CHICAGO — Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) delegates re-elected President Richard Guebert, Jr. and Vice President Brian Duncan at the organization’s annual meeting in Chicago, Dec. 4-7.
Richard Guebert, Jr., of Ellis Grove in Randolph County, was elected to a two-year term as IFB president. Guebert has served as IFB president for the past eight years and previously served as vice president of IFB from 2003-2013. He also previously served as president of the Randolph County Farm Bureau. With this re-election, Guebert will complete the final term he is eligible for.
“It is both an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to serve a final term as president of this great organization. It has been my pleasure to further our mission to improve the economic well-being of agriculture and enrich the quality of farm family life. I wholeheartedly commit that I will continue to do my utmost best to support and defend the policy set forth by the delegate body through our grassroots process. This work continues not only here in the state of Illinois, but in Washington, D.C. and across this country. I am looking forward to working alongside our tremendous board of directors, home office and county Farm Bureau staff and our members as we push forward on key agricultural issues over the next two years,” Guebert said.
Guebert has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education, with a minor in animal science, from Southern Illinois University. Guebert, his wife, Nancy, and their son, Kyle, operate a corn, soybean and wheat farm in Randolph County.
Brian Duncan, of Polo in Ogle County, was elected to a two-year term as IFB vice president. Duncan has served as IFB vice president for the past four years and previously served as the Ogle County Farm Bureau president. He also previously served on the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Swine Advisory Committee, National Pork Producers Council Price Discovery Task Force and Ogle County Pork Producers board of directors.
“From the bottom of my heart, it is my privilege to serve as vice president of Illinois Farm Bureau,” Duncan said. “I do not take lightly your trust in me to help shepherd this organization forward and to uphold our policy. I never forget that it is my job to serve you, the member, and I look forward to going above and beyond as much as possible in the next two years. Illinois farmers have a great story to tell, and together we are backed by a strong organization that is dedicated to doing just that.”
Duncan is a graduate of Sauk Valley Community College and is an active member of Forreston Grove Presbyterian Church. He and his wife, Kelly, raise corn, soybeans, wheat, pigs and cattle on their farm near Polo; they have four children.
The Illinois Farm Bureau is a member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, a national organization of farmers and ranchers. Founded in 1916, IFB is a non-profit, membership organization directed by farmers who join through their county Farm Bureau. IFB has a total membership of more than 372,326 and a voting membership of 77,462. IFB represents three out of four Illinois farmers.
— Illinois Farm Bureau