Outgoing Ill. Dept. of Agriculture Director Bob Flider has served in that position since 2011. (Carrie Muehling/WJBC)

By Carrie Muehling

SPRINGFIELD – Just before the announcement that Seneca farmer Philip Nelson is nominated to be the next Illinois Director of Agriculture, outgoing Director Bob Flider reflected on the past three years he has spent in that position.

The post brought plenty of challenges to Flider, who is not a farmer but served on the ag committee during all eight years of his time in the Illinois legislature.

“Issues like the drought, the need to address nutrient reduction to avoid U.S. EPA regulation… there were just a number of issues that came up that we tackled head on, but always working in partnership with the industry,” said Flider.

Flider cited work at the national level, including hosting the Tri-National Accord – the annual North American Free Trade meeting between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. He noted the Ill. Dept. of Agriculture worked with a lot of different agriculture groups and companies to host that meeting in Chicago.

Other challenges were related to drought, like the Mississippi River nearly running dry in 2012. Flider said the challenges will continue for the next director of the department.

“The agency still has a job to do, but with fewer employees,” said Flider.

Over the past 10 years, the agency has dealt with budget cuts and employee reductions. Flider said he worked to educate the governor and legislators on the importance of agriculture and to sustain and even grow slightly the budget for the IDOA. He said future challenges will include replacing long-time employees who are retiring.

“In December, we had two people retire from the Bureau of Warehouses. Walked out of the agency with 63 collective years of experience. That’s going to be a big challenge going forward, especially in an era where, heck, I think it’s going to be really difficult for the next director to maintain the same budget levels we had,” said Flider.

Flider recognized that many feel a farmer should be the Illinois Director of Agriculture, but he said he is proud of what he had to offer with experience in the legislature and the regulatory arena.

“It’s a broad and wide array of activities here. Certainly there are a number of farmers who would be qualified to run the agency, but for whatever reason, Gov. Quinn felt like I had the tools he was looking for at the time and couldn’t be more pleased or more honored to have served in his administration and in his cabinet,” said Flider.

Newly appointed nominee Philip Nelson is immediate past president of the Illinois Farm Bureau, serving in that role from 2003-2013.

Carrie Muehling can be reached at [email protected].