BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Mark Schneidewind, retired manager of the Will County Farm Bureau, received the 2025 “World of Corn” Award from the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) during their annual meeting Nov. 25 at the Illinois Corn AgriCenter.

“His career is made up of hours and hours of making sure farmers have a voice and all communities stay connected to agriculture,” said Shane Gray, ICGA board member, when acknowledging Schneidewind at the morning awards session. “Mark served as manager of the Will County Farm Bureau from 1991 until his retirement in February of this year. That’s 40 years of service to farmers in Will County and 40 years of showing up for Illinois Corn whenever we called. Mark has always emphasized service, collaboration and education, and has served in key roles in programs like Ag in the Classroom and Illinois Farm Families – programs that wouldn’t function without farmer-leaders and farmer-volunteers.”

The World of Corn award honors individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the corn industry through leadership, advocacy, and service. According to ICGA’s press materials, Schneidewind was recognized for his four decades of dedication to Illinois agriculture, his commitment to building relationships between farmers and policymakers and his enduring efforts to strengthen rural communities through his many years in agricultural education and outreach.

He was also praised for organizing the Will County Farm Bureau tent and petting zoo at the county fair, along with leading the efforts at Joliet Junior College to connect students with real-world opportunities in agriculture and agribusiness.

Schneidewind told Farm World that the aspect he enjoyed most about his time as a farm bureau county manager was connecting farmers and rural communities with needed resources during challenging times.

“To see the smiles and feel the gratitude, I think that was the biggest thing,” he said. “We were able to (receive) quite a few of those (thank-yous) in Will County over the years.”

Schneidewind cited property rights disputes as among the top challenges he faced in Will County, a northeastern Illinois county that is the fourth-most populous in the state. Part of the Chicago metropolitan area, Will County includes 31 municipalities and is home to nearly 700,000 people, with Joliet serving as its county seat. About 64 percent of Will County, or around 347,000 acres, is zoned as agricultural land.

“With the growth outward of Chicago into the Will County area you saw thousands of acres being taken for development, such as subdivisions, new road projects and the proposed third airport. Those were big, big challenges, and while some of those did not happen, it’s been a fight that we’ve had. When I got there 40 years ago, a new airport was a fight we already had,” said Schneidewind, whose wife, Anita, has been an active partner with Mark in his decades of farm bureau events and initiatives. Their son, Michael, has also been active in agriculture.

“I don’t think (the third airport proposal) is dead yet, especially with (recent) expansion of the roads,” he added, referring to the ongoing reconstruction of Interstate 80 and a series of projects on Interstate 55 in Will County.

Schneidewind is credited with expanding the farm bureau’s Ag in the Classroom offering by bringing the elementary education program into Chicago collar counties and beyond. “By working with Joliet Junior College’s ag department, we were able to expand the program,” he said. “We are also able to work with FFA to expand our working relationship with them, with some FFA students actually ending up (teaching) Ag in the Classroom programs,” he said.

During his recognition speech for the corn growers, Schneidewind noted that when he began his career in agriculture four decades ago, he could have never envisioned being honored in such a way later in life. “I had a lot of great volunteers that made this (award) possible, some of whom are with me today from Will County. They are the ones that are the true people on the ground that make things work,” he said.