilizer. It identifies stewardship practices that work, are good for the environment and make economic sense for farmers.
The best and latest science supports cover crops and these other techniques. How are other farmers in your area working to keep the land and water healthy? See and hear George Roberts’ story and others at www.illinoiscbmp.org.
Ted Mottaz is with the Illinois Corn Growers Association, based in Bloomington.
180 South Soangetaha Road, Galesburg, IL 61401
Phone: (309) 342-2036 • Fax: (309) 342-4136
