Government Center

719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A

Geneva, IL 60134

Kane County

KC Agriculture Committee

Meeting Minutes

JUBY, Roth, Allan, Lenert, Penesis, Sanchez, Williams and ex-officio Pierog (County Chair)

Thursday, December 18, 2025 10:30 AM County Board Room

Call To Order

Chairman Juby called today's meeting to order at 10:30 AM.

Roll Call

Board Member Leslie Juby

Board Member Bill Roth

Board Member Deborah Allan

Board Member Bill Lenert

Board Member Ted Penesis

PRESENT

ABSENT

Board Member Jarett Sanchez

Board Member Rick Williams

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Also present: Co. Bd. members Linder*; KCFB Dir. Collins; KDSWCD Resource

Conservationist Purdom; Northern Illinois Food Bank Manager Desio; Dev. Planners

Tansley and Toth and staff Farmland Preservation Admin. Castro; Spec. ASA & Local

Historian Shepro; ITD staff Peters; and members of the press and public including

former County Board Member, Mike Kenyon.

Remote Attendance Requests

There were no remote attendance requests for today's meeting.

Approval of Minutes: November 20, 2025

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Bill Roth

Public Comment

None.

Partners

Kane County Farm Bureau Updates (Steve Arnold, Manager)

Kane County Farm Bureau (KCFB) Dir., Bill Collins, stated that the Illinois Farm

Bureau Annual meeting was held on December 6 at the Hyatt Regency in

Chicago. He summarized the resolutions that were discussed at the meeting,

including the new policy language urging opposition to data centers and

crypto-currency operations that could harm grid reliability or local qualifiers,

support for expanding farm-to-consumer and wholesale markets and specialty

crop insurance tools, and backing for regenerative agriculture practices and

incentives. Illinois Farm Bureau delegates elected LaSalle County livestock

farmer, Philip Nelson, as the organization's 17th President, receiving 55.6

percent of the vote. Collins announced that Kane County Farm Bureau Board

Member, Joe White, was elected as a new member of the Illinois Farm Bureau

Board, and will be replacing Mark Tuttle of DeKalb County as the new Director of

District one. He noted that Illinois young farmers and leaders were recognized

for their achievements and programs. Joseph White of Batavia was elected to

the State Young Farmers Committee. Collins highlighted that the second annual

Truckload of Toys for the Community Santa Project was completed on Saturday,

December 13. The event featured a pork chop sandwiches, kabobs, and chili

provided at the KCFB office, and tickets were available to enter into the Vintage

Truck Raffle for a 1984 Chevy Silverado. A total of $50K is available for the

2026-2027 Farm Bureau agricultural scholarships. The application process is

now open to anyone interested. The Everything Local conference will be held

from January 28-30 at the Springfield Convention Center. This three-day event

features networking, presentations, locally sourced food, and a deep-dive on a

wide variety of production, operational and marketing topics. Collins addressed

questions and comments from the Committee. Much discussion ensued.

Kane-DuPage Soil and Water Conservation District Updates (Tom Purdom,

Resource Conservationist)

Kane-DuPage Soil and Water Conservation District (KDSWCD) Resource

Conservationist, Tom Purdom, reminded the committee that applications for the

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) program, the Environmental

Quality Incentives program (EQIP), and the Conservation Stewardship program

(CSP) will be open till January 15, 2026. He stated that pre-enrollment for the

Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) Fall Covers for Spring Savings program

(FCSS) is open till January 15, 2026. The program offers a five dollar per acre

crop insurance discount on 2026 premiums for cover crops planted in Fall of

2025. He noted that enrollment for the program has a first-come, first-serve

basis, and requires a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) certification and

insurance information for soil health benefits. Purdom noted that a three-year

commitment cover-crop program that targets fields without prior cover-crop

history will be implemented early next year. More updates on this program will

be provided at the next meeting. There are two rebates issued to date for the

Farm Weatherization Rebate. He announced that on January 22 at 5:00 p.m.

there will be a celebration of Kane County farms held at Emerald Acres in Maple

Park. The event will include a free BBQ dinner and keynote speaker, Jim Stute,

who will be discussing conservation practices and how to have a positive return

on investment (ROI). Lastly, Purdom stated that election day for the 2026 Board

of Directors will be on Tuesday, February 10. He noted that candidates must

submit petitions by January 21. Petitions are available at KDSWCD office

Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The two polling locations are

KDSWCD office in St. Charles, and DuPage County Farm Bureau in Carol

Stream. Voters must be of legal age and own land within KDSWCD boundaries.

Purdom addressed questions and comments from the Committee. Discussion

ensued.

Northern Illinois Food Bank Updates

Northern Illinois Food Bank Senior Manager of Public Policy and Benefits, Rob

Desio, stated that the food bank served about 608K neighbors last month, and a

total of 84K in Kane County, making it a 6.5 percent increase locally.

(Committee Member Allan arrived at 10:57 a.m.) A total of 6,500 holiday meal

boxes were distributed in the county. Desio noted that reinstated Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements could put about 10K

local recipients at risk of losing benefits. The Illinois Department of Human

Resources (IDHS) has accepted more than 100K waivers submitted for exempt

work requirements.

Presentations/Announcements

Farmland Protection Program Report

Farmland Preservation Admin., Sarahy Castro, stated that there are currently 6K

acres protected, 1K acres in progress, and 1K acres on the waiting list. Castro

provided data on the outreach impacts for years 2024 and 2025. She highlighted

the challenges in the Farmland Protection Program. One challenge is that the

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides fifty percent funding of

the appraised value, and the county's policy is a minimum of $5K per acre.

There is also limited technical staff at both the County and USDA, along with

government cutbacks and shutdowns. There is a limited number of field experts

who fully understand USDA requirements, and a overall shortage of qualified

specialists. Lastly, Castro mentioned that there may be a new farm bill in 2026.

Updated soil health results will be presented as well.

Agriculture Committee 2026 Goals Discussion (Updates)

Dev. Planner, Matt Tansley, reviewed the updated Committee 2026 Goals. He

addressed language changes within the goals. The Committee provided a

unanimous consensus to approve the committee goals. Chairman Juby stated

that the Committee 2026 Goals will go into effect and be included on next

month's agenda. Further discussion ensued.

New Business

Amending Section 2-48 of the Kane County Code (Standing Committees) to

Revise Language Related to the Agriculture Committee

There were two versions of ordinance language presented to the Committee.

The Committee unanimously agreed to select version two. There was an

amendment to the language within version 2. Motion to amend was moved by

Lenert, seconded by Roth. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.

Amendment passed. A motion to vote on the amended ordinance was moved by

Lenert, seconded by Roth. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.

KC Executive Committee

RESULT:

TO:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Executive Committee

Bill Lenert

MOVER:

Bill Roth

SECONDER:

Leslie Juby, Bill Roth, Deborah Allan, Bill Lenert, and Ted

Penesis

AYE:

Jarett Sanchez, Rick Williams, and Corinne M. Pierog

ABSENT: