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, February 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  
_______________________________________________________________________  
1.  
2.  
Call To Order  
Chairman Roth called today's meeting to order at 10:30 AM.  
Roll Call  
Board Member Bill Roth  
PRESENT  
Board Member Deborah Allan  
Board Member Bill Lenert  
Board Member Ted Penesis  
Board Member Rick Williams  
Board Member Leslie Juby  
REMOTE  
ABSENT  
Board Member Jarett Sanchez  
Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog  
Also present: Co. Bd. member Molina*; KCFB Mgr. Arnold and staff Collins; Dev. Dir.  
VanKerkhoff and staff Tansley, Castro and McKenna; Sustainability Coordinator  
Powell; ITD staff Peters; and members of the press and public including former Board  
Member Mike Kenyon.  
3.  
4.  
Remote Attendance Requests  
Chairman Roth announced the remote attendance requests for today's meeting. She  
asked the Committee if there were any objections to Committee Member Juby  
attending remotely. There were no objections.  
Approval of Minutes: January 23, 2025  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT  
Rick Williams  
5.  
6.  
Public Comment  
None.  
Partners  
Kane County Farm Bureau Updates (Steve Arnold, Manager)  
A.  
KCFB Mgr. Arnold stated that the 24th Annual Shopping Spree for local food  
pantries will be on Monday, February 24, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. at the Batavia  
Jewel-Osco. The contestants will be Kane County Board Member Leslie Juby  
and St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek. Commissioner Juby will represent the Marie  
Wilkinson Food Pantry of Aurora. Arnold referenced the Local Information, News  
and KnowHow for the Illinois Farm Bureau, and stated that this issue is  
dedicated exclusively to the Farm Bureau's Local Government priorities for  
2025. One of the priorities Arnold highlighted was a renewal on proclaiming  
Kane County's support for Agriculture. Arnold provided a copy of the 2023  
resolution pertaining to county and public policies regarding agriculture farms  
and food. He indicated that the Kane County Board passed this resolution in  
2023. At this time, the County Boards in Will, Cook, and Dekalb have all passed  
the resolution. The KCFB would like to request the Agriculture Committee to  
have a similar resolution on the agenda for the March meeting. Lastly, there are  
currently 57 college scholarship applications for the KCFB to review. There will  
be twenty-five selected scholarship awardees who will receive $45K in  
scholarships. The Touch-a-Tractor Open House event will be held on Saturday,  
April 12, 2025 from 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m., followed by a Meet-and-Greet for  
local public officials and legislators. Much discussion ensued.  
7.  
Presentations/Announcements  
Everything Local Conference Recap (Matt Tansley, Planner)  
A.  
Dev. Planner Tansley provided a recap on the 2025 Everything Local  
Conference that was held in Springfield. The conference is a statewide  
gathering of food growers, market operators, supply chain partners, universities,  
non-profits, and other agencies. The conference sessions covered fruit,  
vegetable, and flower production, urban agriculture, market management,  
community food systems development, and business development. The first  
initiative Tansley highlighted was the Grow Lake County Organization, which is a  
community-based effort to cultivate a thriving and sustainable local food system  
in Lake County. For more information, residents can access the website at  
growlakecounty.org. He provided an overview of the Experimental Station, which  
is a six-month task force engaging stakeholders across the local food sectors  
and supply chains. The organization provides gathered information for  
developing a potential state-wide food system plan. There are eighteen states  
nation-wide that have created their own food system plan. Tansley highlighted  
the members of HEAL Food System Partners who organized a session at the  
conference focusing on ways to utilize local food production as a way to address  
food security needs. Lastly, Tansley provided an update on the Urban  
Agriculture Innovative Production Grant Program. The request to extend the  
program was submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)  
for a one year no-cost extension. With this extension, it will allow time for a  
second class of Kane County prospective growers to complete the Master Urban  
Farmer Training Program, led by U of I Extension. He noted that his team will be  
working with the extension program staff to make preparations for the Local  
Food Access projects. If approved, the grant program would be extended  
through September 2026. Tansley addressed questions and comments from the  
Committee. Much discussion ensued.  
Riding in Kane: Identifying Equine Facilities (Catherine McKenna, Planner / GIS  
Specialist)  
B.  
Dev. GIS Planner McKenna provided an update on Riding in Kane: Identifying  
Equine Facilities. She reported that Kane County ranks ninth for the number of  
ponies and horses out of the 102 counties in Illinois. McKenna shared a  
preliminary map showing businesses related to equine activities. There are a  
total of 83 private equine businesses and facilities in Kane County.  
8.  
New Business  
Chairman Juby addressed Senate Bill 1397 requested by Sustainability Coordinator,  
Powell, to amend the Solid Waste Management Act to create a grant program that  
would incentivise the use of finished compost, liquid and solid digestate on private and  
public lands used for commercial farm and specialty farm operations. Juby  
recommended to review the Bill further with Farm Bureau partners before a decision is  
made. Much discussion ensued.  
Proclamation Declaring Kane County’s Support for National Agriculture Day  
A.  
KC Executive Committee  
RESULT:  
TO:  
MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE  
KC Executive Committee  
Rick Williams  
MOVER:  
Deborah Allan  
SECONDER:  
Leslie Juby, Bill Roth, Deborah Allan, Bill Lenert, Ted Penesis,  
and Rick Williams  
AYE:  
Jarett Sanchez, and Corinne M. Pierog  
ABSENT:  
9.  
Reports Placed On File  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE  
Deborah Allan  
10.  
11.  
Executive Session (if needed)  
None.  
Adjournment  
RESULT:  
APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE  
Rick Williams  
Bill Lenert  
MOVER:  
SECONDER:  
This meeting was adjourned at 11:17 a.m.  
Rachel Santora  
Recording Secretary