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, March 20, 2025

10:30 AM

County Board Room

2025 Committee Goals

Goals from the July Agriculture Committee meeting

• Revise County Code Definition of the Agriculture Committee

• Awareness & Support of Agriculture - Raise public awareness and support for agriculture

in Kane County as an industry sector and community resource

• Farmland Protection - Work in concert with the Farmland Protection Commission and

County Board to oversee the successful implementation of Kane County’s Farmland

Protection Ordinance and related conservation efforts, and pursue funding

• Continue Growing for Kane Program - Direct the implementation of programs and

policies that expand the production of locally grown foods and improve community access

to fresh and healthy food choices, and pursue funding

- Continue partnerships with Kane County Farm Bureau and Northern Illinois Food Bank

- Implement current grant funded projects

- Continue to apply for additional outside grants

- Implement economic development projects for Agriculture

- ARPA Small grants for farmers

- Other projects identified by the Economic Development Strategic Plan for Kane County

_______________________________________________________________________

Call To Order

Chairman Juby called today's meeting to order at 10:33 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 Arroyo*, Bates*, Kious*, Strathmann*; KCFB Mgr.

Arnold, KCFB Pres. Joe White, KCFB Dir. Brett Dienst; Dev. Dir. VanKerkhoff and staff

Tansley, Castro; ITD staff Peters; and members of the press and public including

Northern Illinois Food Bank Dev. Officer Hester Bury; Local Food and Farm Consultant

Janice Hill, Community Health Systems Health (CHS) Planner Sophia Hamilton and

CHS Coordinator Liliana Peterson.

Remote Attendance Requests

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

Approval of Minutes: February 20, 2025

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Ted Penesis

Public Comment

None.

Partners

Kane County Farm Bureau Updates (Steve Arnold, Manager)

Kane County Farm Bureau (KCFB) Mgr. Arnold thanked Chairman Juby and

Co-Chair Roth for participating in the 24th Annual Shopping Spree on February

24, 2025 at the Batavia Jewel. He highlighted that Roth raised $1,935.60 for the

Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry. Arnold stated that KCFB President Joe White and

three volunteers accompanied him at the Illinois Farm Bureau Governmental

Affairs Leadership Conference (GALC) in Springfield last month. Former White

House Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, was the conference speaker. The

conference was followed up with a Statewide Legislative Reception with six state

legislators in attendance. Arnold noted that in the months of March, April, and

May a preview of the State Legislative priorities will be added to the monthly

Kane County Farmer publication. The April issue will highlight the Livestock

Management Facilities Act, and address a Bill within the General Assembly for

Illinois to adopt California Emission Standards. Arnold announced that a

semi-annual water well testing program was recently completed. There were

seventy-five samples collected from fifty members to test their private water

supply. There were twenty-five scholars chosen to receive $47K in college

scholarships for next year. The 19th Annual Touch-A-Tractor event will be held

on Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13 at the Kane County Farm Bureau in

St. Charles. On Saturday, April 12, from 4:30-5:30 p.m., families are welcome to

attend a "Meet & Greet" with elected representatives to learn about farms, food,

and agriculture as part of the 3-day Touch-A-Tractor Open House. Arnold noted

that public officials who reserve their spot by April 4, will have the option to

reserve two complimentary tickets to the 2025 Kane County 4H Foundation Pork

Chop Dinner and Fundraiser. Lastly, Arnold mentioned that there will be a

landowner meeting for the TransCanada (TC) Energy with American Natural

Resources (ANR) Pipeline Project, to discuss easement agreements. He

thanked the Committee for their support for the Agriculture Day Proclamation.

Much discussion took place.

Northern Illinois Food Bank Updates (Hester Bury, Development Officer)

Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB) Dir. Hester Bury provided updates on the

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. She stated that in May 2023, the

Northern Illinois Food Bank was awarded $2.5M in ARPA funds to be used over

three years for purchase of food to distribute to member agencies in the county.

She noted that through February 2025, the NIFB used $1.1M for food

purchases, and distributed $1,993,365 pounds of food. The remaining

$1,353,093 of grant funds will be used by June 30, 2026. Bury provided a list of

the non-perishable staples, fresh produce food items, and a list of agencies that

benefited from those purchased food items. Lastly, Bury stated that the NIFB will

continue to advocate for the continuation of food programs and the

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bury addressed questions

and comments from the Committee. Much discussion ensued.

Presentations/Announcements

Kane County Behavioral Health Needs & Resources (Sophia Hamilton & Lily

Peterson, Health Department)

Community Health Systems (CHS) Health Planner Sophia Hamilton provided an

overview of behavioral health outcomes and resources in Kane County. She

stated that improving behavioral health has been a long term goal for the Kane

County Health Department (KCHD) since 2007. She noted that behavioral

health encompasses a number of topics including mental health and well-being,

substance use, life stressors and crisis, and stress-related physical symptoms.

An individual that has chronic heart disease or diabetes potentially contributes to

their anxiety or depression. However, individuals with poor mental health can

also contribute to them having difficulty managing diseases. (Committee

Member Allan arrived at 11:20 a.m.) Hamilton noted that having reliable data

accessible to the community is important because it allows the KCHD to plan for

what the populations need. She stated that there are three dedicated

epidemiologists at the health department that help gather data, identify

secondary sources, and analyze information. Hamilton presented a brief

demonstration on the newly developed online tool called "Kane Health Atlas."

This website is an interactive and customizable resource, and is available in ten

languages.

CHS Coordinator Liliana Peterson provided a walkthrough of the Behavioral

Health 360 website. She stated that Behavioral Health 360 is a self-help website

created in response to mental health areas with limited to no access to mental

health providers. She indicated that this resource platform was developed to

assist residents seeking formal help, obtain prevention and early detections, and

further allow health care providers to assign assessments to their clients.

Peterson and Hamilton addressed questions and comments from the

Committee. Discussion ensued.

Updates Including the Kane County Land Transfer Navigator Program (Janice

Hill, Consultant)

Local Food and Farm Consultant Janice Hill provided updates on the Kane

County Land Transfer Navigator Program. She noted that Land Transfer

Navigators is a national program developed by the American Farmland Trust,

with support from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural

Resources Conservation Services (NRCS). The goal of the program is to

increase the transfer of farm and ranch land to a new generation of producers.

The program catalyzes practitioners from across the country to support equitable

farm and ranch transfers that work for both aspiring and retiring generations.

Hill's role over the next four years will be specifically in training and sharing

resources to support land trusts and public purchase of agricultural conservation

easement (PACE) programs. She indicated that she is the only navigator based

in Illinois in Kane County, although she has several counterparts in Michigan

and Wisconsin. There are 36 navigators across the country, along with several

educators who are part of the program. The goal of the program is to gain

education and share experiences between organizations to serve farm families.

She explained that there have been several requests from beginner farmers

calling about land access, entitlement, and security and land search. She looks

forward to the navigator program addressing these requests. Hill noted that the

Kane County 2040 plan is operating under three primary ordinances including

the Farmland Protection Ordinance, Growing for Kane Ordinance, and the Kane

County Stormwater Ordinance regarding Watershed Benefits. Lastly, Hill will be

gathering land transfer materials and surveying ten local agriculture

professionals on their needs for generational land transfer for eased lands.

Much discussion ensued.

IL-EATS Program and Workshop Recap (Matt Tansley, Planner)

Chairman Juby suggested to move the IL-EATS Gathering Recap presentation

to next month's meeting.

New Business

2025 Proclamation in Support of Agriculture in Kane County

RESULT:

APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE

Bill Roth

MOVER:

Ted Penesis

SECONDER: