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The
Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the first
Agriculture Day in Logan County. The Logan County Ag Day 2000
breakfast will be held Wednesday, March 22, in conjunction with
National Agriculture Week, March 19-25.
A
7 a.m. breakfast at the Knights of Columbus Hall will feature
foods and food ingredients that are currently produced in Logan
County. Later, guests will learn how the agricultural and business
communities are coming together to promote greater understanding
of agricultural issues. Also, a new scholarship will be announced
for Logan County students who are planning a career in agriculture
or agribusiness.
Keynote
speaker Larry Keene, director of value enhanced products at
Growmark, will discuss the role biotechnology plays in developing
new, nutritionally enhanced corn and soybeans that farmers in
Logan County will soon be able to grow.
[Larry Keene]
In
his position with the FS system, Keene is responsible for
evaluating value enhanced products in order to form relationships
with major buyers of technology, major grain companies and food
processors and gain contracts for farmers throughout the trade
area. He is also responsible for formulating a strategic plan so
that the FS system is positioned to help members as new value
enhanced products come into the market.
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Keene
received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Southwest
Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo., and worked in sales
for Hallmark Cards, Inc., and in management with the Missouri
Farmers Association before joining Growmark in 1985. He has held
various positions in crops and seed divisions and assumed his
current responsibilities with FS in 1999.
Ag
producers from throughout the county are expected to attend the Ag
Day event. Joining them will be agribusiness professionals, local
business leaders and local elected officials. Also scheduled to
attend are Rep. John Turner, Sen. Robert Madigan and a representative from the Illinois Department of
Agriculture.
"Participants
are not limited to this group," says Marty Ahrends,
chairperson of the event. "Anyone who wants to learn more
about current ag issues or discover the great things that
biotechnology will be bringing to the dinner table is welcome to
attend. However, you must have a ticket to eat breakfast."
Tickets are free and are available on a first come, first serve
basis by calling the Chamber of Commerce at 735-2385 or the Logan
County Farm Bureau at 732-7326.
Costs
for the event and the Logan County Ag Day Scholarship are covered
by the sponsorship of several local businesses. They include the
following: Logan County Farm Bureau, Lincoln/Logan County Chamber
of Commerce, Lincoln Logan Mutual Insurance, Logan County Bank,
Graue Chevrolet, Ag Land FS, Inc., Union Planters Bank, East
Lincoln Farmers Grain, Parker-Grieme Insurance, Jim Xamis Ford,
Woody Jones State Farm Insurance, Country Companies Insurance,
State Bank of Illinois and Illinois Bank.
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Four-H
projects were on display in a showcase of "The Best of the
Best." A midday rally in the capitol rotunda saluted the
Illinois 4-H program and its impact on youth.
Logan
County 4-H members who took part in this event include Katelyn
Beavers, Cloverdale 4-H; Andrew Fulton, Chester 4-H; Staci
Hieronymus and Jeff Jones, Atlanta Town & Country 4-H; Rachel
Thomas, Atlanta Ag 4-H; Scott Ubbenga, Hartem Clovers 4-H; and
Kent White, Beason Ag 4-H.
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To
learn more about the 4-H program in Logan County, contact the 4-H
office by e-mail at logan_co@mail.aces.uiuc.edu
or by phone at 732-8289.
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