When I first joined Farm Bureau as a young farmer, my goal was simple: to make a positive impact and uplift the lives of my fellow farmers.

I think farm leaders are the masters of getting things done. On any given day, farmers wear any number of different hats and roles requiring many skills, ranging from agronomist to HR manager to operations manager to marketer.

Federal policymakers have a problem: Their hope to make corn and soybeans the feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel hit a wall when the aviation industry ruled biofuel from either crop did not meet its “sustainable” guidelines.

The easiest way to win any game is to rig the rules. That’s what Big Ag and its loyal boosters at the U.S. Department of Agriculture appear to be doing to make sure their new project, sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, flies.

Several times over the past few weeks I’ve been approached by a friendly stranger. They wanted to know if I would comment on an issue and sign my name in support or opposition.

It has become customary this time of year for me to offer up some advice in this column with soon-to-be-newly-minted high school and college graduates.

We’ve had a cold winter across a lot of our state, and I am enjoying spring and all the opportunities the new season brings for family fun and good food.

The month of March is a unique one for the five Illinois FFA major state officers. In March, preparation for the FFA state convention is in full swing.

Did the reaction to COVID-19 change the way you communicate? I have asked that question several times since March 2020, when the world as we knew it rocked on its axis for a bit.