Read "Surprisingly dry: Chicagoan learns soil, ag economics lessons" in the Decatur Herald and Review.
CHRIS LUSVARDI
H&R Staff Writer
DALTON CITY State Sen. Heather Steans was surprised to see dry ground Thursday during a tour of two Macon County farms. After all the rain she had heard about damaging crops this spring, she was expecting the ground to be more visibly saturated. As it turns out, the dirt is starting to crack from dryness on the surface, and farmers actually are wishing for more rain after a couple of weeks of relatively dry weather.
After all the rain and here things are dry again, Steans said. How fast things change.
Steans, a first-term Democrat from Chicago, was touring Emmett Sefton's farm near Hervey City as part of the Illinois Farm Bureau's Adopt-A-Legislator program. The program brings together Chicago lawmakers with downstate farmers.
It was the first time such a tour had taken place in Macon County. Steans also toured Mike and Karyn Hortin's farm near Harristown, seeing more livestock during that time.
Sefton showed Steans and her children, Ryan, Sam and Abby Smith, how the corn is starting to catch up to where it normally is this time of year. But he said he lost about 10 percent of his acres, and more rain is needed for the surviving to crops to reach full potential.
Macon County Farm Bureau President Dave Carr, who helped conduct the tour with Executive Director Tim Stock, said he hasn't lost as much of his crop as Sefton, but rain usually is welcome to farmers. The ground, he said, still has a lot of moisture below the surface.
"The corn is looking good. It's coming back," Carr said.
Steans said seeing firsthand how a farm operates will benefit her going back to Chicago and working in Springfield.
"(Farmers are) also suffering from the high prices, too," Steans said. "They have a lot of stuff they're not controlling. I don't think people in the city understand that."
She said lawmakers in Springfield need to compromise more.
She represents the northernmost lakefront district in Chicago, one of the most densely populated districts in the state.
"I can talk to them about issues, knowing why they vote a certain way and understanding their issues so I can work with them," Steans said.
The program is one of the most important ones the Farm Bureau has, said Christina Nourie, a legislative coordinator for the Farm Bureau. She said the farmers will be invited to Chicago to see issues facing urban residents.
Sefton will readily accept the invitation when it comes.
"I'm not afraid to get out of my shell here," he said. "They don't realize what we do, and until you see it firsthand, it makes a big difference. I think it's something her and her kids won't forget."
