Modern agriculture is a complex, highly technical, and competitive business environment. In Central Illinois, a large percentage of farmland is owned by someone who does not farm the land and relies heavily on others to understand the details. University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Central College worked together to bring 24 agri business experts to the Farmland Owners Conference to allow local farmers and landowners to learn how to work together to improve the land’s profitability and their working relationship.
Over 190 landowners, farmers, and professionals attended the event on ICC’s East Peoria campus on November 20, 2023. Participants gained knowledge on how to better manage their farms through stewardship of the land as well as who to contact with questions on preserving their farm assets for future generations.
“The key to success is knowing how to best manage your farmland to stay economically competitive while also operating in an environmentally sound manner,” explained Kevin Brooks, Extension Educator serving Fulton, Mason, Peoria, and Tazewell counties. “With Extension’s expansion of the state-wide agriculture team, our goal is to help farmers and land owners meet these needs.”
Conference Topics
- Farmland Values
- Farm Leases
- Farmland Estate Planning
- Cover Crops
- Land Stewardship
- Grain Marketing Outlook
- Crop Insurance
- Legal Issues
- Weed Challenges
- New Agriculture Technologies
- Pipelines, Solar, and Wind
- Soil Fertility
- Climate and Farm Production
- Land Surveys
- USDA Programs
- Farm Liability Insurance
- Professional Farm Managers
- Farmland Auctions
- Farm Information Management
With the addition of local agriculture educators like Brooks, the farm public has easier access to University of Illinois research and recommendations, making our rural areas stronger and farms more profitable.
In addition to the speakers, participants were able to network with conference sponsors COUNTRY Financial, Pioneer, and Illinois Soybean Association, plus 16 additional vendors.
PHOTO CAPTION
Illinois Central College Professor Pete Fandel was one of 24 presenters at the 2023 Farmland Owners Conference in which 190 people gained valuable information to help them navigate the complex, highly technical, and competitive business environment of modern agriculture.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Kevin Brooks became the farm business management and marketing educator serving Fulton, Mason, Peoria, and Tazewell counties in 2022. He previously served in this role from 2000 to 2011 in Effingham and Champaign counties.
Kevin grew up on a corn and hog farm in Iowa. He received his bachelor of science degree in agriculture business from Truman State University and his master of science degree from University of Missouri in agriculture education.
Kevin is a fully licensed managing real estate broker in Mahomet, Illinois. He has professionally managed and consulted on over 25,000 acres of farmland and marketed grain for farm management customers as a professional farm management and trust officer. Kevin has taught Farm Management, Agri Business Management, Crop Science, Crop Production, Soil Science, Pesticide Application, Grain Marketing, and General Horticulture at the college level.
Kevin holds agriculture teaching certifications in Illinois and Missouri. He is also a commercially licensed UAS (drone) pilot holding an FAA Part 107 license. He has worked in agricultural input sales (farm chemicals and seed) and is trained in agronomy through Purdue University and Iowa State University. Early in his career he worked for USDA, as a Farm Management Specialist, working primarily on farm loan analysis.
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