Barry Fisher is a 3rd generation farmer from Ellisville IL, who started helping his dad on the farm as a kid over 50 years ago. Along with cattle and row crops Barry raises sheep and has found a niche market for his lamb. Being community minded and active in the Illinois Farm Bureau is important ...

Chris Rupiper grew up around tractors and other farm equipment at Rupiper Equipment, a dealership his dad started in 1979 in Henry, Illinois. After graduating from Bradley University, Chris worked for John Deere for 12 years in product engineering and is now the CEO of Prairie State Tractor, wher...

Dr. Sherri Morris is Chair and Professor of Biology at Bradley University and loves the opportunity to engage students in undergrad research. She also works in the Center for STEM Education, focusing on encouraging participation in STEM fields through work with the community and teachers.

Mitchell Popadziuk, his brother Tristan, and mother Kelly, work at their family-owned small batch coffee roasting company, CXT. The company just a dream until Mitchell traveled to the Dominican Republic to visit the farm of one of their coffee producers. With two cafes and a wholesale coffee busi...

Elizabeth and Ben Omet, from Lombard, Illinois, believe farmers and ranchers want quality products. So they started Protexia, a family owned and operated business selling bale wrap that repels birds and rodents for up to two years in the field. They now have customers in all 50 states and continu...

Ken Ropp is the seventh generation on the family dairy and grain farm where he was born and raised. In 2005, he took an idea and a dream and founded Ropp Jersey Cheese. He and his family came up with some recipes and learned how to make cheese. They now manufacture and distribute their cheese to ...

Brian Loeffler is a fourth generation farmer who values his family and taking time to volunteer in his community. Brian is active in his church and serves on his FSA board and elevator board. He also believes in keeping farmers active in their communities to be a voice for their profession, and a...

Ali Gibbs was raised in town, but she married a farmer and embraced the rural lifestyle. Working closely with her father-in-law, Ali learned the art of canning vegetables from their expanding garden. Eventually, Ali and her husband dedicated two acres of their farm to raise vegetables for the Fee...

Wes Lehman from Dwight, Illinois, started raising pheasants as a kid and he continues to evolve his business, Feather Prairie Farms LLC. He and his wife, both avid hunters, added a recreational dog training facility to their farm that attracts many people from Chicago. There aren’t many places li...

Julie Wankel, formerly of Kansas, is a huge K-State fan and can find friends no matter where she’s at just by bringing up that fact. She finds strength in her family, as that’s the base of all her values and biggest support. Since moving to Illinois, Julie has found an ag community, friendships s...

Born and raised in Roanoke, Illinois, Craig Janssen learned the value of hard work and servant leadership from his parents. Modeling the honesty and integrity in business he learned from his grandpas, Craig and his wife bought Great Harvest Bread Company in Peoria. They now have three locations, ...

Peoria native Kavan Shay earned a degree in finance and headed to Chicago to work downtown in commercial real estate. Deciding to fulfill a culinary dream, his entrepreneurial spirit led him to open his restaurant, The Blue Duck Barbeque Tavern, in his hometown of Peoria. Kavan felt it would be m...

Mark Black and Matt Brooks started KT Precision Ag to use drones to spray their fields and help control weeds. On this episode of A Shot of Ag, they talk about this and other drone application are changing today’s farming operations.

K. J. Johnson grew up on his family farm and began competing in tractor pulls with his two brothers at the age of six. He later worked in ag on Capitol Hill and was recently elected president of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association.

Jim Campion is a fourth-generation farmer who is stepping up to the challenges of raising crops while utilizing his past experience as a grain market analyst to make his farming operation profitable.

Kevin Moody, the owner of KAM Shooting Sports, a gun shop and shooting range in Morton, Illinois, talks with Rob about gun safety and our Second Amendment rights. Kevin served our country in the Marines and has become an NRA instructor. Now he teaches his students how to safely use a firearm and ...

Yvonne Strode graduated from Bradford High School on a pre-med path, but after taking a primate class in college she pivoted her focus. She started as a volunteer at the Peoria Zoo and later became a paid zookeeper. Many years later, Yvonne has worked her way up the ladder to became the director ...

Part 2: In Part 1, Donna Klostermann shared how the birth of her first child turned into the scariest day of her life. Donna is back to talk about OSF King Care-A-Van, a mobile health center serving rural residents who might otherwise be unable to access care.

Donna Klostermann worked as a grain originator and for her family grain farm. When she arrived at the hospital to welcome her first daughter into the world things did not go as planned. Donna relays details of the toughest experience of her life. This is Part 1 of a two-part story.

Kate Huffman, also known as the Pink Hat Farmer, is a young farmer who is part of a family that values multigenerational farming and is willing to have hard conversations now to avoid problems down the road. On A Shot of Ag, she shares her thoughts on investing in a farm at a young age and why we...

Harley Curless is happiest when he’s up in his plane and working with farmers. For decades, he has been an ag pilot applying products to farmers fields via aerial application. On A Shot of Ag, he says working around the public always has its challenges but teaching people about the safety of ag p...

A Shot of Ag welcomes DeAnne Bloomberg, Director of Issues Management at the Illinois Farm Bureau, who grew up on a farm with five siblings and learned the value of family and hard work. She is proof you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.

On this episode of A Shot of Ag, hear the story of Bud Harvey, an engineer by trade who signed up for a blacksmithing class and fell in love with the art of working with iron. Over the past 20 years he has inspired hundreds of young people to learn this lost art and create some amazing pieces.

Dan Mehochko has spent a lifetime in agriculture. On this episode of A Shot of Ag he shares his reasons for prioritizing ag safety and having the conversations that can save lives on the farm.