To be the leading competitor and operation of choice for Central Illinois. This will be achieved through innovative and bold new management concepts and processes. Our affiliation with an Interdependent Participatory System will allow for the realization of the growth and profitability goals through top agronomic, marketing, technological and stewardship practices

To provide landowners a profitable return while increasing the scope and profitability of Illinois Family Farms through top agronomic, marketing, technological and stewardship practices.

Illinois Family Farms is in position to be the leading competitor and operation of choice for central Illinois. It is a goal of Illinois Family Farms to proudly continue to grow a highly successful profitable business built on a foundation of bold innovative thinking, technology and superior management. Utilizing the latest technology, such as yield monitors, VRT, GPS, GIS, Auto-Trac and a comprehensive information management system, we are able to realize higher than average yields and returns of our major revenue center corn. With the resulting higher profits, the farm has invested in better infrastructure such as grain handling and storage to increase the marketing opportunities and efficiencies.

Every bushel of grain is marketed at least twice, with some being sold four times. We effectively use innovative marketing tools and concepts such as HTA, Basis, Bull and/or Bear spreads and options on mostly Corn on Corn rotation to have far greater revenue per acre.

Another benefit is the economies of scale that have been realized. The larger base of operations allows us to justify cost reducing assets such as Dry Fertilizer and Anhydrous Ammonia facilities, seed dealerships, custom application, a trucking company as well as the technologies listed above. These assets prove to be a major competitive advantage over our competition.

Illinois Family Farms is a growth and profit oriented family farm that seeks to provide a positive place of employment for family and non-family employees. We pursue the adaptation of top agronomic, marketing, technological and stewardship practices that allow all individuals involved with the farm to prosper and grow. Another benefit for new operations is that we can allow other operations to be merged in and compete on a scale that would otherwise not be available to them.

The prosperous relationship benefits landowners by providing a fair return for their assets. Employees benefit by having an employer that respects and rewards good employee behavior appropriately.

Good stewardship protects landowner interest by asset protection and increased return on asset.

Grain crops, specifically corn, are the primary source of revenue for Illinois Family Farms. We grow continuous corn because of the increased profit potential, which is not provided by other grain crops.

Superior marketing, along with our storage facilities, provides significant returns over competitors. For example, in 2005 the basis appreciated $0.66 per bushel for December delivery when compared with fall. This equated to an $825,000 additional revenue source due to utilization of the grain storage facility.

We use GPS derived soil samples. Fertilizer is then applied based on prescription derived from the GPS samples to achieve optimum yield. We utilize our own 30,000-gallon anhydrous, 1,200 ton dry fertilizer and chemical facilities. Through the use of these facilities, we are able to source these products at a substantially lower price than other operations in the area. We also have our own application equipment for fertilizer and chemicals.

In 2006, we implemented John Deere Auto Steer to avoid overlaps and skips with application of inputs. This initial investment allowed us to reduce fuel usage by 10,000 gallons during the season. All operational aspects of the farm are tracked by computer utilizing John Deere,  Easi-Suite and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. These numbers are then interfaced with farm accounting software. Other John Deere site specific technologies utilized are variable rate planting based on soil type as well as VRT planting system will with the extra cost of traited seed, pay for 1 VRT drive every 1,800 acres.

The trucking company provides a year-round opportunity for employment, as well as more timely and profitable delivery of grain. We will also be delivering seed corn for AgriGold Hybrids as well as Dekalb.

The agriculture industry is rapidly changing and consolidating. The past several years have yielded enormous technological advances in equipment, seed, information gathering and marketing. Most of these advances were not available to our predecessors. We are utilizing these new technologies and running them over additional acreage, which reduces the cost per acre. The additional expansion of acreage will require additional capital and more efficient utilization of current assets.   For example, we use auto-trac technology, GPS,VRT,GIS and triple-stack hybrid.

I feel that one of the most important components as it relates to growth is Working Capital. Working Capital measures how many dollars are left if current liabilities are subtracted from current assets. Conceptually when all current debt is paid, the amount left over is available for you to work with, hence the title working capital. Most of the businesses that failed in the 80's, failed because they ran out of working capital. The importance of working capital cannot be over emphasized as a strong capital position allows us to take advantage of the opportunities and growth. This is evidence by the fact that we maintain a minimum of $100 per acre in working capital reserves.