BY ERIN HENKEL
Illinois Farm Bureau delegates Dec. 4 elected Evan Hultine of Bureau County as Illinois Farm Bureau’s vice president.
Hultine, 36, is a sixth-generation farmer who grows corn, soybeans and seed corn on a 1,300-acre farm with his parents.
While one of the youngest elected vice presidents in the organization’s history, Hultine is deeply connected to Farm Bureau.
Following his election, Hultine said he was excited to work with newly-elected IFB President Brian Duncan and local county Farm Bureaus.
“I have just felt so much support from the membership. For me to be successful, it is going to be because all the members are propping me up and helping me along,” Hultine told FarmWeek. “It is a grassroots organization and anything we want to get done — I can’t do it without (members’) knowledge and expertise.”
Hultine has served as Bureau County Farm Bureau president since 2017. He previously served in the following roles: Bureau County’s Young Leader chairman; IFB Young Leader committee member from 2013-16; IFB Young Leader chairman from 2016-17; and American Farm Bureau Federation Issues Advisory Committee member from 2017-21.
He said he remembers being in high school when Jill Frueh, who is now Bureau County Farm Bureau manager, drove him to FFA events. He also said taking an agricultural policy class taught by former IFB President Ron Warfield while attending University of Illinois helped develop his passion for the organization.
Hultine went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from the University of Illinois before returning to his family’s farm. He is a recipient of the 2022 IFB Young Leader Achievement Award and placed third in the AFBF Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award competition.
He was nominated by Reid Thompson, a delegate from McLean County, who described Hultine as having a “mature perspective,” strong critical thinking skills and the ability to engage as a strong advocate for the organization.
“He has a strong respect for the history of (Illinois) Farm Bureau, and the good work and legacy that has built this organization into what it is today, while at the same time challenging us all to look to the future and be open to the changes that will be necessary to keep the organization strong and thriving,” Thompson told delegates.
Hultine said that while he will be working to ensure younger voices are heard, he is also looking forward to learning from those with more experience.
“We want experience; we want to lift people up; we want to lift people up; we want to engage everybody,” he said.
He also described his own investment in growing IFB’s membership base by “igniting passions.”
This story was provided by FarmWeekNow.com.