19 teachers from the Lee County and surrounding areas attended the 2010 Summer Ag Institute II, “The Power of Agriculture, sponsored by the Lee County Farm Bureau, along with 11 neighboring county Farm Bureaus. During the 3 day course, teachers became students and as they learned about various energy sources and their connection to agriculture and how they could incorporate the topics into their classrooms. 

Monday, June 21 kicked off in Kewanee with Illinois Ag in the Classroom introducing the teachers to the wide variety of resources that are available to educators through their local Ag in the Classroom programs. The teachers then listened to a presentation from Matt Aldeman, Illinois State University Center for Renewable Energy. The afternoon capped off with a three hour behind the scenes tour of Big River Resources (an ethanol plant), in Galva, IL. 

Day two of the course took the teachers up to Pearl City, IL where they were able to tour the dairy operation of Hunter Haven Farms and were able to see firsthand the benefits of a methane digester. Jo-Carroll Energy then educated the teachers on bio-mass production. Following the presentation, the group traveled to the largest egg production facility in IL, Pearl Valley Eggs, where they learned about egg production and the use of poultry waste as compost. The final tour of the day was given by Tad Everett, Superintendent of Sterling Public Schools, regarding the geothermal  units that were installed in their schools. 

On a rainy Wednesday morning, the outdoor tour of a wind farm outside of Buda, IL was moved under shelter, but Scott Jensen, a local farmer, was still able to inform the group about wind energy. Following his presentation, Chip Moodie from Kleine Equipment,Inc., gave a precision planting demonstration and talked to the group about how this technology has increased the accuracy and reduced energy usage on the farm. The group then traveled to the AgView FS facility in Buda where Dean Craine from AgriEnergy talked to the group on various farming practices to help improve the soil while reducing energy use. David Bowman from Richland Community College discussed the schools biofuels curriculum and brought their biofuels lab for the teachers to explore. Kent Hodel, Illinois Soybean Association, educated the group about biodiesel and its benefits. The final presentation of the day was from Bob Vogel, Illinois Renewable Energy. 

The three day course provided the teachers with fun and educational up close view of agriculture and energy. If you would like more information about Ag in the Classroom or the Summer Ag Institute program, county the Lee County Farm Bureau, (815) 857-3531.