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, May 22, 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 10:31 AM.

Roll Call

Board Member Leslie Juby

Board Member Bill Roth

PRESENT

Board Member Deborah Allan

Board Member Ted Penesis

Board Member Jarett Sanchez

Board Member Rick Williams

Board Member Bill Lenert

ABSENT

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Also present: Co. Bd. members Kious*, Lewis, Molina*; KCFB Mgr. Arnold; Dev. Dir.

VanKerkhoff and staff Tansley; ITD staff Kash; and members of the press and public

including KCFB Vice President Beth Gehrke, Urban Agriculture Program Mgr. Liz

Repplinger, Northern Illinois Food Bank Senior Mgr. Rob Desio, Kane-Dupage Soil and

Water Conservation District Admin. Coordinator Kat Gerdts and staff Senior Resource

Analyst Isabella Borzeka.

Remote Attendance Requests

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

Approval of Minutes: April 17, 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) Mgr. Arnold thanked the Committee for the

recognition of Steve Pittstick for earning the Master Farmer Award. He stated

that he has been communicating with sustainability coordinator Powell

suggesting to have the KCFB administer the grants. A decision has not been

made. Arnold stated that he will reach out to the office of general council to

discuss the legality of the KCFB handling the administration. More updates will

be provided at next month's meeting. (Committee Member Allan arrived at 10:48

a.m.) Arnold announced that he attended an informational meeting discussing

the American Natural Resources Corporation (ANR) Heartland Pipeline Project.

It was a successful meeting, with over thirty landowners seeking information

about the pipeline. Arnold provided several handouts listing upcoming farm

bureau events. An after hours event will be on Tuesday, June 10 from 4:30 p.m.-

6:30 p.m. at Acquaviva Winery and Ristorante in Batavia. There will be a

preview of the 2025 events and activities, and an announcement of the 25

recipients of over $45K in KCFB scholarships. On July 8, there will be a

scholarship awards and donor recognition. Scholarship recipients and donors

will gather at Northwestern Memorial Field in Geneva. Lastly, Arnold announced

that for 2025, the KCFB foundation will be distributing wallet-sized "punch cards"

at each drive-thru BBQ. Each meal purchased at any of the KCFB BBQ's will

earn one special character punch. Any farm bureau member who returns a

completed punch card prior to October 1 will earn a complimentary entry in the

KCFB 2025 Vintage Truck Raffle fundraiser. Members will also have a chance to

win a 1948 Willys Jeep pickup truck on Thursday, October 9. All KCFB BBQ's

will be held on every Thursday from May 22-October 9. He introduced KCFB

Vice President Beth Gehrke to the Committee. Arnold addressed questions and

comments from the Committee.

Illinois Farm Bureau & Urban Agriculture (Liz Repplinger, Urban Agriculture

Program Manager)

Urban Agriculture Program Mgr. with the Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) Liz

Repplinger introduced herself to the Committee. Her work is focused on

networking with urban farmers, community gardeners, and food access

programs across the state of Illinois. The goal of the program is to assist farmers

with building networks within their communities and regions. She stated that the

IFB is increasingly involved in promoting and supporting urban agriculture

throughout the state. This includes initiatives like the Urban Growers Cohort,

which provides resources and guidance to urban agriculture projects. The IFB is

interested in strengthening local food systems, addressing food deserts, and

providing educational resources on urban agriculture. Repplinger hopes to learn

more about the county's local food access programs, and get an insight of what

the Kane County Agriculture Committee is involved in, such as the Growing for

Kane Program. Further discussion took place.

Presentations/Announcements

Agriculture Projects Update (Matt Tansley, Planner)

Dev. Planner Tansley provided updates on the agriculture projects with New

Venture Advisors Consultant (NVA). He reminded the Committee that the Kane

County Board authorized and extended a service agreement with NVA to

provide strategic guidance in addressing local food system needs, and identify

opportunities for growing successful agricultural businesses. Tansley reviewed

the Soil Health Impact and Economic Assessment (SHIEA). The assessment is

to look at the economic, environmental, and public health benefits derived from

adopting on-farm health management systems. The Local Food Access Models

and Strategies (LFAMS) is another analysis of ongoing initiatives that focuses on

increasing the availability of local foods within the region. The intended outcome

for the LFAMS is to generate an index of active food system programs and

organizations aligned with Growing for Kane objectives. In addition, this project

will provide analysis of consumer sentiment and wholesale purchasing trends.

The intended outcome for the SHIEA will be to assess the current state of soil

health and composition on select Kane County farms. This assessment will

provide a business cost and benefit analysis associated with the adoption of soil

health practices, and determine the level of economic and public health benefits

linked to adoption of soil health practices. Lastly, this assessment will benefit

Kane County farmers by providing information to guide operating decisions that

affect soil health and quality, and provide farmers opportunities to explore new

business lines for generating additional income.

New Business

Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB) Senior Mgr. Rob Desio manages the Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program team (SNAP). He stated that 4%-5% of the total meals

distributed have been lost due to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

cuts. The NIFB is on track to serve over 93M meals this year. Much discussion took

place.

Kane-Dupage Soil and Water Conservation District Admin. Coordinator Kat Gerdts

announced that there will be Urban Agriculture Programming provided by the district

this year. There will be a Cover Crops Assessment event later this year in partnership

with the University of Illinois Extension (UIUC) and the Kane County Farm Bureau

(KCFB), discussing drone demos for a Cover Crops Field Day.

Kane-Dupage Soil and Water Conservation District Senior Resource Analyst Isabella

Borzeka hopes to form a partnership with the Kane County agricultural sectors. She is

in communication with Matt Tansley and Sarahy Castro in the Development

Department to organize a Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) committee for

the Kane County LESA score. She stated that LESA is a tool in determining viability of

land for agricultural use. The first LESA committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday,

May 29, 2025 gathering individuals involved in the agriculture community to discuss

perspectives on current iterations of the LESA score. Further discussion took place.

Reports Placed On File

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Bill Roth

10.

11.

Executive Session (if needed)

None.

Adjournment

RESULT:

APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE

Bill Roth

MOVER:

Rick Williams

SECONDER:

This meeting was adjourned at 11:41 a.m.

Rachel Santora

Recording Secretary