The 2nd Annual Champaign County Farm Bureau Leadership Academy will be ending shortly for the 14 participants whose goal was to hone their skills as a leader with instruction from nearly 30 speakers.

These participants include:  Bev Ehler, Thomasboro; Jeff Fisher, Tolono; Josh Green, Dewey; Travis Heath, Champaign; Steve Herriott, Sidney; Lisa Jones, St. Joseph; Rebecca Kamerer, Philo; Jamie Kleiss, Philo; Greg Knott, Sidney; Jacki Langlois, Champaign; Kristi Pflugmacher, Thomasboro; Jennie Springer, Ogden; Reid Thompson, Mahomet; and Paula Zwilling, Fisher. 

Kleiss, who works for the U of I Extension Office felt the most impact from Tamara Nelson, Senior Director of Commodities from the Illinois Farm Bureau.  Kleiss says, “She spoke about how free trade agreements impact agriculture on the international, national, and local level. She said that for every billion dollars of agriculture products exported, 9,000 jobs are created.  She said that 95% of the world's population lives outside of the United States so in order for US agriculture to keep expanding, the US needs to trade with other countries.”

Kleiss continues, “I was surprised by the large impact FTA's have on the economy.  There are three agreements with other countries waiting to be signed and each day that they are not, means a loss of jobs and money for our economy.”

Reid Thompson, of  Hertz Farm Management, felt the greatest impact as the group learned how to conduct interviews with members of the media. “We learned how important it is that we don’t say one thing and mean another during an interview.  We also talked about the clear distinction between a farm reporter and a regular reporter with no ag background.  Their inexperience in agriculture can have very negative results for us,” Thompson said.

Each participant has utilized the opportunity to develop more skills in order to move agriculture forward both in their businesses, their community and through their membership with Farm Bureau.

CCFB Assistant Manager Susie Harbaugh says, “I feel privileged to have had members of this caliber taking the class and learning more about stepping up and speaking out for our industry as we move forward.  Watching people of every age and background was an exciting process!”