The Farm Bureau office and COUNTRY Financial will be closed on Monday, July 5 in observance of Independence Day. We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.

The Lanark Fire Department is hosting a grain bin training program for fire professionals and EMS professionals on Saturday, July 17. They are also extending an invitation to farmers to watch the class and get a more complete view of the manpower and process involved in an agricultural incident. There will be a grain entrapment, a grain bin cut, and auger entrapments. Registration is due by July 8th, so contact our office if you would like more information.

We are heading back to Alaska in 2011 with Tri-State Travel. We will be having a preview meeting on the trip here in the Naaman Diehl Auditorium on Thursday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m.

All members should have received their invitation in the mail for the Membership Appreciation breakfast which will be held on Friday, July 16 from 6:30 – 10:30 a.m. There will be door prizes, lots of food, and great fellowship, so be sure to mark your calendar and come on over.

Holy Cow! The tractor drive is just about full. As of my typing this we only have room for 12 more tractors. Now if only we can get the weather to hold up that day! Although it certainly wouldn’t be the first time we had a good storm for the tractor drive, in fact, it storms EVERY year we have a drive! Cross those fingers that we are getting it out of our system early.

We will be starting the second round of library programs this week. For the month of July we will be talking about baseball and about how agriculture is a huge part of baseball. Just think you wouldn’t have ball, gloves, or that popcorn and nachos without agriculture. We will be at the Thomson Library on July 1 at 10 a.m., the Lanark Library on July 15 at 10 a.m., the Mount Carroll Library on July 15 at 2:30 p.m., and the Savanna Library on July 19 at 2:30 p.m. Come out and join us for an hour of fun. Contact your library if you plan on attending.

The phone continues to ring in regards to membership benefits. Yes, members do still receive a discount at Great Wolf Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells. We also currently have theme park tickets on hand for Great America, Six Flags St. Louis, Adventureland, and Silver Dollar City. We also have hotels discounts with numerous hotel chains including Choice Hotels. We also have discounts with all the top car rental companies. You can find out more information on any of the discounts available to you as a member by calling our office at 815-244-3001 or visiting www.ilfb.org/member. Make sure to bookmark it as one of your favorites!!