Halpin owns and operates Halpin Farms and
Halpin Farms Cattle with his parents and brother. The farm is
primarily a row-crop operation in a corn and soybean rotation,
but also includes hay and silage production. He follows a long
family tradition of civic engagement, achieving many leadership
positions within local and state level agricultural
organizations. Halpin serves as the Kendall Grundy County Farm
Bureau president after leading the two counties through the
complicated process of merging their memberships. During his
ten-year service on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Farm
Bureau (IFB) and Country Financial, Halpin served a term as
chairman for the Member Services and Public Relations committee.
He previously served as Chairman of the IFB Young Leaders and
was also a director and later president of the Grundy County
Soil and Water Conservation District. Halpin is also a member of
Illinois Corn Growers Association and the Illinois Beef
Association.
Halpin recently traveled to Kenya and Israel to learn about
international trade issues as a member of the Illinois
Agricultural Leadership Program Class of 2020. He made similar
agricultural market study tours to Vietnam with the Illinois
Farm Bureau and to Germany with the German American Chamber of
Commerce. He served on Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s
agricultural transition team. Halpin received an Associate’s
Degree in Agriculture Production from Joliet Junior College and
was an adjunct instructor for the college concerning dairy
science.
As SED, Halpin will be responsible for overseeing the delivery
of FSA programs to agricultural producers in Illinois. These
commodity, conservation, credit, and disaster assistance
programs ensure a safe, affordable, abundant, and nutritious
food, fiber, and fuel supply for consumers.
Farm Service Agency serves farmers, ranchers, foresters, and
agricultural partners through the effective, efficient, and
equitable delivery of federal agricultural programs. The Agency
offers producers a strong safety net through the administration
of farm commodity and disaster programs. Additionally, through
conservation programs, FSA continues to preserve and protect
natural resources and provides credit to agricultural producers
who are unable to receive private, commercial credit, including
targeted loan funds for beginning, underserved, women and
military veterans involved in production agriculture.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many
positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is
transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more
resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for
all producers, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in
all communities, building new markets and streams of income for
farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry
practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and
clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to
equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and
building a workforce more representative of America. To learn
more, visit www.usda.gov.
[Illinois Farm Service Agency State
Office]
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