JG-TC's Farm Focus: January 30, 2021

FARM FOCUS Saturday, January 30, 2021 | jg-tc.com/sports | SECTION C

Nurturing ag’s future Coon named Outstanding Member of the Year ROB STROUD

rob.stroud@lee.net‌

CHARLESTON — Jeff Coon spent his career educating the next generation in the agriculture industry.

The Charleston-area resident served for 19 years as the agriculture teacher and FFA advisor for Oakland High School in northeast Coles County before retiring in June 2020. He also volunteered for 13 years on the Coles County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, which in-

cluded helping with its youth programs.

Coon said a few of his students in Oakland went on to farm full time, but the others who chose to work in agriculture took jobs with companies such as Archer Daniels Midland Co., Birkey’s Farm Store, Farm Credit Services of Illinois and South Central FS. “I think we have fulfilled that role in preparing kids for the work force,” said Coon, who has been named The Coles County Farm Bureau 2020 Outstanding Member of the Year. He added that he always made sure that his students knew that, “agriculture is much more than the guy driving the tractor.”

Coon grew up working on his

family’s farm north of Rardin in Douglas County and attended Oakland High School, where he was in FFA. He subsequently earned a degree in agriculture education from the University of Illinois before working as a DeKalb district sales manager for 15 years and then running his Coon Agronomy Consulting Service for five years.

The Coles County Farm Bureau noted when presenting its award that Coon had planned to just fill in for a short period when he took the agriculture teaching/ FFA advisor post at Oakland in January 2001, but he ended up making it a permanent job.

Coon said his final semester at Oakland coincided with the start

of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said his Envirothon team earned a surprise first place finish in the March 17 regional meet at Lake Land College, after which they “hooted and hollered” with joy. He said these students were disappointed that they were not able to carry this success forward to the state meet, which was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Being an agriculture teacher in a small school district presented challenges, but Coon said the greatest part of the job was PHOTO PROVIDED BY JEFF COON‌ seeing youths succeed at their studies and at becoming young Coles County Farm Bureau Outstanding leaders in their communities and 2020 Outstanding Member of the Year their chosen fields.

Jeff Coon drives a tractor alongside grandchildren Cameron and Owen Please see FARMER, Page C8 Jeffrey Brogan.

Driven to make world better Macy receives Conservationist of Year award DAVE FOPAY

dave.fopay@lee.net‌

MEG MCLAUGHLIN PHOTOS, QUAD CITY TIMES‌

Three men heavily involved in the hands-on restoration of Verdurette are, from left, J.R. DeLap, Steve Willits, and Matthew Willits.

One-of-a-kind

FARMSTEAD GROUP WORKS TO PRESERVE VERDURETTE

ALMA GAUL

D

agaul@qctimes.com‌

rive south of the Quad-Cities for a little over an hour, jogging left and right on b l a c k- to p p e d roads, through small Mercer County towns until, after your last turn, you come to a “road closed” sign.

You’ve arrived.

This is the place you’ve been looking for, a site like no other in the Quad-City region, a farmstead called Verdurette, an extension of the French word verdure, meaning lush, green vegetation.

The farm’s elegant brick house was built in 1855 in the Gothic style of architecture, embellished with gables, windows that look like they belong in a church, ornamental iron headers and lots and lots of elaborate wood trim.

Across the front is a fulllength porch built in the Colonial Revival style sometime before 1909.

This house and surrounding buildings were constructed by William Drury, a pioneer who staked a claim in the region in 1833 at the age of 25, coming from Indiana.

That was just a year after

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Ornate trim is featured above and below the roofline of the house. the end of the Black Hawk War, with Sauk and Meskwaki still in the area, their fertile open land up for settlement.

Now, 165 years later, the farmstead is under the direction of a nonprofit 501©3 trust whose members, particularly Steve Willits, whose family bought the property in 1920, are trying, one project at a time, to restore it as best they know how with the funds available to them.

They hope to get the 2.6acre site and buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and make it an attraction for visitors, maybe even a bed and breakfast or a hunt club. “It would help the

economy in the area,” Willits said.

The house hasn’t been occupied for 25 years, and the historic farm buildings have been vacant, except for storage, even longer. The road to the property dead-ends because flooding in 1993 damaged the bridge over the nearby Edwards River, and it’s never been fixed.

Willits lives on an adjoining property and continues with the robust farm operation that includes Angus cattle, corn and soybeans. But he, like his dad, wants to save Verdurette.

Walking around, one might say that members of the trust

have a ways to go with restoration, but what you don’t see is how far they have already come.

The home’s grand front porch, once sagging and weathered, has been rebuilt.

Synthetic slate shingles protect the home’s roof. Windows have been replaced. The brick has been tuck-pointed and the extensive wood trim commonly called “gingerbread” has been restored.

An adjacent bank barn, also built in the Gothic style with shutters and fancy trim, has a new poured concrete foundation. This was accomplished by hiring house movers to jack up the structure, remove the failing brick foundation, pour the concrete, then set the barn back down on new wood sills atop the concrete, Willits explained. It also has a metal roof that, while not in keeping with the 1800s, makes water stay out.

The barn’s hand-hewn oak beams and mortice and tenon joists are in place, as is the original concrete floor that contains mussel shells from the button factories of Muscatine. “It’s solid shells on the bottom,” Willits said.

Please see VERDURETTE, Page C4

CHARLESTON — Working with the natural world wasn’t something Kenton Macy wanted to do just for his career.

After a professional stint as a biologist, he now spends some of his retirement time with such efforts as removing non-native plant species and using prescribed burns to help natural areas.

The efforts by the longtime volunteer for natural preservation led him to be named the winner of this year’s Conservationist of the Year Award by the Coles County Soil and Water Conservation District.

“They’re things I see as needed,” Macy said. “It’s a passion of mine to make the natural world as good as it can be.”

The Soil and Water Conservation District alternates year to year between presenting the award to a farmer who uses conservation practices and someone who helps maintain natural areas.

Macy worked as a biologist for another U.S. Department of Agriculture organization, the Natural Resources Conservation District, until his retirement in 2017.

His retirement has meant he has that much more time to devote to the volunteer efforts in which he’s always taken part.

In announcing the award, SWCD officials said Macy meets the award’s objectives of recognizing an “outstanding conservation” who “exemplifies total resources management.”

The award is based on a variety of efforts including conservation and stewardship and participation in educational programs, and Macy takes part in both, they said.

Macy said he spends much of his volunteer time with the Embarras Volunteer Stewards. The group has weekly workdays from spring to fall removing invasive plant species, planting native species, using burns to preserve prairies and more.

More recently, Macy began working with the Grand Prairie Friends conservation organization that owns Warbler Ridge Conservation Area south of Charleston.

One of the group’s efforts at the natural site is to sponsor a study of its bat population and Macy volunteers as a bat monitor.

Please see CONSERVATION, Page C4

FARM FOCUS

C2 | Saturday, January 30, 2021

Journal Gazette & Times-Courier

‘Pumpkin Queen’ shares story of success CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN

For Illinois Press Association‌

BLOOMINGTON — Sarah Frey sees and appreciates the irony when she looks out at her oncesmall family farm that became a big player in the specialty crops industry.

“This place I’d spent my entire life trying to escape from, in 2020, it became my escape,” said Frey, the founder of Frey Farms in southern Illinois and “Pumpkin Queen of America” in the words of the New York Times.

Frey was a keynote speaker at the annual Illinois Specialty Crop Conference, put on virtually by the Illinois Specialty Growers Association. She described to the audience how long before the COVID-19 pandemic saw people fleeing the congestion of cities, as a teenager she dreamt of stepping into a highrise and ascending the elevator to her office.

But before her long-planned exodus, she reflected on years of working the earth with her parents and her four older brothers.

All of 19 years old, she decided to change course and buy the family farm.

“My inspiration to go into business wasn’t the business side of things,” she said. “It was about having a place in the world to build

SHARON DODD, ILLINOIS FARM BUREAU‌

Sarah Frey, the founder of Frey Farms in southern Illinois, speaks during the virtual keynote address of the Illinois Specialty Crop Conference. Frey was “Pumpkin Queen of America” in a New York Times story. a strong foundation. The sun was setting, and I stood on the ground where I’m talking to all of you today, and I made the decision I would stay and create a life here.”

And what a life it is.

Frey Farms, headquartered in Keenes, has facilities in eight states.

Fruits and vegetables grown on its 12,000-plus acres are distributed throughout the country through Frey’s Homegrown label. It employs more than 500 seasonal workers— in addition to her brothers.

“They invested a lot of time into my personal development as a

child – challenging me to do things I might not have done,” Frey said.

You know, like write a book about her journey. “The Growing Season: How I Built a New Life – and Saved an American Farm,” has been optioned for a series on ABC. “So when we will be able to see your story on TV?” Reghela Scavuzzo, the executive director of Illinois Specialty Growers Association, asked during the session.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” Frey said, laughing before saying more details will be coming soon.

Frey said she got her nickname from the Times because she started out predominantly growing pumpkins – according to her bio, Frey Farms still sells more pumpkins than any other American producer – but that in addition to growing cantaloupe, sweet corn and squash, the company’s biggest crop is watermelon. The team “follows the sun,” she said, every year starting in Florida and making its way to the Midwest.

In 2014, she launched a line of juices through Sarah’s Homegrown Tsamma Watermelon Juice, which now distributes to more than 2,000 retail locations.

A core mission of Frey Farms is to end food waste in the fresh produce industry.

“So when you look at a piece of ugly fruit, what do you do with it?” she said. “You make juice. To me, life is no different. Optimism is the secret to everything, waking up every day and looking for the good.”

The market is ripe for more specialty crop sales, she said.

“No one really thinks about the Midwest as a fruit-and-vegetable-producing region,” she said.

“But consumers are hungry for and demanding fresh produce in season. They’re the ones that make the voting decisions. They vote with their dollars, in what they’re

going to buy.”

Frey said to keep talent in the specialty produce industry, you have to hook kids when they’re young – so they don’t, say, flee for the big city and never return to the family business.

“Exposure is very important to young people,” she said. “So much of it starts with education and programs to get kids involved with.”

Frey commends her local school district building a greenhouse, providing a path for not just children growing up on a farm but also students who simply live in rural America.

“I remember visiting the greenhouse for the first time, and it was amazing to see the joy and the pride students were taking in growing plants for their plant sale,” she said.

She said a key to success in the industry is starting early, and that learning finances is just as important as learning how to work the land.

“We want to go out, work with our hands, to build, grow and create,” she said. “We don’t want to be bogged down by spreadsheets and financial statements. But it’s important to understand the business side of things. It doesn’t matter whether you’re living on 40 acres or 40,000 acres.”

Precision tech adoption varies in farm community COLUMBIA, Mo. — Farmers who fear they are falling behind in farm technology might not be as behind as they think.

Kansas State University cropping system economist Terry Griffin explains that a recent Kansas Farm Management Association study on farm technologies dispels the myth that all farmers use all of the latest technology. Griffin was one of the speakers at the December 2020 University of Missouri Crop Management Conference, held online.

Studies show that farmers are slower to adopt new technology than previously thought, Griffin

says in a University of Missouri news release. It usually takes 15 years for technology to reach a critical mass. Many factors weigh into the speed and degree with which they adopt new ways of farming.

Farm size is one of the main factors — the larger the farm, the quicker and higher the adoption rate. Age, wealth and type of farming operation also are factors.

The number of generations of a family on the farm and the birth year of the farm operators also affect adoption rates. Not surprisingly, younger farmers are introducing digital resources to older generations on the farm.

Many technologies have been available for more than two decades but still are not widely adopted, Griffin says. Of available technologies, farmers may choose to invest in only a few.

The Kansas Farm Management Association found that Kansas farmers used three of eight surveyed technologies most commonly. Many used none. Very few used all eight.

For example, automated guidance became commercially available more than 20 years ago, yet only 70% of farmers surveyed in Kansas have adopted this technology.

MU Extension assistant teaching professor of precision agricultural technology Kent Shannon says his observations show that Missouri farmers are similar in their willingness to invest in precision ag.

Many factors affect how farmers look at return on investment and the installation and maintenance costs of precision agricultural equipment, Shannon says.

He says lack of internet access in many rural areas slows change.

A USDA report shows that only 75% of U.S. farms reported having internet access, and that half of the farms use smartphones or tablets rather than desktop or

laptop computers to conduct farm business.

As tech-savvy younger generations join established operations, changing perspectives are inevitable, says Griffin. The numbers of farm owners in the “silent generation” (born before the end of World War II) and baby boomers (born 1946-64) continue to decrease.

Differences in business structure also affect adoption rates.

Multigenerational farms tend to embrace changes quicker than sole proprietors. They also likely own more acres, have more financial resources to invest and can prorate the expense.

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FARM FOCUS

C4 | Saturday, January 30, 2021

Verdurette From C1

What the site looks like‌

In addition to the house and bank barn, the other historic buildings are a second barn, a brick summer kitchen (a building used for cooking and canning in the summer to keep the main house cool), a brick carriage house, an octagonal brick windmill tower that was once three stories tall with blades at the top for pumping and supplying water to the farm and a brick chicken/ pigeon coop.

Pigeons? Yes, carrier pigeons, Willits said. “To send messages. It took time to get to Galena on horseback.” Willits mentions Galena because in the early 1800s it was the largest city in Western Illinois and where deeds were recorded.

For a time, Drury was the county recorder, so he had to go there to file them.

Across the lane from the house is a pasture with an oxbow of the Edwards River that Drury stocked with deer and elk. At one time he also kept exotic animals. An article in the July 18, 1883, Aledo Times Record reports the presence of a tiger, monkey and ant eater. The story is he bought out a bankrupt circus.

Willits also points to a tall brick chimney in the pasture, all that is left of an electrical generating plant designed by Thomas Edison.

Verdurette “was the first place in the Midwest to have electricity,” Willits said. “The house was wired for D.C.,” or direct current, as opposed to today’s alternating current.

Surrounding the front and side of the house is a decorative iron fence — cast iron, not wrought iron, Willits tells you — with spindles in the shape of oak tree branches entwined with leaves.

At one time, two zinc statues stood on either side of the fence entrance, but they now are in storage

Conservation From C1

He also serves as what he called the “burn boss” for prescribed burns to help native habitat for projects with Pheasants

MEG MCLAUGHLIN, QUAD CITY TIMES‌

Two lancet, or pointed arch, windows are built within another, larger lancet opening on the third floor. In the peak of the bigger window is a trefoil window, meaning one shaped like a three-leaf clover. for safe-keeping. Two cast iron lions still guard the steps to the porch, though, and buried in the snow covering the lawn are the remains of fountains, planters and walkways.

Step into the home’s foyer, and straight ahead is a three-story walnut staircase, built with switchbacks so severe that, standing on the first floor, you can see all the way to the third floor and vise versa.

The wall of the staircase originally was feather-grained (painted with feathers) to look like marble.

Two parlors are on either side of the foyer and in back are the dining room and kitchen.

The dining room contains three built-in china cupboards and the wood floor has a border created by inlaying different kinds of wood in a pattern.

A large addition in the back had bedrooms for the hired help and Drury’s office, accessible from a set of stairs separate from the main house.

The home also had hot and cold running water, bathrooms, a sink in every bedroom, steam heat (replacing the original Franklin stoves in every room) and light fixtures that ran first on kerosene, then acety-

lene, then electricity.

Forever and is also a member of the Charleston Tree Commission.

Macy said he was “baffled” by his being selected for the award, but honored at the same time.

“There are a lot of people doing good work,” he said.

He added that he appreciates the Soil and Water Conservation District’s efforts to recognize people who take the time to help take care of natural areas.

“Everybody has an interest in improving our natural resources,” he said.

More about Drury‌

Journal Gazette & Times-Courier

One is that Drury knew Abraham Lincoln, who was hired to survey the town of New Boston in 1834, and the other about Drury’s friendship with the Sauk warrior Black Hawk.

It’s also said that Stephen Douglas stayed in the house after his debate with Abraham Lincoln at Knox College in Galesburg when both men were running for the U.S. Senate. The seven debates occurred between August and October of 1858. “Both men wanted Bill Drury’s support,” Willits said.

These are stories Willits heard riding in the car with his grandfather. “When you’re eight years old, you love to go with your grandfather,” he said.

Another story — documented in journals of chiropractic — is that Drury and Daniel David Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, visited each other during a time that Palmer lived in Mercer County within a few miles of Drury.

Both were Spiritualists, an informal religious movement based on the belief that the spirits of the dead exist and have both the ability and inclination to communicate with the living.

Some writings have suggested the Verdurette was the site of seances, Willits said.

Two days after Drury died in 1897, an obituary appeared in the New York Times describing him as a “millionaire land owner” who “was the largest individual land owner in the United States, having hundreds of thousands of acres in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Texas, besides 6,000 acres of the richest farming land in this county.”

The obituary did not document the claims.

When Drury first moved to the area in 1834, he established a trading post in New Boston, then began amassing land and becoming a pillar of the community.

He was county clerk, county recorder and the first commissioned postmaster of the village of Millersburg, according to written accounts.

He and his wife’s cousin started a small dry goods and grocery store in New Boston that bought pork, grain and other products from farmers in the county and shipped them to St. Louis, according to research compiled for the property’s National Register nomination.

In 1872, Drury helped organize Farmers National Bank of Keithsburg, the second bank in Mercer County, and became its president.

On his farm were raised horses, cattle, hogs, rye, oats, hay and corn, but he hired help to do the hands-on work. Drury was a “gen- From Drury to Willits‌ tleman farmer.”

In 1920, the farm was auctioned, As Willits leads a tour, he drops purchased by W.A. Willits, who is stories about Drury, family lore Steve Willits’ great-grandfather. that is not documented but that is The proceeds from the sale went plausible. to establish a college in Aledo that

was called William and Vashti College, for Drury’s first name and that of his wife. It opened in 1908 but closed in 1923, done in by World War I, according to some written accounts.

It later was home to two military schools, with the last one closing in 1973.

Over time, the buildings fell into disrepair and were deemed hazardous so several years ago the city purchased the site of about one square block and demolished the buildings, Christopher Sullivan, city administrator, said.

Public donations paid for a memorial that incorporates salvaged building materials such as limestone and brick and includes panels with pictures and text explaining the site’s history.

On another portion of the property an apartment building called Vashti Village was built that is operated by the Mercer County Housing Authority.

As for Verdurette, before Steve Willits’ dad, William, died in 2015, he set up the nonprofit trust and endowed it with funds to work on preserving the site and its buildings that also is known as the Drury-Willits Home & Farmstead.

To be accepted onto the National Register, a property must meet one or more eligibility standards. Verdurette has been nominated on the bases of two — its distinctive architecture and its association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history.

Application paperwork is still being updated and Andrew Heckenkamp, with the state historic preservation office, said in an email that he hopes to “have this situation clarified over the next few months, and it will get officially listed this year.”

Willits is doing what he can to make sure that happens, and that the property will not only be listed, but be lasting.

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Saturday, January 30, 2021 | C5

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C6 | Saturday, January 30, 2021

Journal Gazette & Times-Courier

‘Oh, whistle a happy tune….’

2021 will be year to remember, for good things

A girlfriend? A new seed corn hybrid? It has to be more than spring sunshine.

2021 will be one of those years that diary-keepers will probably need extra pages. There are many dynamics at work which have entral Illinois agriculture jumpstarted farmers that have is looking forward to a new been down in the dauber for a year, but with more oomph long time and allowed mold to than in many years. overspread them and their winter Oh, farmers are always exeasy chair. cited about getCommodity prices are the ting into the field main force that will fuel farmers’ and using the enthusiasm about the new year. new technology After more than a half dozen they attached to years of price erosion, corn and the planter over soybean prices were launched the winter. But into rare air beginning last Authe 2021 planting STU ELLIS season could have gust when the USDA reported fields were not as flush with many of them grain as once thought. Surprised whistling a happy tune.

Yes, the farm spouse may won- grain traders bid up the price like two spoon collectors at an der what has gotten into him.

C

antique auction. For the past five months corn and soybean prices climbed the stairs and starry-eyed farmers wadded up their marketing plans.

It seemed China was their new best friend, since it wanted their corn, their soybeans, and just recently China also wanted their ethanol. China has had a tough time lately. Its hog herd suffered an African fever pandemic more rampant than COVID has raced around the globe. Hundreds of millions of hogs died or were destroyed to stop the spread of the disease.

But what is the common meat in many Chinese foods? Pork.

And China’s governmental leaders, not wanting a revolution on their hands, quickly imported fresh and frozen pork from the United States to feed hungry

Chinese consumers. But they also had to restock their breeding herd, and both moms and piglets had to be fed. That meant corn and soybeans had to be imported for hungry hogs. Yep, from that Corn Belt farmer who had plenty of low-priced grain.

But as grain stocks were drawn down by exports, corn and soybean prices rose, farmers found their long-lost smile, and began to whistle that happy tune.

Corn Belt coffee shops would have been full of frivolity over the winter because grain prices continued to rise. And restaurant servers could have cleaned up on tips if COVID had not shuttered the restaurant doors.

As spring soon chirps and shines, farmers will open many machine shed doors on shiny farm equipment. Some new.

Some just “Andy-clean,” because the owner wants it to appear to be new in a sense of pride. Lenders are happy, too, but not because they have loaned out more money. Instead, it is because operating loans have been paid down, giving way to sighs of relief for the risk they took a year ago.

Yes, a booming commodity export business, excited market speculators, and higher corn and soybean prices, thanks in large part to China, have put a new hop in the step of the Central Illinois farmer as he soon heads to the field this spring.

“No, dear, not any girlfriend.”

Stu Ellis is an observer of the Central Illinois agriculture scene.

You can view his “From The Farm” and “Harvest Heritage” reports on WCIA 3 News.

Despite pandemic, agritourism grows in 2020 PHYLLIS COULTER

Illinois Farmer Today‌

While the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged agritourism, a survey of businesses showed 2020 was a more profitable year for many than 2019.

Breanna Ellison, professor of agriculture and consumer economics at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, said the results showed that on average 2020 was 5.7% more profitable than the year before for Illinois agritourism operators who were surveyed.

They credited the profitability to

increased traffic. People wanted to support local foods and to have an enjoyable experience druing the pandemic. On average, the businesses had 17% more customers.

She noted that “on average” it was profitable, but some businesses had to close for an extended period or the whole season. They had no income and continued expenses.

Ellison and her team at the university collaborated with the Illinois Specialty Growers Association and the Illinois Farm Bureau to assess the initial impact of COVID

MICHAEL STANFIELD

on agritourism in Illinois. She unpacked the results of the study at the virtual Illinois Specialty Crop Conference Jan. 6.

The results are based on two sources, an online survey of 43 agribusinesses and information gathered from 176 agribusiness websites. Pumpkins were the most common product, but growers also sold veggies, apples, dairy, flowers, meat, eggs, herbs or had tourism activities.

Of those surveyed, 23% said they were closed at some point in the pandemic, most often in March,

April or May. Fifteen percent closed temporarily and 7% were closed all year.

Of those surveyed, 88.4% said they had some regulations regarding masks at their businesses.

About the same number increased hand washing and sanitizing efforts. More than half had pickup produce boxes, and slightly under half limited their number of guests.

Only 20% required buying tickets in advance or pre-registration.

Most businesses upped their technology — some for cashless payment, others increasing their

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social media presence and expanding their websites.

But operators reliant on weddings and school trips “are really hurting.” Many expressed concern about looming lockdowns over the winter, Ellison said.

Drew Groezinger, another speaker at the conference, said his business, Clara Joyce Flowers, suspended its on-farm experience program this year.

The popular program allows guests to pay to work at the flower Please see AGRITOURISM , Page C10

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C8 | Saturday, January 30, 2021

Journal Gazette & Times-Courier

Farmers markets up to the challenge NAT WILLIAMS

Illinois Farmer Today‌

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JEFF COON‌

Coles County Farm Bureau Outstanding 2020 Outstanding Member of the Year Jeff Coon, at left, stands with siblings Nancy Holzrichter, Eric Coon and Kathy Thompson on their family farm near Ashmore.

Farmer From C1

“It’s been fun,” Coon said.

“I wouldn’t change it.”

While serving as a teacher, Coon also worked with youths via the Farm Bureau’s Acquaintance Day educational events for FFA youths and its Agriculture in the Classroom outreach program for students in grades kindergarten-12th. He also volunteered with the Farm Bureau Foundation scholarship program, plus an exchange program between Chicago area and downstate legislators and school ag programs.

Coon said he always told youths that volunteering with the Farm Bureau or other organizations is a task that takes time, including being away from family, but is essential for helping their communities.

“It’s people like you that make Farm Bureau, FFA and programs like that happen,” Coon said he told youths. “That’s what leadership is, putting other things in front of your wishes.”

Vallori Degler, president of the

Charleston

Vallori Degler, Farm Bureau board president Farm Bureau board, said during Coon’s time on the board he was always very dedicated to serving this organization and its programs, such as the Young Leaders, while also serving his students and FFA members in Oakland.

“Jeff is very outgoing and he speaks up. He is not a bashful person,” Degler said. “He gets right in there and does the work. He is a go getter.”

Now that he is retired, Coon said he is helping his brother, Eric, farm approximately 500 acres in the Ashmore and Oakland area.

He and his wife, Jo, are also traveling more and spending more time with their three children and three grandchildren.

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“Jeff is very outgoing and he speaks up. He is not a bashful person.

He gets right in there and does the work.

He is a go getter.”

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Hen House Farm’s Becky Fraze helps Martha Kunski with some apples during the weekly Central Park Farmers’ Market in Decatur. not, but they were spending more money. Most of the ones I talked to said their sales were up across the board. We were really pleased that the market season happened and that it went well.”

Farmers markets enjoyed special status during statewide restrictions on business activity during various phases of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mitigation strategy.

“Gov. Pritzker considered farmers markets essential businesses. That was key,” Maxwell said. “… Many people felt that a farmers market was one of the safest places to buy food. It is not only outdoors, but the footprint is so much smaller than what you would find in the traditional food-supply chain.”

The IFMA, along with other organizations, has compiled tools vendors may use to better position themselves as direct food providers, an area that saw increased in-

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COVID-19 has yielded few positives on very few fronts. One may be farmers markets.

Though the pandemic has resulted in disruptions across the food-supply chain, many Illinois farmers involved in direct-to-consumer sales prospered.

“It’s been very challenging during these times,” said Janie Maxwell, executive director of the Illinois Farmers Market Association. “We have seen problems in the traditional food-supply chain, and I think that has sent some customers to farmers markets. There has been a far greater interest in farmers markets than I’ve seen in years.”

Maxwell provided farmers and market managers with an update on the impact COVID has had on vendors and customers of farmers markets during a session at the Illinois Specialty Crop Conference, held virtually.

While acknowledging that not everyone had the same experience, Maxwell emphasized that sales at markets in the state were up in 2020, and she is hopeful the trend will continue in 2021.

“The ones that opened saw increases in sales,” she said. “Instead of just perusing the market, getting a cup of coffee and getting a couple of ears of corn, people were coming as shoppers and buying large quantities of food.

“Farmers markets have really stepped into that space and been a place for consumers to find access to local, nutritious, healthy food. We’ve seen many people use farmers markets for the first time in 2020. There may have been fewer customers and maybe

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terest during the pandemic. The association — in coordination with the Illinois Department of Agriculture and MarketMaker, a national network connecting farmers with consumers — offers marketing opportunities for farmers selling fruits, vegetables, meats and other products at open markets, among other venues.

Maxwell stressed that vendors can help themselves by providing as much information as possible to go on the state and national database.

“The more you put into your MarketMaker profile, the easier it is for partners to find you,” she said. “If you just put in your business name and address and that’s about it, you’ll be a dot on a map.

But if you tell us about where you sell — maybe you have an online store of some type — you can connect your profile to that online store.”

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C10 | Saturday, January 30, 2021

Journal Gazette & Times-Courier

Agritourism

fessional help in redesigning sales and shipping, designing its retail space, which has im- clever packaging for peaches, From C6 proved flow and appeal. apples and canned products.

Rendleman Orchards also “We know shipping is the farm in the hills of Jo Da- upped their game with online future,” she said. viess County in northwestern Illinois. It started when a woman was interested in The Hardest Working People having her mother and sisIn America Find Value At ter join her on the farm for a day. It does require careful supervision, is labor intensive and adds liability, Groezinger said.

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Other established agritourism sites, including Rendleman Orchards in southern Illinois, continued to evolve during the pandemic.

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C12 | Saturday, January 30, 2021

Journal Gazette & Times-Courier

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