New leader named for Illinois Farm Service Agency

By The Associated Press

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has named a new leader of the Farm Service Agency Illinois State Committee.
 
Jill Appell of Altona, Illinois, farms in Knox County. She's a past president of the National Pork Producers Council and the Illinois Pork Producers Association. Appell also has served as the U.S. Agriculture Department's Illinois State Director for Rural Development.
 
In a news release Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says Appell has decades of experience in rural and agricultural issues. Durbin says he's confident she'll "shine" in her new position.
 
The Farm Service Agency helps administer federal farm programs at the local level. They include programs to help farmers conserve land and water resources and to help them recover from disasters.
 
Appell replaces Darrell Sarff, a grain and vegetable farmer from Chandlerville.
 

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…