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Altona woman ready to chair Illinois Farm Service Agency

It’s long after harvest in Altona, Illinois.  But the love of land shines through on this Knox County centennial farm. “It’s so important for ...

It's long after harvest in Altona, Illinois.  But the love of land shines through on this Knox County centennial farm.

"It's so important for the health of the entire area to have a lot of trees," said Jill Appell.

Jill Appell practices what she preaches with her husband, Paul.   As part of a third generation farm family, she'll use that experience as chair of the Illinois Farm Service Agency.

It's a federal program with local management.

She was appointed this week by Sen. Dick Durbin, (D) Illinois.

She'll work out of Knox County and Springfield with four other chairs statewide.

"It was kind of natural to love the program and to participate in this," she said.

FSA helps farmers with crop insurance and financing to land and water conservation.  It's also a clearinghouse for the new Farm Bill.

"Producers can understand what their options are, and what the programs are," she said.

2014  was mostly a good year for Illinois farmers.  Despite weather delays for planting and harvest, farmers brought in a bin-busting corn crop.

High volume, however, was countered by falling prices.

"The projection is that agriculture is going to be under stress," she said.  "It seems there's always a time when it goes up and a time when it goes down."

That combination of a bumper corn crop and low prices creates more challenges on the farm.  That makes FSA even more important.

There's also caution about spending after recent farm manufacturing layoffs.  It's a trend that she'll be watching before spring planting.

"Make sure that we always have some place where we can grow crops," she concluded.  "The land is important to keep, so you can pass it on."

For Jill Appell, a big assignment that feels right at home.

 

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