Features

[MARCH 23, 2001]   As an agriculturally rich land, Logan County has much to celebrate in this week recognized as National Agriculture Week. Just before setting their hand to the new season, farmers enjoyed an opportunity to gather and look ahead to new opportunities. The Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce Ag Committee sponsored the second annual Ag Day Breakfast on Wednesday morning at the Knights of Columbus.

Don Ludwig of Elkhart Grain welcomed the crowd of farmers, future farmers, businesses and agencies affiliated with farming. Mount Pulaski area farmer Dave Opperman provided an invocation. Joyce Leesman, marketing coordinator for Central Illinois Ag introduced the new agriculture scholarship recipients.

The keynote speaker for the morning was Mike Adams, farm director at radio station WLDS-AM 1180 in Jacksonville. Adams spoke in a lively manner on the current hot topic "Emerging Markets." Having traveled the world extensively and observing cultures around the world from an agricultural perspective, he wove cultural, political and agricultural facts together.

Opening with the statement, "What we grow here in Illinois will end up all around the world," Adams went on to say: "Populations are exploding around the world. There are more mouths to feed. Their customs are different and foods are different from ours. They have established customs that they do not want to change. That means we’ve gotta get to know the needs of their people."

While in Rome some years ago he met the pope. Not being a Catholic, he was still struck by the pope for his agricultural savvy. What the pope said was this: "There are hungry people all over the world, yet surpluses exist in our area. We have got to find new ways for distribution."

Adams then began a recount of some of the places he’s visited and the things he recognized as significant for Illinois farmers to know and understand. In summary, here are a few of the things he mentioned:

Poor soil, small farms, their views on agriculture are different. They have people who are hungry. We don’t have that.

With mellow goat bells ringing on the hillsides, it is an idyllic mountaintop lifestyle far and away from the rest of the world. We need to learn about their way of life. Their world is different from ours.

Where the death camps still stand untouched for all to see, a people of tradition and remembrance, and old ways.

Tremendous opportunity for our emerging markets. American presence already there. We have been selling soybeans to them, amidst the unstable political environment

Entering the country, you are searched by men with machine guns who don’t crack a smile.

In Cairo, you stand looking at the pyramids, and in back of you is the American presence, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut, just opposite ancient burial grounds. There the farmers had the most rudimentary manner of farming, plowing rocky ground with simple hand-forged plows pulled by oxen. Products are pulled to the farmers’ market in old carts. Without any thinking about it, he noted, "There is a vast difference between our agriculture and theirs."

Adams recognized again that the culture is different. Women have washing machines there, and yet they come to the river to hand wash clothing in the dirty water of the Nile. It is often their only opportunity to just talk in this woman-repressed society, a different culture.

There was lots of smoking and heavy use of sugar, particularly sugar added to stout coffee, in these cultures. Like other news, the health messages have not yet reached them. Here there is a market that is being met with soybeans, poultry and corn for the poultry.

Great ships from around the world pass through this canal. Most of it has been U.S. corn and soybeans up to now. Ships have become so big there is a need to add new channels, but at this time the Chinese control either end, so it is not known where or how to add new channels; nor is it known who will pay for them. Other countries are in there trying.

Since troops were pulled out, a recession has struck the country. Lots of other foreign banks have moved in and now hold money from other countries there.

Cuba

What do you expect when you go to Cuba? Prepared to see a country where people are starving and have nothing, the ag team flew into a modern airport, not what they were expecting to see, Canadian built. Then they drove to a nice, modern hotel, Dutch built. Throughout this poor country were evidences of other countries that are making their presence in Cuba. They have been building roads. When the country opens, it is likely to be a prime paradise vacation/resort area with its incredible beaches edging all the way around a small tropical land mass.

The government gives the hungry people a 10-day food stamp; the remaining 20 days they are on their own as to what they can find to eat. There are so few cattle they do not dare to kill them. They just wait for them to die. Hogs are fatty from the quality of their food source. The people here are hungry for food and don’t understand why the United States is closed to trade with them. The original purpose of the embargo was defeated long ago, namely to drive Castro out of office.

If we don’t get that market someone else will.

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Brazil

Brazilian farmers are making a profit at $1.20/bushel corn, and $2.65/bushel soybeans. (By contrast, local farmers don’t begin to break even at the local March delivery prices of $1.79 for corn and $4.16 for beans.) With those competitive advantages, it’s easy to understand why Brazilians are clearing more land daily to grow more crops. Plus, their government has invested a lot of money in improving the infrastructure of waterways and roads, making it easier to get crops to market. Here in the upper Midwest, farmers are hampered by an antiquated lock-and-dam system on the Illinois River and Upper Mississippi.

"Yet with all our problems," adds Adams, "I have yet to find a country as fortunate as ours. We still live in a country where we can say what we don’t like."

Everywhere around the world people are in awe of our agriculture, what we produce, the equipment used for production and the means of moving it. We are very competitive in the world market.

Adams wrapped up his account of world markets by urging Logan County farmers to learn about the needs of other cultures, think about how to meet those needs and how to teach them about our products. It’s important to get farmers around the world talking to each other one-on-one and thinking globally.

"Fuel and medicine are said to be the major world issues, but agriculture is the key," concluded Adams.

Following the breakfast Don Miller from the University of Illinois Extension office enthusiastically commented, "It was just great, a great meeting, and it was good for agriculture."

The following sponsors supported the event:

Frontier Mutual Insurance

Logan County Farm Bureau

Graue, Inc.

Farm Credit Services

Logan County Bank

Ag Land FS, Inc.

Beason Ag Center

CEFCU

Central Illinois Ag

Country Insurance & Financial Services

East Lincoln Farmers Grain

Illini Bank

Parker-Grieme Insurance Company

R & H Farm Supply

State Bank of Lincoln

Union Planters Bank

Woody Jones State Farm Insurance

Jim Xamis Ford-Lincoln-Mercury

Cross Implement

Elkhart Grain

Bobbi Abbott—Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce

Mike Abbott—J. M. Abbott and Associates

Marty Ahrends—Academic Development Institute

Steve Aughenbach—State Bank of Lincoln

Bill Dickerson—Natural Resources Conservation Service

Jim Drew—Logan County Farm Bureau

Todd Farris—Elkhart Grain

Bill Graff—Graff Land & Livestock

John Hartman—Farm Credit Services

Larry Huelskoetter—Logan County farmer

Mark Hunsley—Farmer's Coop Elevator

Mike Kelly—Logan County Bank

Kevin Kurtz—Stine Seed

Terry Lock—Illini Bank

Richard Martin—Logan County farmer

Bob Neal—Edward Jones

Bob Pharis—Logan County farmer

Bill Sahs—Sahs Farms

Steve Schmidt—Central Illinois Ag

Steve Schreiner—Logan County farmer

Leland Semple—Logan County farmer

Mark Smith—Logan County Economic Development

Nick Stokes—Union Planters Bank

Jim Struebing—Cross Implement

Hugh Whalen—East Lincoln Farmers Grain

Ag Awareness—Mary Ahrends, chair

Value-Added Commodities—Bill Graff, chair

Land Use/Zoning—Bill Dickerson, chair

Ag Workforce Development—Terry Lock, chair

Absentee Landowner Relations—Steve Aughenbach, chair

[Jan Youngquist]

[MARCH 23, 2001]   The Logan County Farm Bureau invited all of the county’s fourth-graders to the Logan County Fairgrounds on Thursday to participate in the "Growing with Agriculture" Fair. Each school participated, and 333 students got to learn about different types of farms, farm equipment, and farm products.

[click here to see photos]

For the past four years, the Logan County Farm Bureau took equipment and animals around to each school. This year, they decided to bring the students to the equipment and animals—and it worked well. Ignoring the slight chill in the air, students were excited and interested in learning about agriculture.

The program involved hands-on learning, sampling food, making crafts, exploring farm equipment, and petting animals. The program ended with sheepshearing.

[Jean Ann Carnley]

[MARCH 23, 2001]   The first local "Growing with Agriculture" ag fair was Thursday, March 22, at the Logan County Fairgrounds. Logan County fourth-grade students attended a half-day fair, discovering how agriculture is world of opportunities and the role agriculture plays in their daily lives.

The students participated in five 20-minute sessions on dairy, pork, corn, soybeans and agricultural food sampling. The closing segment focused on sheep and a sheep-shearing demonstration. At each station, the students were exposed to agriculture in Logan County through live animals, farm equipment and hands-on activities. During the food sampling session, students tasted soy milk, soy nut butter and chocolate-covered soy nuts and compared them to milk, peanut butter and peanut M&Ms. In hands-on learning during the other sessions, students made biodegradable plastic from corn products, handmade ice cream from dairy products and a bracelet reflecting the circles of the earth.

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The fourth-graders also participated in a "What Growing with Agriculture Means to Me" essay contest. The winners were selected by Lincoln College Phi Theta Kappa honorary society. Each participant received a gift certificate from Wendy’s of Lincoln. The top five essays were:

1. Christian Sandel

2. Jordan Howe

3. Jonathon Oliver

4. Nate Johnston

5. Ryan Gibbs

The Logan County Farm Bureau organized the fair in celebration of National Agriculture Week. Cross Implement, Rohlfs Implement, Central Illinois Ag and the Logan County Fair Association provided support for the event.

[Logan County Fair Bureau news release]

[MARCH 21, 2001]   Elizabeth Stoll, Matthew Duckworth and Jackie Bakken were honored this morning as the winners for the 2001 Ag Day Scholarship Contest. The announcement was part of the second annual Logan County Ag Day Breakfast, which brings together area farmers, business and government leaders to further discuss issues of critical importance to the local agricultural economy.

The scholarship program was started last year after committee organizers had received so much financial support from local businesses that they felt some of the money should go back to help young people from Logan County pursue careers in agriculture.

Applicants must be from Logan County, study or plan to study some aspect of agriculture in an institution of higher learning, and have well-defined plans for their future career in agriculture. The committee chose from 11 very qualified applicants this year.

All three of this year’s recipients have been active participants in both 4-H and FFA programs.

Elizabeth Stoll, daughter of Kenton and Marcia Stoll of Chestnut, received $1,000 to continue her studies in plant biology and business at Washington University in St. Louis, where she is a sophomore.

She is a 1999 graduate of Mount Pulaski high school where she was active in FFA, Science Olympiad, National Honor Society, Student Council, Spanish Club, volleyball, and track and field. She was also a member of the Clover Kids 4-H Club.

[Elizabeth Stoll]

While in college Elizabeth has kept busy with Lutheran Campus Ministries, peer-advising freshman students, serving as secretary for her Residence Hall Council, and running with the Washington University track team.

For the past two years Elizabeth has been employed by the Monsanto facility in Illiopolis as a field research assistant. During the school year she works in a research lab and as an assistant to the Washington University track coach.

Her future goals are to obtain a master’s degree in crop sciences from the University of Illinois and then to work for an organization like Monsanto or the USDA to develop new strains of crops that can benefit both farmers and consumers. Elizabeth says that the first strain of corn that she hopes to create is one that can successfully survive standing water for several days and eliminate the need for replanting.

Elizabeth currently reigns as the Logan County Fair queen.

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Hartsburg-Emden High School senior Matthew Duckworth is the recipient of a $500 scholarship to study animal science at the University of Illinois. He is the son of Jeffery and Barbara Duckworth.

[Matthew Duckworth]

Duckworth is the secretary of the Hartsburg FFA Chapter and team captain for the Scholastic Bowl team. For the past three years he has worked at the Greenhaven Animal Clinic in San Jose as a veterinary assistant. Also, he has raised and taken care of several show calves.

Matthew Duckworth’s career goal is to become a livestock veterinarian. "I enjoy working outside with livestock and firmly believe that agriculture is still the backbone of America. I will be honored to take part in this traditional industry," says Duckworth.

Jackie Bakken, a senior at Lincoln Community High School, also was chosen for a $500 scholarship. She will study agricultural education next year at the University of Illinois. Jackie is the daughter of Leonard and Rita Bakken of rural Lincoln.

[Jackie Bakken]

Jackie is a 10-year member of the Wide-A-Wake 4-H club and has served in many leadership capacities. She was chosen as one of 26 delegates from Illinois to attend National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, Ga., and has participated in the Junior Leader Legislative Conference.

She currently serves at the chapter president of Lincoln FFA and the Section 14 reporter. She is also member of several judging teams. Jackie has earned her State FFA Degree and is working towards her American FFA Degree.

Jackie hopes to become an agriculture teacher and help others understand the many career opportunities available in agriculture.

Last year’s scholarship winners were University of Illinois students Derek Struebing and Chad Yagow.

Scholarship funding is made possible by these sponsors for Logan County Ag Day 2001: Logan County Farm Bureau, Frontier Mutual Insurance, Graue Inc., Farm Credit, Logan County Bank, Central Illinois Ag, Cross Implement, State Bank of Lincoln, Illini Bank, Union Planters Bank, Ag Land FS, R&H Farm Supply, Parker-Grieme Insurance, Woody Jones State Farm Insurance and East Lincoln Farmers Grain.

[News release]

[MARCH 19, 2001]   The Logan County Farm Bureau will host its first "Growing with Agriculture Fair" on March 22 at the Logan County Fairgrounds. Fourth-grade students will attend the half-day fair to discover how agriculture is world of opportunities and how people need agriculture in their daily lives. All of the fourth-graders in the county will participate.

The students will attend five breakout sessions with hands-on activities. The sessions include dairy, pork, corn, soybeans and an agricultural food sampling. The closing segment will focus on sheep and a sheep shearing demonstration. At each station, live animals and equipment will be present to expose the students to agriculture in Logan County.

The schools were also given the opportunity to have the students participate in a "Growing with Agriculture" essay contest. The top five winners, selected by Lincoln College Phi Theta Kappa honorary society, will be announced at the fair on March 22 and will receive trophies.

Members of the Logan County Farm Bureau Board, Ag Ambassadors and the Women’s Committee are organizing the fair in celebration of National Ag Day.

[Logan County Farm Bureau news release]

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What

"Growing with Agriculture Fair" to celebrate National Ag Day

Breakout sessions include:

• Dairy
• Corn
• Soybeans
• Hogs

• Agriculture food sampling

Who

Logan County fourth-grade students

Where

Logan County Fairgrounds

When

Thursday, March 22

9 to 11 a.m. and noon to 2:30 p.m.

Sponsor

The Logan County Farm Bureau is the sponsor of this program.

Courtesy of Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation

IALF diary

2001 National Travel Seminar Class Diary for March 20

The last day of the IALF Class 2002 National Travel Seminar started early Tuesday, March 20. Matt Hughes, Matt Bennett, Matt Foes, Steve Hawkins, Bill Leigh, Tim Seifert, Ron Tombaugh and Gary Shupe managed to get their smiling faces on the "Today Show." Renegade Dan Meyer (better known to the group as Lieutenant Dan) was seen on "Good Morning America."

On a more serious note, Philip Morris International sponsored an informative and sobering visit to the United Nations (UN). The visit was an additional reminder to the class that the world is a very complex place. The UN continues to provide stability in unstable situations. 

Dan Martz, Philip Morris manager of planning and programs, discussed world trade issues and global warming. The session continued the theme we’ve heard throughout the trip — be involved in leadership to help propagate cooperation in legislative, environmental and social issues.

Class members hustled back to the hotel and loaded bags onto a bus. One last mad dash to find a hot dog street vendor and we were headed for LaGuardia. Chairmen of the day Chuck Weber, Todd West and Dale Clary corralled bags and herded the group toward Gate C10. They didn’t even need a cattle prod. But they just might need one to wake us at O’Hare.

[Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation]

[MARCH 15, 2001]   Central Illinois Ag is pleased to announce its newest team member. Fred Riley of Bushnell will be acting as the organization’s large-implement mechanic for farmers in Mason, Fulton and southern Tazewell counties and other nearby areas.

Riley has over 15 years experience serving farmers and agriculture. Riley graduated from Carl Sandberg College in Galesburg, completing their Ag Mechanics program. He began his professional career at Bedwell Farm Equipment in Bushnell and then moved to the Fayhee Implement dealership in Prairie City, where he was a mechanic for six years.

He is pleased and excited to be a part of the Central Illinois Ag team. "The transition from Fayhees to Central Illinois Ag has been a smooth one, since both dealerships handle Case IH equipment," he says. "I like working for Central Illinois Ag."

Riley brings not only 15 years experience to the business but over 200 hours of Case IH specialty training. He is proud of his computer diagnostic abilities. With the aid of a laptop computer, he can easily check electrical systems, cab switches and hydraulic pressure in the new Case IH Magnum tractors. "The computer is a wonderful service tool that helps the service department save time and money when trying to diagnose problems," Riley says.

Fred Riley welcomes all former customers of Fayhee Implement (which closed Oct. 2000), to stop by and say hi and bring any Case IH mechanic work over to him. He can be reached at the Pekin store at 1-866-655-7418 or 309-925-5550.

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Riley has an older brother who resides in Bushnell, a younger sister at Ashland, and several nieces and nephews.

Central Illinois Ag celebrated Customer Appreciation Week Feb. 19-24. Many took advantage of the numerous discounts in the parts department. Refreshments were served all week long. The winner of a grease gun holder at the Pekin store was Bill Durdle of San Jose.

Central Illinois Ag, formerly Watson International, is a family-based, full-service implement dealership offering assistance in sales, service and parts in both new and used equipment. The customer base is primarily agricultural, with some light construction and lawn and garden equipment. Major lines are Case IH and New Holland; other lines include Kinze, DMI, New Idea, Bush Hog, Brent, Woods and numerous others. Central Illinois Ag has four convenient locations: Atlanta, Pekin, Clinton and Farmer City. Their website is www.centralilag.com. 

[News release]

[MARCH 12, 2001]   There have been quite a few questions coming into the office over the past week concerning various aspects of turf management, so today I'd like to cover some of the spring basics.

First comes the fertilizer question. Fertilizers should actually be put on in May when grass is growing more actively. If you don't have soil test information, fine fescues use 1 to 3 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of area each year, while bluegrass needs 1 to 4 pounds. About 10 pounds of a 10-10-10 material will be adequate if applied May and September. If you have soil test information, each lawn should be fertilized differently.

Weed control has been a frequently asked question. This is the proper time for crabgrass preventative treatments. These annual grasses usually start germinating about April 1, but the date this year is probably going to be earlier. They actually start when the soil temperature hits 48 to 50 degrees. A good indicator is when forsythia is in bloom (or as one person said this week — the better indicator is when the forsythia starts dropping petals). From the notes on fertilizer, you can probably tell that it would be better to apply a straight crabgrass treatment and then come back with fertilizer next month. Broadleaf weed control should also be started in May when most weeds are present and actively growing. About the only things out now are the winter annuals such as chickweed and henbit. When choosing a weed and feed, or weed control product only, check the label to make sure that it will control what you are after. For instance, 2,4-D will not control chickweed or henbit.

[seed, spreader, and fertilizer]

We are at an opportune time for seeding grass, but the results are always weather-dependent. Normally we like to see spring seedings occur before April 1, but with cooler weather you might push that about two weeks. If you prefer to wait, start seeding this fall between Aug. 15 and Sept. 10. The fall seedings are usually more productive since they get two growing seasons before hot, dry weather comes in. Use 4 pounds of a Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescue blend for "bare dirt" seedings or half that amount for overseedings.

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If you have other questions on turf management or other horticulture topics, please feel free to contact me at the Extension office, (217) 732-8289.

Grain bids for the market and futures prices are easily obtained by checking with local elevators, looking at the Farm Dayta/DTN machines or looking on the web. Prices for other commodities are a little bit harder to find and not updated as frequently.

One of the price requests most often received in the office is for hay and straw. One of the best market price sources is the "Illinois Grain and Livestock Market News," published by the Illinois Department of Agriculture on a monthly basis. If you’re interested in getting this publication, you can write to Illinois Grain and Livestock Market News at P.O. Box 19281, Springfield, IL 62794-9281.

The central Illinois hay and straw prices quoted in the March issue were $120-130 per ton for premium alfalfa ($130 in big square bales); good alfalfa sold for $100-120 per ton; fair alfalfa in big round bales sold for $60-75 per ton; and low alfalfa sold for $50 in big round bales and $50-60 in big square bales. Good mixed hay was $90-110 per ton; premium grass hay was $100; good grass $90; and fair grass $70-75. Straw prices quoted were $1.50-2.50 per bale or $75-90 per ton.

[John Fulton]

[MARCH 12, 2001]   Marty Ahrends of Lincoln has embarked on a 10-day trip with other agricultural leaders as part of the National Travel seminar for the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program class of 2002. The seminar is March 11-20 in Washington, D.C., Maryland and New York

Lincoln Daily News will be bringing you highlights of their trip as it progresses.

While in Washington, D.C., the class will be visiting with senior officials from various agencies such as Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice and Department of Energy, besides several legislators and senior management executives yet to be confirmed. Edward Gramlich, a governor of the Federal Reserve System, will also meet with the group.

The Annapolis, Md., segment will examine the Chesapeake Bay area and its issues. Visits have been scheduled with Perdue Farms and the Maryland Waterman’s Association.

The New York City segment will focus on the financial markets of Wall Street and will include visits to the New York Mercantile and Stock Exchange and the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation.

[News release]

[MARCH 10, 2001]   For the second year now there will be a special breakfast in Logan County saluting local farmers and the agribusinesses that keep them going. The focus of this year’s breakfast will be how to capitalize on foreign trade opportunities for U.S. ag products.

The Logan County Ag Day Breakfast will be at 7 a.m. Wednesday, March 21, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Lincoln. The local celebration is actually part of the National Agriculture Week observance, March 18-24.

Farmers, agribusinesses, chamber members and elected officials will be treated to a south-of-the-border and Caribbean-style buffet breakfast. The Logan County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee is also providing a carton of heart-healthy soy milk on each table for guests to sample.

Mike Adams, farm director of WLDS radio in Jacksonville, will bring home the international theme with his keynote speech. Adams has been a member of several agricultural trade missions, including a trip to Cuba, Panama and Mexico with the U.S. Grains Council, and a mission to Turkey and Egypt with the U.S. Soybean Board. His talk will focus on what the United States must do to be a competitive trading partner with countries that are considered to be emerging markets for foodstuffs.

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One of the highlights of the breakfast will be the announcement of the Ag Day Scholarship winners. This year, $2,000 in scholarships will be given out to Logan County youth who are either currently studying or plan to further their studies in agriculture, and are committed to a future career in the agricultural industry.

Marty Ahrends, Ag Day Breakfast committee chair, emphasizes that the scholarship program and free breakfast for the community would not be possible without the generous support of local businesses who serve the agricultural community. This year’s sponsors include Logan County Farm Bureau, Frontier Mutual Insurance, Graue Inc., Logan County Bank, Farm Credit, Central Illinois Ag, Cross Implement, State Bank of Lincoln, Illini Bank, Union Planters Bank, AgLand FS, R&H Farm Supply, Parker-Grieme Insurance, Woody Jones State Farm Insurance, East Lincoln Farmers Grain and Beason Ag Center.

There are still a few seats available for the event. They can be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis by calling the Chamber of Commerce at 735-2385.

[News release]

Honors & Awards

[MARCH 17, 2001]  The Hartsburg-Emden FFA Chapter recently won the Section 14 FFA Agriculture Sales Contest. The five members participating each received first place in their respective subject areas. Those members are Anthony Jones in product display, Natalie Coers in newspaper advertising, Kent Leesman in customer relations, Matt Duckworth in telephone skills and Kate Wrage in sales presentation. The team as a whole also received first in market analysis. These FFA members will advance to district competition March 28.

[Hartsburg-Emden participants in the Section 14 FFA Agriculture Sales Contest were (left to right) Kent Leesman, Kate Wrage, Natalie Coers and Anthony Jones. Contest participant Matt Duckworth is not pictured.]

[MARCH 14, 2001]  The Hartsburg-Emden FFA Chapter has four District III Proficiency Award winners. After being interviewed on their record-keeping project, Kate Wrage was named the winner in fruit/vegetable production, Kent Leesman in grain production, Natalie Coers in diversified horticulture production and Daniel Eeten in diversified crop production.

A major recognition for the chapter was having Kate Wrage named the District III Star Farmer.

All four FFA members will now interview at the state level on March 31 at the University of Illinois.

[Hartsburg-Emden FFA District Proficiency Award winners are (left to right) Natalie Coers, Daniel Eeten, Kent Leesman and Kate Wrage.]

Ag Announcements

[FEB. 27, 2001]  The Midwest Equipment Dealers Association (MEDA), through its educational foundation, Midwest Equipment Foundation, will provide two $1,000 and four $750 scholarships for the 2001-02 school year to people enrolled in community college training programs approved by the association.

A copy of the scholarship announcement brochure, including scholarship rules, application form and listing of approved training programs, has been provided to all high school vocational agriculture instructors and to community colleges that provide MEDA-approved training programs. The deadline for scholarship applications is April 1.

Scholarship information can also be picked up at Central Illinois Ag’s Atlanta store, 1-800-762-2325, or directly from MEDA at 1-800-236-6332.

Central Illinois Ag, formerly Schmidt-Marcotte and George H. Dunn Inc., has been a member of MEDA for many years. Locations include Atlanta, Pekin, Clinton and Farmer City.

[Central Illinois Ag news release]

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