URBANA - Tony Franklin was recently named University of Illinois Extension Director for the multi-county unit comprised of Henry, Mercer, Rock Island, and Stark counties.

"While there will be many challenges as we transition into the multi-county system," Franklin said, "the initial challenge will be to establish relationships with key stakeholders and volunteers, but it's one I'm really looking forward to."

Franklin was Associate Dean of Students at Knox College before joining University of Illinois Extension in 2001. He has served on numerous regional and statewide committees.

My vision for Unit 7 is to provide quality high impact programs that address critical issues and provide public value.  Goals and program initiatives will be implemented by a team of Educators in the following subject areas:  4-H Youth Development and Military Youth; Family and Consumer Sciences; Horticulture; and Community Development.  Specific programs will be determined based on local needs

The change in leadership came as the result of a restructuring of Extension due to a reduction in state funding.

"Even though Units are larger, we want to reassure everyone that the help you need from Extension will be just as accessible as it has been in the past" said Robert Hoeft, Interim Associate Dean for Extension and Outreach.  Hoeft says "People can still call the same phone numbers or use the same emails they have in the past to reach their local Extension staff."

The Extension educators who have been also been named are:  Jennifer Garner, Community Development; Cheryl Geitner, 4-H Youth and Military; Martha Smith, Horticulture; and Janice McCoy, Family Life.

An educator in Expanded Food and Nutrition Education has yet to be named.

For more information about how to find your local Extension office or personnel, visit http://web.extension.illinois.edu/.

-30-

DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 14, 2010 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA Rural Development is providing loans and grants for 433 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Iowa under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The funding includes support for wind projects that will generate renewable energy for businesses and agricultural producers. Also selected for funding are an anaerobic digester and renewable energy projects that use biomass as a fuel source.

"These loans and grants will generate and save energy for Iowa's farmers and business for many years to come, while promoting Obama Administration efforts to transition to a renewable energy economy," Vilsack said. "Farmers have significant opportunity to reduce their energy consumption or generate income by producing renewable energy that can be used by other consumers through USDA's REAP program."

The funding totals nearly $32 million and is expected to generate significant cost savings for recipients as they replace outdated equipment and install systems that create renewable energy or reduce energy use.

For example, Mark Anderson of rural Black Hawk County has been selected to receive a $20,000 grant to install a 20 kilowatt wind turbine to provide energy for the farming operation. Dean A. Tjaden of Charles City has been selected for an $8,000 grant to install a biomass furnace. The Madison County Winery LLC, located just outside St. Charles, has been selected for a $13,651 grant to purchase and install a geothermal heating and cooling system and solar panel for the winery's warehouse. Mark Ehrhardt of Monona has been selected for two REAP grants totaling $22,675 to install a biomass furnace to replace a propane furnace to heat a dairy barn and to install robotic milking equipment to reduce energy consumption.

Hundreds of rural businesses and farmers in Iowa have benefited from the REAP program during the past few years. One previous recipient is a farm engine and equipment repair shop in Spencer, Iowa. Shop owner Gary Hoefling moved his businesses from two locations to a new, 6,750-square-foot, energy-efficient building in fall 2008. The new building has a geothermal heating and cooling system that was paid in part by a $27,250 energy grant from USDA Rural Development. The building also uses energy-efficient lighting and is landscaped using environmentally friendly techniques, including a rain garden, permeable pavers and a garden of native prairie grasses and wild flowers that provide coverage and insulation for the geothermal well sites. Hoefling estimates the geothermal system will pay for itself in four to five years because of lower heating and cooling costs, tax credits and an accelerated depreciation schedule.

REAP funding can be used for renewable energy systems, energy efficiency improvements, feasibility studies, energy audits, and renewable energy development assistance. More information on the REAP program, which was authorized under the 2008 Farm Bill, is at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_ReapResEei.html.

Funding of each recipient is contingent upon the recipient meeting the conditions of the grant or loan agreement. The following is a complete list of REAP recipients announced today. Award Recipients

Through its Rural Development mission area, USDA administers and manages more than 40 housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs through a network of 6,100 employees located in the nation's capital and over 600 state and local offices. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers, and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America. Rural Development has an existing portfolio of more than $142 billion in loans and loan guarantees.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa - October 4, 2010 - Iowa Farm Bureau Federation's (IFBF) grassroots farmers work hard to protect the soil and water of this state which, for generations, have provided food for their families and yours.  That is why IFBF has joined with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) and the Iowa Water Environment Association to file litigation challenging a rule adopted by the Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) over inappropriate voting by an out-of-state resident Commission member and the conflict of interest by another EPC member.

A lawsuit, filed October 4, 2010, raises questions about the legality of the EPC vote last December which approved a new water quality rule. "The livelihoods of farmers, rural businesses and all Iowans are adversely affected by the new antidegradation rules," said IFBF President Craig Lang.  "The rule will stifle new economic development and job creation, especially in rural areas of Iowa."

"We know that the antidegradation rule will likely increase sewer and storm water rates for many Iowans, whether they live in small, rural towns or large Iowa cities," said Ted Payseur, government relations chair of the Iowa Water Environment Association.  The IRFA agrees; "While Iowa is the nation's leader in renewable fuels production, this new EPC rule threatens the future of that status," said IRFA executive director Monte Shaw.  "Imposing excessive costs and limitations that go above and beyond the Clean Water Act will severely hamper the ability of current biofuels producers to expand and will discourage new producers from locating in Iowa."

The lawsuit contends two EPC members had significant issues that should have prevented them from voting on the antidegradation rule.  Residency was the issue for regulator Carrie LaSeur, founder and president of the environmental activist group, Plains Justice.  LaSeur was already living and voting in Montana when she cast her vote on the Iowa antidegradation rule. That is a clear violation of the residency laws governing the EPC, which require members to be registered Iowa voters.

Susan Heathcote is an employee of The Iowa Environmental Council, an environmental lobbying group which pushed EPC adoption of the antidegradation rule; she had a clear conflict voting on a measure that affects her employer and her paycheck.

The lawsuit also spotlights procedural irregularities with the adoption of the antidegradation rule.  "Iowans need to believe they are represented by lawmakers who have their best interests in mind; not appointed members of a board, serving their own agendas," said Lang.

-30-

America's Farmers Grow Communities Program to Give $2,500 Awards in 99 Iowa Counties and Benefit Local United Way Chapters with Each Sign-Up

BOONE, IOWA (Aug. 31, 2010) - Today the Monsanto Fund announced the expansion of the America's Farmers Grow CommunitiesSM program at the Farm Progress Show, the nation's largest outdoor farm event, in Boone, Iowa. This program gives eligible farmers the opportunity to win $2,500 for their community. America's Farmers Grow CommunitiesSM program is being offered in more than 1,200 counties across 38 states. Eligible farmers can sign up today through Dec. 31, 2010 at www.growcommunities.com or by calling 1. 877.267.3332.

"More than 95 percent of the land in the United States is home to a rural community, and farmers work hard to support those communities," said Brett Begemann, Monsanto Fund Chairman. "We created the America's Farmers Grow Communities program to celebrate that hard work. Every rural community has vital needs. It's our goal for every $2,500 award to support rural community needs and cause a ripple effect of benefits along the way."

In Iowa, $247,500 will be invested in rural communities in 99 counties. The program is intended to benefit nonprofit community groups such as ag youth organizations, schools and other civic groups important to America's farmers. "A donation of $2,500 could help a community garden buy thousands of seeds, or help a school buy new computers," Begemann said. "It takes just a few minutes for a farmer to sign up online for a chance to really benefit an organization that's important to them, and more importantly, benefit their friends, family and neighbors as a result of that donation."

Monsanto Fund also will donate $1 to the United Way on behalf of each farmer who signs up for the America's Farmers Grow Communities program. The $1 will be donated to the United Way chapter in the home county of the farmer. This offers yet another way for farmers to invest in the future of their rural community.

Farmers can apply online at www.growcommunities.com or they can call 1.877.267.3332 to apply by phone. Farmers, age 21 and over, who are actively engaged in farming a minimum of 250 acres of corn, soybeans and/or cotton, or 40 acres of open field vegetables, or at least 10 acres of tomatoes, peppers and/or cucumbers grown in protected culture, are eligible. The application period runs August 31 through December 31, 2010. The  program is open to all qualifying farmers, and no purchase is necessary in order to enter or win.

One winner will be randomly selected for each of Iowa's 99 participating counties. Monsanto Fund will announce winning farmers and recipient organizations by February 2011.

Eligible counties include Adair, Adams, Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhaoun, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clarke, Clay, Clayton, Clinton, Crawford, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Delaware, Des Moines, Dickinson, Dubuque, Emmet, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Henry, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Kossuth, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Lucas, Lyon, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Mills, Mitchell, Monona, Monroe, Montgomery, O'Brien, Osceola, Page, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Polk, Pottawattamie, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Sac, Scott, Shelby, Sioux, Story, Tama, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, Worthy and Wright.

Visit www.growcommunities.com to sign up and to learn more about the America's Farmers Grow Communities program. The project is part of a broad commitment by Monsanto Fund to invest in farm communities, in order to highlight the important contributions farmers make every day to our society. To view the official rules for this program, visit www.growcommunities.com or send a written request Eileen Jensen, 914 Spruce St., St. Louis, MO 63102.

About Monsanto Fund

The Monsanto Fund is the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company. Incorporated in 1964, the Fund's primary objective is to improve the lives of people by bridging the gap between their needs and their resources. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org/asp/welcome.asp.

###