VOL. 75 NO. 11 NOVEMBER 2010

Kane County FarmerKane County Farmer

DATES TO REMEMBER

November 2 Election DayNovember 4 Board of Directors, 7:30 pmNovember 10 Women’s Committee, 9:15amNovember 11 Veteran’s DayNovember 17 Turkey Orders DueNovember 24 Turkey Pick Up, Noon - 4 pmNovember 25 & 26 KCFB Office closed for

Thanksgiving holidayNovember 26 Citrus Orders Due

Landowners may applyfor buffer projects

The Illinois BufferPartnership, which includes theIllinois Farm Bureau and TreesForever, is accepting applica-tions from landowners whowould like to participate in the2011 program. The applicationdeadline is December 31.

The partnership’s goal is toimprove water quality by estab-lishing buffers of trees, shrubs,and grasses along streams and inwetlands in the state. Individuals

eligible to participate includefarmers, rural landowners, andwatershed residents. Participantsare eligible to receive up to amaximum of $2,000 in cost-share funds and may participatein a half-price seed deal withGROWMARK Inc.

Participantsalso host a fielddemonstrationday and sharetheir knowl-edge with inter-ested friendsand neighbors.Applicants willbe notified inFebruary if

they have been selected to par-ticipate. For an application ormore information, contact TreesForever at 800-369-1269 or goonline to www.treesforever.org.

Fresh TurkeysIn honor of Thanksgiving, the special for November

is fresh turkeys. These are locally grown, fresh, free-range turkeysthat are individually wrapped and boxed, which makes them perfectfor holiday entertaining or as gifts. The price is $2.49 per pound,which is a bargain considering the quality. They vary in weight, soplease indicate the weight you would like and we will get as close aswe can (exact weight cannot be guaranteed). Pre-order yours todayby sending in the order form or calling the Kane County FarmBureau at (630) 584-8660. Pick-up is at the Farm Bureau onWednesday, November 24, in time for your Thanksgiving Dinner!Remember, these are fresh, so no thawing time is required.

Quantity:_____ Fresh, free-range turkey(s). Requested weight ___________

DEADLINE FOR ORDERING IS 4:00 pmWEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH.

(Sorry – late orders cannot be accepted)Payment is due at pickup at the Farm Bureau

on Tuesday, November 24 from Noon-4:00 p.m.

Name: _______________________________________________

Telephone Number: (_______) ____________________________

Member Number: ______________________________________

Novemberspecial!

Don’t miss your chance to win a 12-pound fresh turkey for your

Thanksgiving table! See the FarmFacts & Fun Word Search on page 5.

Taming wild grapes for better wineBy Debra Levey Larson

When you think about “winecountry,” Illinois may not be thefirst state that comes to mind.But it’s actually big business onthe prairie. There are 90 winer-ies licensed in Illinois and 1,500acres of wine grapes. One acreof wine grapes can bring asmuch as $8,000 in sales, thoughmore commonly it’s $3,000 to$5,000. The largest wineries inIllinois produce 90,000 gallonsper year, while many produce3,000 to 10,000 per year.

“In many cases, growingwine grapes is supplementaryto the producer’s entire farmingoperation. The break-even pointfor wineries is about 10,000gallons to make it a full-timebusiness,” said Bill Shoemaker,superintendent at the St.Charles Horticulture ResearchCenter.

Shoemaker works with otherUniversity of Illinoisresearchers to conduct graperesearch at the Center. For oneof his latest projects, he iscrossing wild grapes withproven wine grape varieties todevelop a good wine grape thatcan withstand the cooler north-ern Illinois weather.

“There are wild grapes grow-ing along the roadside on I-57,”Shoemaker said. “The interstategrapes root easily with no fur-ther help. Their native geneticsmeans that they have alreadyadapted to this climate but theyaren’t good for eating or wine-making. We’re crossing themwith European grapes that havehigh quality to create new vari-eties that will grow in our cli-mate and be a good wine grape.”

Unfortunately, the wildgrapes have poor flavor and lowyield. But Shoemaker is lookingat three wild grape species thathave excellent disease resist-ance to create breeding linesthat will require less use of pes-ticides. Right now growerssometimes have to spray inorder to grow a good winegrape, so this would be a greatstep forward for the industry.

“There isn’t much grapebreeding being done to createimproved varieties globally.We’re working to improve thefruit quality and develop newflavor profiles in wine,” he said.

The northern and southernhilly parts of the state have morepotential for vineyards, withGalena in Jo Daviess Countypart of a new American viticul-ture region, said Shoemaker.

Since 1998 grapes, particu-larly cold-hardy wine grapes,have been a subject of researchat the University of Illinois St.Charles Horticulture Research

Center. The research was initiat-ed by U of I scientists RobertSkirvin and Alan Otterbacherwith a trial of 26 grape varietiesplanted on a southwest-facingslope. Shoemaker noted that itwas the only southwest-facingslope available in the area.

Today Shoemaker conducts

research at the St. CharlesCenter on cultivar evaluation,cultural research, includingIntegrated Pest Management,and breeding new varieties ofgrapes.

“Cultural practices are all themethods growers use to managethe grape crop such as pest man-agement” Shoemaker said.“Grapes are popular with manypests. There are insect chal-lenges at every point in thegrowing season, especially dur-ing harvest. There are also sev-eral fungal diseases that caninfect current varieties, andweeds, particularly perennialweeds such as Canada thistle,are constantly challenginggrowers and their grape crops.”

Perhaps worst of all are theanimals that love to eat grapes,Shoemaker said. Birds can deci-mate vineyards.

At the St. Charles Center,Shoemaker manages a 1-acrevineyard of Frontenac grapewhich was established as a

research platform in 2006. “Weknew we needed a vineyard ded-icated to studying the culturalpractices growers use, or need touse, to successfully grow grapesfor high-quality wine,” he said.

On one of the research proj-ects in the Frontenac vineyardShoemaker is working with Uof I researcher Rick Weinzierlon methods to control Japanesebeetles.

“We are evaluating threepesticide regimens and two cul-tural controls for the pest. Weare also looking at spun-bond-ed polypropylene row coversover the top of the vines as anexclusion barrier to the beetle.This could be attractive toorganic grape growers if thereare no negative effects on thevines or fruit development,”Shoemaker said.

Weinzierl said they hope toidentify reduced-risk insecti-cides and nonchemical meth-ods, such as the spun-boundpolyester covers, that will allowconventional and organic grow-ers to prevent losses toJapanese beetles without toofrequent sprays of insecticidesthat might result in greaterresidues or toxicity to beneficialinsects. “This would result ingreater profits for the Illinoiswine industry,” he said.

Evaluating new grape vari-eties for their potential use in thegrape wine industry is time con-suming, Shoemaker said. “TheEuropeans, especially theFrench, created thousands ofvarieties of interspecific hybrids,many of which have never beengrown in the Midwest. Mostnever will, as they were notexported to North America. Butmany were and some are plantedhere at St. Charles. We are alsoevaluating new varieties andbreeding lines from other breed-ing programs at St. Charles sowe can identify which have thegreatest potential for our indus-try,” Shoemaker said.

Support for this work hasbeen provided by the State ofIllinois and the Illinois GrapeGrowers and VintnersAssociation (IGGVA) since2005.

Bill Shoemaker, superintendent at the St.Charles Horticulture Research Center onRoute 38, is crossing wild grapes withproven wine grape varieties to develop agood wine grape that can withstand thecooler northern Illinois weather. KCFBfile photo.

The harvest seasonis bringing thou-sands of dollars inhunger relief toarea food pantries.In the comingweeks, dozens ofarea farmers willfulfill their cropproceed pledges toKCFB’s Harvest forALL program. See page 3 for more information on this humanitarianeffort including who’s participating, who’s benefitting, and how youcan get involved.

Looking fortasteful giftsthat tastegreat?

See page 8to order

sweet citrus, savory meatsand cheeses

and more

KCFB President Joe Whitecalled the regular monthlyBoard of Directors meeting ofthe Kane County Farm Bureauon Thursday, October 7, 2010with all 15 Board members pres-ent, as well as KCFB ManagerSteve Arnold. White began bywelcoming Illinois Farm BureauMedia Relations Manager CraigFata, who was on a two-day visitto the KCFB office as part ofFarm Bureau’s county-state staffexchange program.

The first order of businesswas presentation of the audit forthe fiscal year ended July 31,2010 by Jim Reynolds, SeniorAuditor for the IllinoisAgricultural AuditingAssociation (IAAA).

Manager Steve Arnold report-ed that KCFB’s annual PEARS(Program Evaluation and AwardRecognition) reports had beensubmitted to the Illinois FarmBureau in September. Annualreports encourage County FarmBureaus to evaluate programs andactivities during the past year, andearn recognition for exceptionalefforts in a number of categories,ranging from Women’s andYoung Farmers committees to

Marketingand P.R.Directors reviewed the Fall

Ag in the Classroom newsletterand calendar that was sent tofour hundred 4th grade teachersin the area to inform them aboutclassroom resources and eventsavailable through Kane CountyAITC. Teachers were also invit-ed to sign up their classes forthe KCFB Ag Days expo inMarch 2011, which annuallyhosts up to 2,000 students atMooseheart’s fieldhouse tolearn about agriculture.

KCFB Treasurer Alan Volpppresented the monthly financialreport, which included a quarter-ly investment portfolio and theproposed 2010-11 KCFB budget.The Regional PlanningCommission report was given bySteve Arnold. He circulated acopy of the proposed planningframework and countywide plan-ning goals for the 2040 KaneCounty Land Use ManagementPlan. The Board also reviewedchanges made to the ChicagoMetropolitan Agency forPlanning (CMAP) “go to 2040”plan, specifically the LocalFoods and Open SpacesChapters. The KCFB Board took

action at their August meeting torequest several changes and morefavorable treatment of all agri-cultural land uses in the regionalLand Use Plan.

Mike Kenyon delivered areport on the latest happenings atthe Kane County Board and JoeWhite delivered a Zoning Boardof Appeals report. The two joint-ly briefed the Board with aFarmland Protection Commis-sion Report, reporting that fourfarms were closed on inSeptember in Kaneville Town-ship totaling nearly 400 acres.

White also reported on thedevelopments in the KaneCounty “Fit for Kids” initiativeand the Food Systems workinggroup. Gene Feldott and MikeKenyon reported on theSeptember 28 meeting of the RobRoy Drainage District #2.Farmers in the district, as well ashomeowners in affected subdivi-sions, the County of Kane and theVillage of Sugar Grove are beingasked to cooperate on a $1.5 mil-lion project to remediate drainageproblems using the bondingauthority provided in theRecovery Zone Bond program.

In the Illinois Farm BureauBoard Report, Mike Kenyonannounced that the District IIResolutions Review meetingwill be held in November.Resolutions submitted byCounty Farm Bureaus will bediscussed and considered foradoption as Farm Bureau policyat the Illinois Farm Bureau’sAnnual Meeting, which will beheld December 4-7 in St. Louis.

Joe White, Wayne Schneider,Alan Volpp and Bob Gehrkewere elected to attend theAnnual Meeting as delegatesfrom Kane County. They willparticipate in policy discussionsand vote on adoption of newpolicies at the meeting.Directors Beth Engel, GeneFeldott and Frank Carlson willserve as alternates. The Boardapproved a motion to contributean auction item for the SilentAuction at the Annual Meeting,which serves as an IAAFoundation Fund RaisingActivity for Ag in the

Classroom. Joe White reported that Andy

Lenkaitis, a member of theKane County Young Farmercommittee, will compete at theAnnual Meeting in the StateYoung Farmer Discussion Meet.White also announced that theAmerican Farm BureauFederation Annual Meeting willtake place January 9-12 inAtlanta Georgia.

Board members received anupdate on KCFB’s Harvest forALL hunger relief effort fromP.R. Chair Bill Collins. An $800donation to St. Vincent DePaulfrom Michael and Lisa Dienstof Maple Park helped push theprogram over $14,000 inpledges and contributions todate for 2010. Harvest for ALLand has raised over $27,000since its inception in April2009. Approximately two dozenmore checks are expected to

arrive in the coming weeks asfarmers fulfill their crop pro-ceed pledges.

Letters to the Board andnotes of appreciation were cir-culated, including a number ofthank you’s from the U of IExtension and 4-H youth andtheir parents in appreciation of4-H premium checks, whichwere issued per the Board’saction at their August meeting.A total of $9,654.00 in premiumchecks were paid to 4-H clubmembers who exhibited proj-ects at the Kane County Fair.

Finally, the Board discussedplans for the 2010 Citrus SaleProgram. Directors will partici-pate in the citrus order distribu-tion at Heinz BrothersGreenhouse on December 15.

The next regular meeting ofthe Board of Directors will beheld Thursday, November 4,2010 at 7:30 p.m.

PAGE 2 KANE COUNTY FARMER NOVEMBER 2010

You receive the Kane CountyFarmer because you are a FarmBureau member. If you are afarm operator or owner, you ben-efit from a local, state andnational organization committedto agriculture and your way of life.

If you do not have direct tiesto farming, your membershiphelps promote local farms andfarming, encourage wise use ofour limited natural resources andpreserve farmland and our agri-cultural heritage while allowingyou to enjoy COUNTRY insur-ance and the many other benefitsof one of Illinois’ premier mem-bership organizations.

We appreciate your member-ship and continued support andwe welcome your comments onthe content of the Farmer. Weencourage you to make recom-mendations about farm, home,food, natural resource, renewableenergy or agricultural heritageand history related topics forinclusion in future issues of theFarmer.

Kane County FarmerKANE COUNTY FARM BUREAU

PUBLISHED MONTHLYSteven J. Arnold, Editor

Suzi Myers, Ag Literacy CoordinatorElizabeth Dawson, Membership Secretary

Audre Pack, Training SpecialistRyan Klassy, Information Director

OFFICE: Randall Rd. between Routes 64 & 38Address: 2N710 Randall Rd., St. Charles

PHONE: 630-584-8660info@kanecfb.com www.kanecfb.com

OFFICE HOURS: 8:30-5:00 Monday though Friday(USPS No. 289700)

POSTMASTER: Mail form 3579 to2N710 Randall Rd., St. Charles, IL 60174

Periodical Postage • Paid to St. Charles, IL 60174Year Subscription: $2.00

n DISTRICT 1Aurora, Sugar Grove,Big Rock Twnshp.Gene Feldott8S696 Barnes Rd.Aurora, IL 60506630-892-2197Jeff Bornemann4S985 Dugan Rd.Sugar Grove, IL 60554630-466-1626Donna Lehrer7S027 Jericho Rd.Big Rock, IL 60511630-556-3476n DISTRICT 2Kaneville, Blackberry,Gen./Bat. Twnshp.Bill Collins1125 Lewis Rd.Geneva, IL 60134630-232-2043Dorothy Milnamow722 N. Third St.Elburn, IL 60119630-365-1373

Joe WhitePresident47W727 Main St. Rd.Elburn, IL 60119630-557-2517n DISTRICT 3Virgil, Campton,St. Charles Twnshp.Frank Carlson104 Sumac CourtSt. Charles, IL 60174630-513-9980Chris Collins1143 AndersonElburn, IL 60119630-934-4642Al Lenkaitis, Jr.6N352 Fair Oaks Dr.St. Charles, IL 60174630-561-9514n DISTRICT 4Burlington, PlatoElgin Twnshp.Alan VolppSecretary/Treasurer9N728 Peplow Rd.Hampshire, IL 60140847-683-3681

Mike Kenyon1250 E. Main St.South Elgin, IL 60177847-741-1818Robert Gehrke12N860 Route 20Elgin, IL 60123847-697-2538n DISTRICT 5Hampshire, Rutland,Dundee Twnshp.Beth Engel15N638 Walker RoadHampshire, IL 60140847-683-3482Gerald Gaitsch10613 Brittany Ave.Huntley, IL 60142847-669-2003Wayne SchneiderVice President721 Lindsay LaneWest Dundee, IL 60118847-428-3350

KANE COUNTY FARM BUREAU BOARD ATTENDANCEOCTOBER 2010 THRU SEPTEMBER 2011

OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JLY AUG SEPT

J. BORNEMANN XF. CARLSON XB. COLLINS XC. COLLINS XB. ENGEL XG. FELDOTT XG. GAITSCH XR. GEHRKE XM. KENYON XD. LEHRER XA. LENKAITIS JR. XD. MILNAMOW XW. SCHNEIDER XA. VOLPP XJ. WHITE X

Beef store is now open! Sat. 9-4 or by appointment

100% hormone free beef.Selling individual cuts. Buy as little or as much as you want.

Mark & Linda Schramer, Owners8N840 Lakin Road, Maple Park

815.895.4691 • 1-877-FOR-FDBASample Packs make great gifts!

The Farm Bureautook part in anopen house atthe YorkvilleOffice of StateRepresentativeKay Hatcher.Visitors to theKCFB booth sawinformation onthe Bounty ofKane local farmand marketdirectory and

were able to ask questions of Farm Bureau staff on hand for the event.Kendall County Farm Bureau, Kendall Soil & Water ConservationDepartment, Women in Agriculture and other community groups alsojoined in the festivities, which were open to the public and saluted theimportance of agriculture to our region.

October 2010 KCFB board meeting review

Kenyon visits WashingtonIn mid-September, 17 mem-

bers of the Illinois Farm Bureau,along with several IFB staffmembers, traveled to Washing-ton, DC, where theymet with members ofIllinois’ Congressionaldelegation to discussissues important tofarmers and to ask fortheir support onupcoming legislation.KCFB Director MikeKenyon of SouthElgin, who also serves on theIFB Board, was among thosewho traveled to Washingtonfrom September 14-16, 2010, aspart of IFB’s Leaders to

Washington program.Delegation members met

with 15 U.S. Representatives ortheir staffs, and with U.S.

Senator Dick Durbin.Items on the agendaincluded estate taxes,income taxes, tradeagreements, renew-able fuel credits andthe Clean Water Act.

“I thought the tripto D.C. was veryworthwhile,” said

Kenyon. “We had arranged to getface-time as a group withSenator Durbin and Represen-tative Mark Kirk, which was

Mike Kenyon

(continued on page 4)

KCFB offers its sincere appreciation to the following for their 2010pledges of crops, farm products, cash or volunteer labor to combatlocal hunger. (Bolded names are pledges not previously listed)

Renewed commitments from 2009 donors...Donor BeneficiaryJames & Beverly Gillett Elburn Food PantryBeverley “Sue” Jacobson Between Friends Food PantryAnonymous Lazarus HouseBob & Carol Bronski Community Crisis Center, ElginChris & Hope Collins St. Peter’s Food PantryElburn Cooperative Co. Elburn Food PantryFrancis Geisen Holy Angels Food PantryGehrke Farms Northern Illinois Food BankMary Grommes Holy Angels Food PantryAl Hintt & Sons Trucking Northern Illinois Food Bank Jaynes Family & Lenkaitis Holsteins The Salvation Army, St. CharlesGlenn & Louise Johnson Northern Illinois Food BankKarl Kettelkamp& Paul “Grizz” Stover Elburn Food PantryKeifer Brothers Elburn Food Pantry Kenyon Bros. Company Northern Illinois Food BankBruce & Judy Krog H.E.L.P.S., South ElginLenkaitis Holsteins Northern Illinois Food BankMary Ann Mings-Tennant Northern Illinois Food BankNorton Farm The Salvation Army, St. CharlesLeon Phelps Elburn Food PantryRichard & Mary Lee Pitstick Northern Illinois Food BankSteve & Merry Pitstick Northern Illinois Food BankRamm Farms Inc. Northern Illinois Food BankRobert Swanson Northern Illinois Food BankJoe & Bonnie White Elburn Food Pantry

(list continued on page 7)

NOVEMBER 2010 KANE COUNTY FARMER PAGE 3

Several Kane Countyfarms and businessesoffer Christmas Trees.

These locations include:Heinz BrothersGreenhouse –

St. Charles630-377-6288

Klein’s Farm &Garden Market – Udina

847-683-9647 Kuipers Family Farm –

Maple Park815-827-5200

Lee’s Trees – Lily Lake630-365-2116

Pine Apple Acres –Huntley

847-669-3251 Randy’s Vegetables –

Elgin847-428-5244

Spring Bluff Nursery –Sugar Grove

630-466-4278 Tom’s Farm Market

& Greenhouse –Huntley

847-669-3421

The storefronts and weatherboth say the holiday season isright around the corner! Thisyear don’t be left wonderingwhat to get for stocking stuffers... the Farm Bureau has you cov-ered.

Give your loved ones achance to win a 1950 FarmallCub Antique Tractor, $2,500 incash, a brand new riding lawnmower, $1,000 in groceries or$500 worth of fuel – all in apackage that will fit in the palmof their hand. An entry in theKCFB Foundation Winner’s

Choice Tractor Raffle is just theticket!

This raffle is theFoundation’s primary fundrais-ing endeavor, with all proceedsbenefiting college scholarship

and agricultural literacy pro-grams. Last year’s raffle helpedthe Foundation send 21 localstudents to colleges and univer-sities across the Midwest to pre-pare for careers in America’s

most essential industry – agri-culture. In all, over $25,000 intuition assistance and intern-ships were awarded in 2010.

The drawing will take placeat Touch-A-Tractor in the springof 2011 at the Farm Bureau onthe corner of Randall Rd. andOak St. in St. Charles. Ticketsare $10 each or 3 for $25. Visitwww.kanecfb.com for moreinformation, or call the FarmBureau Office at 630-584-8660with questions and to purchasetickets by phone with VISA orMasterCard.

Start your holiday shoppingWinner’s Choice Tractor Raffle is ‘just the ticket’

The Winner’s Choice Tractor Raffle offers achance to win one of these great prizes!

Grand prize: Winner’s choice of a 1950 Farmall Cub antiquetractor, a JD Z 245 EZtrak riding lawn mower, or$2,500 cash

Second prize: $1,000 in groceriesThird prize: $500 in fuel

KCFB Foundation Winner’s Choice Tractor RafflePlease send me _______ tickets Total $____________________

Name____________________________________________________________________________________

Address__________________________________________________________________________________

Cty, State, Zip _____________________________________________(tickets stubs will be mailed to this address)

Phone (_________) ______________________ Email _____________________________________________

Return with check made payable to Kane County Farm Bureau Foundation, 2N710 Randall Road, St. Charles, IL 60174 or charge my:

nn Visa nn MC #_____ _____ _____ _____ Exp ____/_____ Signature_____________________________________Date ______________

The Kane County Farm Bureau Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization that supports education, leadership development, research and charitable activities for the benefit of agriculture and farm families.

Food pantries thankful for Harvest for ALLCash and in-kind donations,

and the proceeds from thousandsof bushels of grain crops haveadded up to significant hungerrelief for local food pantriesthrough Farm Bureau’s Harvestfor ALL program. Kane Countyfarmers from Aurora to Bur-lington have pledged crops to thisyear’s effort. Many non-farmershave generously contributed also.Sixteen of this year’s donors arenew participants.

Claudia Tremaine of St.Vincent DePaul in Maple Parkwas thrilled to receive an $800donation from Michael and LisaDienst, who farm in MaplePark. According to Tremainethe donation, made from theproceeds from 200 bushels ofthe Dienst’s corn harvest, willhelp many people. “It’s justwonderful and we really appre-ciate it,” said Tremaine.

“Its something that we hadbeen planning to do for a longtime and we are happy to beable to help out,” said Lisa

Dienst. “It’s a great programbecause it’s helping a lot of dif-ferent pantries.”

Each Harvest for ALL donorindicates which pantry willreceive their donation. In 2010,13 different local pantries and theNorthern Illinois Food Bank havebeen named as beneficiaries.

According to Tremaine, thedonation will provide hungerrelief, and then some, at St.Vincent’s. “In addition to ourfood pantry, which providesgroceries for more than thirtypeople, we also provide help forhome heating, rental and mort-gage assistance, and other sup-port services,” said Tremaine.

Tremaine added that peoplecontinue to have a very hardtime right now and that dona-tions like these are a real bless-ing. A good reminder to every-one as the Thanksgiving holidayapproaches. “I have to justthank God every day I have ajob to come to,” addedTremaine. “There are a lot of

people who can’t say that, oreven know where there nextmeal will come from.”

Scott & Michelle Horton of St.Charles are one of 16 new partic-ipants for 2010 in KCFB’sHarvest for ALL hunger reliefeffort, which has brought in over$27,000 in crop proceeds, cash,and in-kind donations as well ashundreds of labor hours since itsinception in April of 2009.

Helpful hintsfrom the Farmers AlmanacDeodorize your microwave byheating a microwave-safe bowlfilled halfway to the top withwater and 2 tablespoons oflemon juice on high for 40 to 60seconds. Burn the popcorn? Heat2 teaspoons of vanilla extract for30 seconds and keep the doorclosed for 10 to 12 hours.Remove the bowl and wipe theinside of the microwave.

Scuff marks can easily beremoved from wood andlinoleum with a tennis ball.Break a hole into the ball, attachit to a broomstick or mop handleand rub the ball over the spot.

What do you think of whenyou hear the word cran-

berries? Is it turkey,Thanksgiving, fall, bread, sauceor the fact that Wisconsin is theleading cranberry producingstate in the nation? Whateverpops into your mind, the seasonfor fresh cranberries is now.

I had a very special cranber-ry tour this season that I wantedto tell you about. My friendsand I went up to Pittsville,Wisconsin on a beautifulOctober Friday. We gatheredwith others at the Pittsville HighSchool where we were loadedon school buses to begin ourcranberry tour.

The students from CranberryScience Class and FFA studentslead the tours. Each of these stu-dents was very well versed incranberries and their life cycle –from planting to harvest. Welearned that the cranberries areplanted in a sandy acidic soil.

The plants are allowed to growfor about three years until theyare first harvested. The plants canbear fruit for centuries.

Where did the name cranber-ry come from? Early settlers feltthat the beautiful cranberryblossom looked like the head ofthe sandhill cranes that habitedthe area. Slowly, the name“craneberry” evolved to be sim-ply cranberry.

We went to a receiving plantwhere the cranberries areunloaded from trucks into hugevats of water and then strained tobe loaded into 100 pound cratesin which they are frozen. As thetrucks are unloaded, a large ladleis filled with samples from theload taken at the beginning, mid-dle and end of the downloadinginto the vats. These samples aretaken to a quality check lab onsite that checks for color andfreshness. The payment to thefarmer depends upon the quality

of the berries. We then went out to a bog.

We saw the cranberries growingin the bogs. At this point, theyare not covered with water, butsimply growing in the moistsand. (For each acre of cranber-ries, there are seven acres of sup-porting land.) Once the berriesare ripe and ready to harvest, thebog is flooded to just above thevines. A machine that looks likea rake is driven through the bogbeating the berries off the vines.Much of the cranberry is filledwith air, so they float to the sur-face. At this point, the berries arepushed by a boom to one end ofthe bog, where the actual harvesttakes place.

The berries are sucked up,rinsed and put into the truck, asthe water is drained from theberries and returned to the bog.It takes about two hours to har-vest the berries from one bog.

The bogs are surrounded bycanals of water which is used toflood the berries and then drawnoff again to the canals. Theberries are covered with waterfor the winter, so they can beprotected by the ice coating.

Only about 5% of Wisconsincranberries are sold as freshcranberries, most are made intojuices and sauces. If the cran-berries are sold as fresh, they

This month’s book is aThanksgiving story to be sharedwith children of all ages and to beremembered for years to come.

Miguel, a Puerto Rican boyin New York City, receives a sur-prise package from his absenteetruck-driving father – a giganticwooden crate with the message:“Fatten this turkey forThanksgiving. I’ll be home toshare it with you. Love fromPapa.” What ensues is a humor-ous story of Miguel’s increasingattachment to the bird he nick-names Gracias. His new amigofollows him everywhere, even toMass. Will Miguel be able tosave Gracias from being sea-soned and cooked? Can Papamake it home in time for the hol-idays? This picture book, illus-trated with colorful oil paintings,offers a heartwarming narrativethat captures the boy’s close-knitsense of community and family.”

Gracias the ThanksgivingTurkey is available in our AgLiteracy Library. Thanks to arequest years ago by Bob Konenand Dean Dunn that KaneCounty Farm Bureau start alibrary of agriculturally themedbooks for public use, we have awide selection of titles – and itkeeps growing!

PAGE 4 KANE COUNTY FARMER NOVEMBER 2010

AG LITERACY CORNERBy Suzi Myers

Book of the Month

Gracias The Thanksgiving Turkeyby Joy Cowley

must be harvested in a “drymethod”, which means the bogsare not flooded.

Our tour was really wellorganized. We ended up at thePittsville High School aboutnoon to have a lunch preparedby the home economics class atthe school, which of course

included some cranberry treats.If you are interested in the

trip for next year, the website is:http://psd.pittsville.k12.wi.us/Cranberry/. The $25.00 pay-ment for the tour is used for stu-dent scholarships.

Enjoy the beauty of fall andyour fresh cranberries.

great.” In addition, Kenyon saidthat he and his counterparts metindividually with a number oflegislative aides.

In their meetings, groupmembers placed particularemphasis on the urgency ofestate tax reform, highlighting asuccessful IFB action request, inwhich approximately two thou-sand phone calls asking for sup-port of estate tax reform weremade to Sens. Durbin andBurris. Sen. Durbin told farmersa $1 million personal exemptionwould be “terrible” and that he iscommitted to action on the estatetax before the end of the year.

According to Kenyon, one ofthe highlights of the trip wasvisiting the offices of the UnitedStates Department ofAgriculture. “It was great to geta first-hand picture of what’sgoing on there,” said Kenyon.

Members heard from USDAstaff members on nutrition and

energy programs and from a staffmember who works to help EPAofficials better understand farm-ers’ use of crop protection prod-ucts. The trip included a meetingwith U.S. Deputy Secretary ofAgriculture Kathleen Merrigan.In advance of the congressionaland USDA meetings, the groupattended briefings withAmerican Farm BureauFederation staff.

Kenyon noted that he wasimpressed with the level ofsecurity in our nation’s capital,and the positive attitude every-one seemed to have. “Everyonewe encountered, from securitystaff to the people on the com-muter train were very respectfuland nice,” said Kenyon. Thatatmosphere helped Farm Bureauvisitors enjoy their time as theytoured national monuments andplaces of interest.

IFB has sponsored Leadersto Washington for approximate-ly 20 years. Trips are takentwice each year, in March and inSeptember.

Kenyon(continued from page 2)

EPA APPROVED E15 FOR 2007AND NEWER VEHICLES

The Environmental Protec-tion Agency has approved arequest from ethanol producersto raise the amount of ethanol ina gallon of gasoline used by carsmade in 2007 or later to 15 per-cent from 10 percent. “Thoroughtesting has now shown that E15does not harm emissions controlequipment in newer cars andlight trucks,” said EPAAdministrator Lisa P. Jackson.

The agency said there willnot be a decision this year onethanol changes for cars andlight trucks manufacturedbefore 2001 or for any motorcy-cles, heavy-duty vehicles, ornon-road engines because thereis not sufficient testing to sup-port such an approval.BEE KILLER

It wasn’t pesticides or genet-ically modified crops that killedoff the honeybees. According to

a research paper by Army scien-tists in Maryland and beeexperts in Montana, a fungustag-teaming with a virus haveapparently interacted to causethe “colony collapse” problem,which has affected 20 to 40 per-cent of the bee colonies in theUnited States since 2006.According to the NY Times,neither agent alone seems ableto devastate; together, theresearch suggests, they are 100percent fatal.MARKETING IN THE MEAT CASE

The results of the 2010National Meat Case Studyrevealed significant changes inthe retail meat case in terms ofbranding, label claims and nutri-tion and cooking information. Atrend noted in beef and chickenwas an increase in value/familypacks. In pork, a notable changewas a decline in enhanced prod-ucts. For turkey, a major changewas an increase in natural claims.

Farm, Food & Fuel Briefs

Summer sunshine in winter?See page 8 to order sweet citrus and more

Ingredients7 Candy Corns2 Double Stuffed Oreo Cookies1 Whopper malted milkball1 miniature Reese’s PeanutButter Cup

1 tube of black piping gel1 tube of white icing1 yellow food coloring1 red food coloring1 plastic Ziploc bag1 sharp knife1 pair of scissors1 bowlDirections

Put your Peanut Butter Cupsin the fridge to cool. If you havecold, hard chocolate to workwith it makes it a lot easier.

Squeeze some of the whiteicing into a bowl. This will beyour orange. Mix red and yellowfood coloring with the icing tocreate your desired orange. Thenput that into a plastic bag and setit aside for later.Creating

First you will be creating thetail using 1 Oreo cookie and 6Candy Corns. Gently, with onecandy corn, pull apart just oneside of the Oreo – don’t break!Put a good amount of icing inbetween the two sides. This willhelp the Candy Corn stay. Place 6Candy Corns (white side down) inbetween the cookie. See picture.

Take your white icing and

squeeze a generous amount ontothe top back of an Oreo cookie.Take the other Oreo and put thebottom into the icing to have itstand up. If it doesn’t stand, addmore icing! Once you have itstanding put it up against some-thing until the icing is dry so itdoesn’t fall. Use a thick book.

Remove your Peanut ButterCup from the fridge. Take yourknife and cut off the very bottomso you have a flat surface. Puticing on that surface, and the topof the Peanut Butter Cup. Bumpit up against the bottom andback of your Oreo cookiesrespectively. See picture.

Next take your Whopper andsqueeze more icing on it on oneside. Place the whopper on topof the Peanut Butter Cup to makeyour head.

Find a piece of Candy Cornthat has a nice big white end.Using your sharp knife, cut thecolor off leaving you with thewhite end. Place some icing on itand stick it on your Whopper asthe beak to your Oreo Turkey.Hold for a moment. Add twocandy corns to the sides forwings.

Take your icing and place twowhite dots as eyes. Get your tubeof black piping gel and place ablack dot on each eye to makethem come alive.

Grab your bag of already cre-ated orange. Cut a very smallhold in the corner of the bag.Pipe the feet.

NOVEMBER 2010 KANE COUNTY FARMER PAGE 5

Name ______________________________________________________________________________

Address_____________________________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip __________________________________ Telephone (_____)_______________________

Please complete and return to the Farm Bureau, 2N710 Randall Road, St. Charles, IL 60174by November 15, 2010 for your chance to win a 12-pound fresh turkey.

Compiled by Beth Dawson and Suzi Myers

M N E D F D Y V C K X M O T E

C I G Z D L J E C U W Z W G S

B W G Q R Y O U F I I G A Z K

Y I S K E L L C S T N S T N N

S L G I S C D H K I U G T N A

T I V B S M B Q V A K X L T R

E A Z D I O I I S L D F E Y F

L M Q H N R G N M E P O U L T

B D E E G S D E N A L C C D J

I N F A K B U T T E R B A L L

G R C N Q K W M L G S T B Y A

U K A S R E H T A E F O S O E

O H G I Z Z A R D U W S T A G

T Y E K R U T N S B G K N A P

O I R L W L Q B Q Q W J B L M Congratulations!Leonard Panzer of Maple Park. Leonard’s name was chosen

from the entries received for correctly completing last month’sWord Search Puzzle. For his participation, Leonard receives a pop-corn gift basket, including a 2 lb. bag of popcorn and 6 tasty pop-corn seasonings. Thank you Leonard, for reading the Kane CountyFarmer, and continue to watch each month for more great opportu-nities from the Kane County Farm Bureau.

BIG BIRDBUTTERBALLCLUCKDRESSINGEGGSFEATHERSFLOCKFRANKSGIBLETSGIZZARDGOBBLEHENMINNESOTAPASTRAMIPOULTSAUSAGETHANKSGIVINGTOMTURKEYWATTLEWISHBONE

Gobble, gobble ...Turkey ... gobble, gobble D The average American con-

sumes over 15 pounds ofturkey per year

D More then 226 million turkeyswere consumed in 2009; 46million turkeys were eaten atThanksgiving, 22 million atChristmas, and 19 million atEaster

D 736 million pounds of turkeywere consumed in 2009

D Heaviest turkey was 86 poundsD Male turkeys are called tomsD Female turkeys are called

hensD Baby turkeys are called poultsD If you want a turkey up to 22

lbs., it’s usually a hen, and ifyou want a larger bird it’sgoing to be a tom

D Turkey eggs are cream col-ored with brown speckles,and twice the size of chickeneggs

D A hen lays around 115 eggs amonth which take about 28

days to hatch D Turkeys’ heads change colors

when they become excitedD Turkeys can have heart

attacks; when the Air Forcewas conducting test runs andbreaking sound barriers, fieldsof turkeys would drop dead

D Turkeys do not have teeth,they grind their food in theirgizzard

D Turkey feathers were used bythe Native Americans to stabi-lize arrows

D Turkeys are native to NorthAmerica, early explorers wouldbring them back to Europe

D Male turkeys gobble where asfemale turkeys make a click-ing noise

D Minnesota, North Carolina,Arkansas, and Missouri arethe top turkey producingstates

D The ballroom dance the“turkey trot” was named for

the short, jerky steps thatturkeys take

D Neil Armstrong and EdwinAldrin’s first meal on themoon was foil food packetscontaining roasted turkey andall the trimmings

D Many blame turkey when theybecome sleepy afterThanksgiving dinner, butresearch has shown that car-bohydrate rich meals maycause the sleepiness byincreasing the number of tryp-tophans in the brain

D Turkey is one of the top tenfoods for your eyes because itis rich in zinc

D Turkeys have an estimated3,500 feathers at maturity

D Big Bird’s outfit has over4,000 white turkey feathersthat are dyed yellow

D Benjamin Franklin wanted thenational symbol to be a turkeyinstead of the bald eagle

CookingTurkeys

Turkeys can becooked manyways: grilled,fried, roasted,in themicrowaveor evencooked on astovetop. Thereare many turkey productsout in the market including ground turkey, turkey ham, turkey franks,turkey pastrami, turkey sausage, and turkey lunchmeats. Turkeys are lowin fat and high in protein.

Turkey Help Lines ...Butterball Turkey Talk Line • 1-800-288-8372

Will answer questions and offer assistance on turkey cooking, lines open November 1-December 21

HoneySuckle White • 1-800-810-6325Automated assistance to questions about turkeys,

call anytime through December 31Reynolds Wrap Turkey Tips Line • 1-800-745-4000

Recorded message on defrosting turkeys as well as ways to roastturkeys. You can also order a free brochure and recipesShady Brook Farms Turkey Tip Line • 1-888-723-4468

Pre-recorded tips for holiday feasts and entertaining from selectedchefs across the country, line open October 1-January 1

Wishbone wishing ...The wishbone is a tradition of

Thanksgiving. When two peoplegrasp each end of the wishbone.After making a silent wish, theypull it away. Who ever gets thejoint portion gets their wish.

This tradition started at least2,400 years ago with theEtruscans, those who lived on theItalian peninsula. The Etruscansbelieved fowl were fortune tellersbecause the hen announced shewas laying an egg with a squawkand the rooster told of the comingof a new day with his early morn-ing crowing. When one of thesewas killed, its collarbone was leftin the hot sun to dry. Anyone

could touch the unbroken boneand make a wish....hence thewishbone.

Romans took the Etruscanscustoms as their own, sinceeveryone wanted good fortuneand they fought over the bones,breaking them. The English heardof this and called their wishbonesmerry thoughts or happy wishes.The Pilgrims brought along thecustom of breaking the wishbone,and after seeing how many fieldswere filled with turkeys, theychanged the bone from a chickenbone to a turkey bone.

Here’s some tips to gettingyour wish using a wishbone...

Place your thumb higher up on your half of the wishbone and give a quick snap

Try usingjust your first

finger alone oryour first finger andthumb to exert alittle extra pressure

Turkey

What did the turkey say before it was roasted? Boy! I’m stuffed!Why did the police arrest the turkey? They suspected it of fowl playCan a turkey jump higher than the Empire State Building? Yes – abuilding can’t jump at all

Turkeyhumor

Oreo Turkey

Do you have a student in col-lege? Is he or she studying for acareer in an agriculture/foodrelated business? Are you aKane County Farm Bureaumember? If you can answer yes

to all three of these questions,you can apply for Kane CountyFarm Bureau Foundation schol-arships and internships, and youjust might get some relief fromthe high cost of higher educa-

tion. Just go to the FarmBureau’s website at www.kanecfb.com to download andprint applications and require-ments for available scholarships.Internships are available for thewinter, spring and summerbreaks in 2010-11. Applicationsare also available at the FarmBureau office at Randall Rd. andOak Street in St. Charles.

Established in 1986 by theKane County Farm Bureau tocarry out charitable work in theadvancement of agricultural lit-eracy and preparing studentsand leaders for careers in theagriculture industry, the KaneCounty Farm BureauFoundation solicits and distrib-utes private funding for agricul-turally related education andleadership training, Ag-in-the-Classroom programs, AgLiteracy Library development,charitable activities andresearch. The Kane CountyFarm Bureau Foundation offers

several scholarships to membersor dependents of members whowish to pursue higher educationin an agricultural related field.General Scholarships

To be eligible for a KaneCounty Farm Bureau generalscholarship, the member ordependent must have been amember in good standing fortwo years. The student must alsobe planning an agriculture relat-ed career. A brochure is avail-able to assist students in identi-fying those careers and areas ofstudy. Foundation GeneralScholarships carry a minimumaward amount of $1,000.Foundation President’sScholarship

The President’s Scholarship isa $1,500 (minimum) scholarshipreserved for the high school senior among Foundation schol-arship applicants possessing themost outstanding combination ofscholastics, activities, goals andACT score. The funds areapplied towards tuition.John Buck MemorialScholarship

Buck was the founder of BuckBrothers, Inc. and J.W. Turf, bothof Hampshire, dealers and dis-tributors of John Deere farmequipment and golf course main-tenance equipment, respectively.

Late in 2001, the family of JohnBuck established the John BuckMemorial Scholarship for agri-culture students through theKane County Farm BureauFoundation. An endowment tothe Foundation, supplemented byan annual John Buck MemorialOpen golf outing, provides fundsfor $1,000 scholarships for high-er education for agriculture stu-dents. Any student in Kane,DeKalb, McHenry, Boone, Lake,DuPage or Will County is eligi-ble to apply. A similar scholar-ship program has been estab-lished by the family through theMidwest Golf CourseSuperintendent’s Association.Chuck Swanson MemorialScholarship

The Chuck SwansonMemorial Scholarship wasestablished by the family andfriends of the former FarmBureau Director and long-timevolunteer to provide awards forstudents residing in KaneCounty pursuing a degree in anagriculture related career field.

For more information onFoundation scholarship pro-grams, call Kane County FarmBureau at 630-584-8660.Application deadline isFebruary 15, 2011.

Happy Fall! What a beau-tiful Fall we’re having! I wonderif this beautiful weather willcontinue through Thanksgiving.

We had a nice project at ourSeptember meeting preparing“Safety Treats”, candy remindersto farmers who are harvesting.As harvest continues we hope fora safe harvest for everyone &would like to remind drivers tobe safe, careful, and courteouswhen driving in the country.Watch for orange triangles mark-ing slow-moving vehicles.

Do you know a girl whoplays with fashion dolls? A niceway to help her keep track ofthose tiny doll shoes is to giveher an unused ice cube tray.Each pair of shoes can go intoone cube section. This will helpher find the pair she wants andwill help her remember to putthe shoes away when she isdone. The previous hint also isgood for boys’ action figures’small accessories, and for spe-cial Legos® pieces.

After our meeting inOctober, the Women’s Commit-tee had lunch at a local winery,Acquaviva, on Route 38 in KaneCounty. The winery is worth avisit, if only to see the architec-ture and hand-painted ceilings,which took a muralist five and ahalf months to complete. Thisfamily-owned winery hasalready won many awards for itswine, even though it has onlybeen bottling for four years. It isopen for tastings, lunch, dinner,

and private parties. See the website for information:www.acquavivawinery.com.

I have read recently that handdriers are not as sanitary aspaper towels. If you miss a fewgerms when washing, the act ofdrying your hands with a papercan rub off the remaining bacte-ria. I also like to use the paper toopen the door, in case someoneahead of me did not wash!

Plan to have leftover turkeythis Thanksgiving so you canenjoy this chowder.

Cheesy Turkey Chowder31/2-4 c. cooked turkey breast,

chopped2 c. celery, chopped2 c. potatoes, chopped2 c. carrots, chopped4 T. butter or margarine4 c. milk1 qt. chicken or turkey broth1 T. chicken base3/4 c. flour1 tsp. saltpepper, if desired2 c. Velveeta® cheese

Cook vegetables separately inbutter. Heat milk and broth. Addchicken base. Make a paste ofthe flour and a small amount ofmilk; add to the heated milk andbroth; cook until slightly thick-ened (a minute or so). Add salt,pepper, cheese, cooked vegeta-bles, and cooked turkey. Heat,but do not boil. Serves 12-16.

(This can be made a dayahead, refrigerated, and slowlyheated again when about readyto serve. Do not boil.)

PAGE 6 KANE COUNTY FARMER NOVEMBER 2010

FOR SALEGood-All generator, 7 hp B&S,2800 watts, 115 volts, 3600 rpm,60 cycle, on wheels. Call after 6p.m., $200 OBO. Call: 847-683-0451

Large hay and straw 3x3x8 bales,and feed oats. Call: 847-436-2538

J.D. model 810 Scraper $1,700;J.D. 70 diesel Tachometer $70.Call: 630-557-2711

Hay equipment for sale. Rake,cutter, baler, & other equipmentCall: 708-710-3630

2000 Dodge 1500 Ram 4x4; oneowner; NO RUST; 72K miles;loaded; tow pkg; “new condition”,$8,800. For more information, callDon, 630-801-9982

Cover for styled John Deere A, 9years of Green Magazine, 5 yearsof Two Cycle Magazine, in perfect

condition. Call for more informa-tion. Call: 630-936-0037

White 3-door truck topper withroof rack for small pick up, 60 in. x76 in. x 30 in. Good condition,$225 OBO. Call: 847-695-6273

SERVICESNew horse barns with under-ground utilities and earthwork(grading, electric & water),drainage tiles, pasture clipping,mowing, spraying, new seeding,renovation seeding & fenceinstallation. We follow UofIExtension best management rec-ommendations. 5% discount forFarm Bureau members. GalushaFarms: Tom Berning 630-330-9970, BerningEarthWorks@comcast.net; Steve Berning, 630-878-6350, steve@GalushaFarm.com Call: 630-330-9970

Barber Shop, 212 N. River St.,East Dundee, IL 60118. Men’sand boys hair cuts, Tues. throughFri. 9 am to 5 pm, Sat. 9 am to 3pm. Call: 847-836-9798

CLASSIFIED AD RATESClassified advertising rates: 20cents per word/$10 minimum (50word max). DISCOUNTS for mem-bers: Associate members, 20%;Voting members, 30%; PLUSmembers, 40%. Advance paymentrequested. Ads due by the 15th ofevery month for the next issue. Noadvertising (classified or display)for financial or insurance serviceswill be accepted.

Mail to: Kane County Farm Bureau,or fax to (630) 584-0023. Non-member ad rate: payable with ad,$10.00 – 20 word maximum per ad.CCLLAASSSSIIFFIIEEDD AADDSS

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Women’s CornerBy Louise Johnson

Women’s Committee Chair

For Sale –Kane County

247 acres, $9,500 per acre

Call for more properties

George Bean ERA EliteCall 815-761-0274

Farm

Foundation scholarship applications now available

Farm Toy Show–Kendall CFBThe Kendall County Farm

Bureau and the Newark FFAwill host a Farm Toy Show atthe Newark High School Gymon Sunday, November 21. Therewill be toys of all kinds, espe-cially farm toys, refreshments

and door prize. The high schoolis located at on Chicago Road,West of Route 71 in Newark.Call the Kendall County FarmBureau at 630-553-7403 formore details.

Find out more ... www.kanecfb.com

The American SoybeanAssociation (ASA) is offering a$5,000 SOY Scholarship to acurrent high school senior to beused for college during the2011-2012 school year. The

scholarship is made possiblethrough a grant provided byBASF Corporation. Require-ments for the scholarshipinclude: meeting a specific highschool grade point average,

standardized test requirements,being the child or grandchild ofa current ASA member, two let-ters of recommendation,demonstrated leadership activi-ties/ag related leadership, andcompletion of an essay.

Applications will be acceptedon-line until November 15,2010. The winner of the scholar-ship will be notified inDecember and the officialannouncement will be made atCommodity Classic. For moreinformation on specific require-ments of the scholarship, go to www.soygrowers.com or contact ASA CorporateDevelopment Manager MichelleSiegel at 800-688-7692 ext.1328 or msiegel@soy.org.

Each month, Kane CountyFarm Bureau honors the personor persons who sign the mostmembers into our organization.This month we would like tocongratulate Bobbi Boston. Shehas signed 11 new members tobe named top recruiter.

Bobbi has been an agent withCOUNTRY’s St. CharlesAgency since November 2004.Bobbi’s office is located at2N710 Randall Rd St. Charles,60174. You may reach Bobbi at630-584-0001.

As a token of our apprecia-tion, Bobbi will receive twotickets to the CharlestowneMovie Theater. Thank you,Bobbi foryour contin-ued support ofthe KaneCounty FarmBureau andcongra tu la -tions on yoursuccess.

NOVEMBER 2010 KANE COUNTY FARMER PAGE 7

AUTUMN WAITINGBy Ryan Klassy, Information Director

Bobbi Boston

Recruiter ofthe Month

What’s new in theCOUNTRY® agencies?St. Charles/Elgin Agency, Bob Effner, Agency Manager

Tory Chiapppelli has beennamed Representative of theMonth for September 2010 inthe St. Charles/Elgin Agency.Tory has been an agent withCOUNTRY® Financial sinceFebruary 2009. She servesclients from her office at 2172Blackberry Dr, Unit 100,Geneva. You may reach Tory at(630) 262-1059.Aurora Agency, Jackie Meier,Agency Manager

Greg LeBeau has beennamed Career FinancialRepresentative of the Month forSeptember 2010 in the AuroraAgency. Greg began his careerwith COUNTRY® FinancialOctober 1987 and serves clientsout of his office located at 1921Wilson Street, Batavia, 60510.You may reach Greg at (630)406-6900.

Nathan Galliart has beennamed Employee Financial

Representative of the Month forSeptember 2010 in the AuroraAgency. Nathan began hiscareer with COUNTRY®

Financial July 2009 and servesclients out of his office locatedat 1161 Oak Street, Unit 4,North Aurora, 60542. You mayreach Nathan at (630) 907-0796.

I s that an ear or a leaf? No,it’s definitely an ear, the tip of

one, just above that downedwalnut tree about 40 yards out.There, it twitched, revealing justa bit of brown antler, reflectingthe last rays of sunshine shal-lowly angling through the longgrass swaying in a light breezealong the hayfield. Only aboutan hour until it’s too dark toshoot. Have to stay still now,resist the urge to slide that leftfoot across the plywood plat-form and work the cramp out.Just wait it out, hope for a shot.

Fall brings an end to thegrowing season and means thatits time for the harvest.Pumpkins, apples, corn, soy-beans. And for many Illinoissportsmen its time to ventureout for a harvest of a differentkind, by way of the fall huntingseason.

There is a sporting elementand tradition to hunting thatmakes it more than just a way tofeed oneself, but it is that too.Despite the tendency of huntingjournals to feature deer that canbarely hold their massive head-gear off the ground, a whitetaildeer can provide many meals,and none of them feature antleras the main ingredient. Nor doesthe meal taste better if you havea new fangled camouflage pat-tern, scent killers, or the latesttrail camera.

For those of us with chestfreezers in the basement, the

anticipation experienced whileperched in a tree along a welltraveled game trail is not allabout the desire for a trophyabove the sofa, although that ispart of the appeal. And if thehunt results in failure, it mostlikely won’t mean a winter with-out meat. Fortunately for us,America’s farmers make it possi-ble for most of us to enjoy meatwith our meals at a cost belowthat of any country in the world.

Success however, does bringa feeling of satisfaction thatcomes with providing for yourfamily. Outside the wind whips,and the snow swirls. Andstacked neatly away in a deepfreeze of their own are dozensof packages from the local meatprocessor stamped venison,which will provide mealsthrough the coming year. Madeall the better by the fact thattheir getting there, was never asure thing.

The deer rises. A well-wornrack, tall and wide, appearsabove the downed walnut. Lightis fading. He’s moving warilydown the trail, ever so slowly.Nose to the ground, then heldhigh testing the wind for anyscent. One more step and he’sscreened by a thick elderberrybush. Heart thumping. Eyesstraining to focus. Muscles, stifffrom lack of movement, tense asthe string is drawn back witharrow in tow. Hold it there. Justone more step...

Illinois to offer 4-H specialty plateThe Illinois 4-H Foundation

moved a step closer to creating a4-H specialty license plate afterGov. Pat Quinn signed legislationo f f i c i a l l yendorsing theplate this year.According tostate criteria, thesecretary of statemust receive1,500 requests for the 4-H spe-cialty plate before production canbegin. Specialty license platesare authorized by Illinois law

with the primary goal of raisingmoney for an organization.

“This license plate will notonly give more visibility to the

4-H organiza-tion and 4-HClover, but alsoserve as anongoing fund-raiser forIllinois 4-H

youth programs,” said AngieBarnard, director of the Illinois4-H Foundation.

To request an Illinois 4-H

license plate, submit the requestform, available online atwww.4hfoundation.illinois.eduand a $25 check made payableto the secretary of state. Thenon-refundable fee will directlysupport Illinois 4-H youth pro-grams statewide. After 1,500requests have been received,supporters will be notified whenthe plate becomes available.However, those who request thelicense plate will not be obligat-ed to buy one upon its release.

Disaster declaration infoThe Illinois Department of

Agriculture has announced thatfederal disaster assistance isavailable to help Illinois farmerswho suffered crop lossesbecause of excessive rain andflooding this year.

The United StatesDepartment of Agriculture(USDA) has granted the state’srequest to designate 55 Illinoiscounties as natural disasterareas. The designation qualifiesfarmers in those counties and 37contiguous counties for USDAassistance, including low-inter-est emergency loans. KaneCounty is one of the 37 contigu-ous counties approved for disas-

ter assistance.The period from April

through July this year is thefourth wettest on record inIllinois.

Precipitation totaled 21.63inches, or 5.43 inches aboveaverage. Current estimates indi-cate 200,000 acres of corn and50,000 acres of beans could beunharvestable this fall due in partto the extremely wet conditions.August IDOA estimates indicat-ed as many as 36 million bushelsof corn may have been lost due toflooding. The potential soybeanlosses total 2.45 million bushels,based on a projected yield of 49bushels an acre.

Farmers who believe theymay qualify for disaster assis-tance should contact their coun-ty Farm Service Agency office.Farm Service Agency staff canverify whether producers havecrops that are eligible for emer-gency funds. Applications areconsidered on a case-by-casebasis, taking into account theextent of losses, available securi-ty and an applicant’s repaymentability. The deadline to submitloan applications under this dis-aster declaration is May 2, 2011.

For more information, con-tact Kane County FSA FarmLoan Manager David Petersonat 815-732-6127.

Mark’s Tree Farm, which hasbeen doing business in various St.Charles locations for a quartercentury, will again establish aChristmas tree lot at the KaneCounty Farm Bureau betweenThanksgiving and Christmas Eve.Mark’s provides quality, fresh cutFrasier Fir, Balsam Fir, Spruceand White Pines grown on their

farm in Northern Wisconsin.All trees on the lot will be

tagged with a price and KaneCounty Farm Bureau mem-bers will receive a $10.00 dis-count. We hope you takeadvantage of this convenientand money saving memberservice. And, while you are atthe Farm Bureau, stop insidefor holiday gift ideas includingfarm toys and tractors!

Christmas tree discount for members

New participants...Donor BeneficiaryMichael & Lisa Dienst St. Vincent DePaul – Maple ParkC&C Mulch, Bill & Karen Collins St. Peter’s Food PantryDennis & Beth Engel Northern Illinois Food BankFollman Farms Burlington/Hampshire Food PantryGould Farms Elburn Food Pantry Feldott Farms, Gene & Ray Aurora Interfaith Food PantryScott & Michele Horton Northern Illinois Food BankKane County Inmate Garden TBDKaneland FFA Elburn Food PantryTim & Sue Metz Family All People’s Interfaith Food PantryTara Scharlau TBDEmily Schmidt Lazarus HouseSt. Charles Mothers Club Northern Illinois Food BankSteve Arnold Northern Illinois Food BankStojan Vegetables,Phil & Karen Stojan Burlington/Hampshire Food PantryAlan & Gayle Volpp Burlington/Hampshire Food Pantry

Harvest for ALL(continued from page 3)

ASA offers $5,000 college scholarship

HappyThanksgiving

from the Kane County Farm Bureau

Families plow undercorporations infarm ownership

I talked sternly to the news-paper at the kitchen counterwhile a gnat swarmed an over-ripe, backyard peach. Thereporter wrote, with no attribu-tion, that large corporate farmsare the norm in our county.“What?! You mean the ab-norm.” But only the gnat heardme, while some 14,000 house-holds read the mistake thatSunday morning.

Here’s the norm: Bill pro-duces grain and beef with hisbrother and dad, Kevin farmswith his brother and their wives,David with his parents andDoug with his brother. Lorifarms with her husband, Dickfarms with his brother, and Sam

and Don farm alone. The listcontinues with about 900 smallto large family farms alone inmy county and more than73,000 in the state.

Truth is, an overwhelming 94percent of Illinois’ farms arefamily owned, according to sta-tistics from the most recentCensus of Agriculture. A farmmay support a single family orseveral that include parents andchildren, siblings, cousins, in-laws or sometimes three genera-tions. Take a ride with a farmerand he can tell you which fami-ly grows corn in the field southof town, who raises cattle to thenorth and who still producespork to the east. The familymake-up of nearly all farms inIllinois remains obvious tothose of us living on farmland.

Yet a startling number ofconsumers with no farm con-nection falsely believe corpora-tions operate most farms. Arecent statewide poll of non-farm adults in Illinois revealedthat, on average, they believe 54percent of Illinois farms are cor-porate owned and fewer thanhalf are family owned.

Corporate ownership carries astigma, so this inaccurate per-ception damages trust in farmsand farming practices.

Family farms have changedover time, but they still dominateIllinois agriculture. Generally,farms are larger, less diverse andmore technologically advanced.But, like decades ago, thesefamily farm owners also operatethe farms. They herd cattle andmove manure. They choose con-servation practices to protecttheir family’s future in the land.They harvest into the darkness,yet maintain their own recordsand monitor the markets.

The results of the statewide,“farmer image” poll sat on mynightstand a few days. Our 5-year-old daughter commentedon the photo-dominant reportcover, which shows a man inoutdoor work clothes holding ayoung girl in front of a grainbin. “That looks like me andGrandpa,” she said.

“Yeah, it does,” I said. And itlooks like most other farm oper-ations in the state. If only allconsumers could see the truththat simply.

Tim Metz of Burlington com-bines soybeans just off Route38 west of St. Charles. ThisThanksgiving will find manyarea farmers being thankful foran early harvest. The 2010 cornand soybean harvest has beenone of the earliest ever, withcorn harvest nearly completedalready in mid-October and soy-beans well ahead of scheduletoo, which means that a numberof area farmers have parkedtheir combines and started ontheir fall tillage. “We’ve beenvery lucky this year,” said Metz,who has been doing fieldwork since he was 8 years old. “This is reallythe best we’ve ever had it, with the perfect conditions for harvest.”

PAGE 8 KANE COUNTY FARMER NOVEMBER 2010

Find out more ... www.kanecfb.com

Complete the order form and return with your payment to Kane County FarmBureau, 2N710 Randall Road, St. Charles, IL 60174, no later than Friday,November 26, 2010. Pickup is Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at Heinz BrothersGreenhouse (same as last year), 2010 E. Main St., St. Charles (just west of DunhamRoad).

NAME:

ADDRESS

CITY, STATE, ZIP

PHONE

MEMBER NUMBER

ORDER DEADLINE: Friday, November 26, 2010

PICKUP TIME: Wednesday, December 15, 20109:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M.

LOCATION: HEINZ BROS. GREENHOUSE2010 E. MAIN ST.ST. CHARLES(JUST WEST OF DUNHAM ROAD)

PAYMENT: WITH ORDER PLACEMENTWE ACCEPT VISA & M/C

SEND ORDER TO: KANE COUNTY FARM BUREAU2N710 RANDALL ROADST. CHARLES, IL 60174

MEMBER CLASSQUANTITY PLUS (+) M or A

CITRUS MBR MBRGRAPEFRUIT (RED) 2/5 BUSHEL $15.00 $16.50GRAPEFRUIT (RED) 4/5 BUSHEL $22.00 $23.50NAVEL ORANGES 2/5 BUSHEL $15.00 $16.50NAVEL ORANGES 4/5 BUSHEL $22.00 $23.50TANGELOS 2/5 BUSHEL $15.00 $16.50TANGELOS 4/5 BUSHEL $22.00 $23.50TRIO PACK 2/5 BU. (8 oranges, $19.50 $21.006 red grapefruit, 8 red delicious apples)

PREMIUM VARIETY PACK 2/5 BU. (8 oranges, $18.00 $19.506 red grapefruit, 4 red delicious apples, 4 D’Anjou pears)

CHEESE GIFT BOXES (10 oz. of each cheese)BOX “A”, Mild Cheddar, Swiss, Longhorn, Calico $17.50 $18.50BOX “B”, Mild Cheddar, Swiss, Calico, 5 oz. sausage $18.00 $19.00BOX “C”, Longhorn, Mild Brick, Mild Cheddar,

12 oz. sausage $19.00 $20.00BOX “D”, Calico, Mild Cheddar, Swiss, Colby, Gouda,

two 5 oz. sausage $22.50 $23.50

NUTSPEANUTS – 17.5 OZ. CAN SKINLESS $4.25 $4.75HONEY KRUNCH PEANUTS - 12 OZ. CAN $3.50 $3.75PECAN HALVES - 1 LB. BAG $8.00 $8.50MILK CHOCOLATE COVERED PECANS 12 OZ. BAG $6.50 $7.00CHOCOLATE CARAMEL PECAN CLUSTERS 12 OZ. BAG $6.50 $7.00

MISCELLANEOUSPOPCORN, YELLOW 2 LB BAG $2.25 $2.50BBQ SPICE, 12 OZ. SHAKER JAR $5.50 $5.75

MEAT – 5 LB BOX (all individually wrapped)BOURBON SIRLOIN STEAKS, 8 OZ. $30.00 $31.00PORK CHOPS 8 OZ, SEASONED W/BONE $22.00 $23.00PORK CHOPS 8 OZ, SEASONED BONELESS $22.00 $23.00PORK CHOPS 10 OZ, SEASONED BONELESS $22.00 $23.00CHICKEN BREASTS $18.50 $19.50GROUND BEEF PATTIES $16.50 $17.50

TOTAL # ITEMS ORDERED & TOTAL AMOUNT DUE ____________

(NON-MEMBERS PLEASE ADD 10% TO THE MEMBER PRICE)

Holiday ProductOrder Form

Citrus, Nuts, Cheese, Meat, Popcorn, Spice

4-Hers say thanks for fair premiumsRecently the Kane County

Farm Bureau Board of Directorsapproved a resolution to fund2010 Kane County Fair premi-ums for local 4-Hers, totalingapproximately $9,500. Thosepayments, normally funded by

the State of Illinois through the Uof I extension, reward exhibitorsfor their hard work with exhibitsin dozens of categories includinganimals and livestock, creativearts, science and photography.The Board received dozens of

thank yous from 4-Hers whoreceived their checks inSeptember and October. Here area few of the notes thanking theFarm Bureau for its strong sup-port of 4-H and the University ofIllinois Extension programs.

Dear Kane County Farm Bureau,Thanks for paying the premiums to the 4-H members.

We really appreciate it. We are lucky that you care about the4H kids.

Sincerely, Mitch Dienstf d f d f

Dear Kane County Farm Bureau Board of Directors,Your generosity and very much appreciated donation of

premiums arrived yesterday. Being in 4-H is a wonderfulexperience in itself, earning money for exhibiting your project is a huge bonus. Our family was thrilled when wereceived our premiums. Thank you so very much for yourthoughtfulness and generous donations to all 4-Hers.

Truly grateful, The Ed and Anne Gorenz Family,Sally, Joe, Mike Catherine & Brad Gorenz

I just wanted to thank you for being so generous.Thanks to you I’m able to put money away for school andother things. I love participating in the fair every year andlook forward to next year! Thanks again!

Sincerely, Demi Schlehoferf d f d f

Thanks for supporting the 4-H program by donating pre-mium money to all Kane County 4-Hers. This is my 6thyear in 4-H and each year I am able to earn money for myfuture education. Thanks again for your generous donation.

Sincerely, Blake Sunderlagef d f d f

Kane County Farm Bureau,Thank you so much for the premium monies you

provided. It feels good to earn something for my hard workfor my projects at the fair. I really appreciate what you did,and I’m sure others do too. Thanks again!

4-Her Samantha Lederman, Kaneville ClassicsHCE NewsThe next meeting of the

Henpeck Unit of Kane CountyAssociation for Home andCommunity Education is sched-uled for 1:00 p.m. on November9, 2010 at the home of DorothyMurry on Widmayer Road inHampshire. A lesson on “FoodTrends: Organic Foods” will bepresented by Mary Ann Harter.

The November meeting of thePlato Unit of HCE will be heldon Friday, November 19 at 1:00pm at the Plato Center VillageHall, 10N934 Rippberger Rd.The hostesses are Barbara Lee,Verlene Schroeder and DonnaZierer. Reservations will be takenfor the Christmas party to be heldon December 10, 2010 at thePorter’s Pub, Bowes CreekCountry Club. The Lesson forLiving will be “Food Sup-plements” presented by BarbaraLee and Joan Rossi. To attendcall Joan at 847-931-8120, or toattend any of the other units, callthe U of I Extension office at630-584-6166.

This month’s featured unit isCountry Cousins, which meetson the first Friday of each monthat 12:30 pm at the ElburnLibrary. This unit takes in thetowns of Elburn, Virgil, MaplePark and surrounding communi-ties. Guests are welcome. CallSylvia at 630-365-5658 or Pat at630-365-3209.