AgWired

IFMA 17 was not kidding when it came up with its concept for the second Congress ever held in the U.S. Conference planners have woven the theme of “Food, Fiber and Energy” throughout the past few days of the Congress. However, it may surprise a few of the international delegates to learn their transportation is also joining the IFMA 17 Congress to implement the “energy” component of the theme.

Since Sunday, delegates have had the opportunity to ride shuttle buses to and from the Congress’ events. These Peoria Charter Coach buses are currently running on bio-fuels.

This practice is not uncommon for the company, who has been running its shuttles on bio-fuels since March 2004. And in its five year history of using bio-fuels, the company is pleased with their decision.

Bill Winkler, president of Peoria Charter Coach said,” To me, it is a three win situation…It burns cleaner. It’s cheaper, and it helps the farmers.”

As delegates look to the future of the agriculture industry, the issues of sustainability and a poor economy are sure to arise. However, Winkler was quick to mention this clean-burning fuel is mixed locally, reducing the cost. With these incentives, Winkler looks forward to continuing this practice in the future.

Peoria Charter Coach Company has served over 400,000 passengers since its start in 1941.

For a complete itinerary of IFMA17 events, visit: ifma17.org.

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Typically farmers don’t take a city bus or elevated train to the fields each day. But Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences isn’t your typical farm.

Every year as many as 1,500 prospective students apply for 150 spots at the far south side magnet school, and the lucky few who are chosen travel long distances to be a part of school that is producing some of the top, young Ag minds in the U.S.

“Our students have a unique opportunity, that no other students in the city of Chicago have,” said Lucille Shaw, head FFA advisor at the school.

Members of the IFMA17 congress also had a unique opportunity Tuesday afternoon to tour CHSAS, which sits on a 72-acre plot of land just down the street from another of the city’s public schools, Chicago Morgan Park.

For all intensive purposes CHSAS is a fully functioning farm, while teaching its students traditional subjects like math and history. Included on the campus is a barn for pigs, goats and horses, a fish farm and of course midwestern staple crops like corn and soybeans. There is also a machine shop for students to fix machinery and a large hive of bees, where the students harvest honey and sell it, along with other items produced by students in a small store in front of the school.

“I think this school gives kids an opportunity to be exposed to something they otherwise would not have,” Shaw said. “It was an untapped resource, especially by minorities, for so many years.”

Before spending a few hours at CHSAS, the IFMA17 members gathered for a tour of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where agricultural products such as corn, wheat and pork bellies are traded on the open market.

The group arrived in time to see the CME open at 9:30 a.m., to watch buyers and sellers go to work in the “pits.”

“I don’t know what to think of it,” said Heiko Zeller, a German student from the University of Applied Sciences in Eberswalde. “There’s a lot of money being made out there, but it seems a little crazy.”

Stops were also made at Millennium Park, a large vegetative outdoor area that sits in the shadow of the newly named Willis (Sears) Tower, and a lunch at the University of Illinois’ Illini Room, just a few blocks form the park.

“It’s an amazing use of a public space,” said University of Queensland senior lecturer Don Cameron said of Millennium. “You could just come here and relax with nature in the middle of the city.”

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