EAST PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — More than 100 people came out to Illinois Central College’s East Peoria campus for the 2023 Farmland Owners Conference today.
Guest speakers spoke to about 150 farm owners from around Central Illinois about various aspects of farm ownership, including the future of farming technology and how to stop soil erosion.
The event was held at ICC, but it was put on in partnership with the University of Illinois extension. Kevin Brooks, who is a farm management educator for the University of Illinois extension, said it’s important to educate local farmers.
“This land has been producing for over 150 years and we need to see that in the future it’s still productive and highly valuable,” he said.
ICC agriculture professor Pete Fandel also helped put on the event, and says events like these are important for local farmers.
“Putting on a meeting like this helps educate farmers on some of those decisions that are made on a yearly basis or a monthly basis about what conservation practices, what herbicides, what chemicals, what long-term decisions with conservation they might make on those farms and where to find resources to help them make those educated decisions,” Fandel said.
This is the first time that ICC has hosted the event.
