By TIM ALEXANDER

Illinois Correspondent

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — University of Illinois board of trustees president Tim Killeen detailed a new process the university has adapted for selecting farm operators for leased university-owned farmland acreage during a recent trustees meeting.

The university’s management approach has varied over time, Killeen explained, with the most recent emphasis centered on cash bids in an effort to maximize income for initiatives such as scholarships, 4-H programs and research. The U of I currently owns around 10,000 acres of farmland through alumni gifts and other donations, with stewardship of the farmland awarded to the highest bidders.

The fresh approach, urged by new College of ACES dean Kim Kidwell, will emphasize selection of operators based on a combination of factors relating to farm management experience – rather than simply awarding leases to those with the most cash to offer.

“That ‘best candidate’ approach will assess applicants based on a wide range of factors such as their experience in farming, their records as careful stewards of the land, their educational background and whether their use of modern agricultural technology and machinery best fits the parcel of land that is available,” Killeen announced. “The most qualified applicant will then be offered the operating contract at a predetermined rate based on local market conditions.”

As director of agricultural property services, Jonathan Norvell manages the farmland endowment for the U of I Office of Treasury Operations. Norvell, a former farm loan officer with First National Bank of Peoria, said the department operates much like a bank’s farm trust department. He said that in 2005, the U of I announced an “open, competitive search” policy for farmland leases that prioritized cash rent bids. The new strategy abandons that directive.

“The new process focuses on building good working relationships with the intent of improving the farm,” Norvell explained. “This was one of the first issues Dean Kidwell presented, and the chancellor of the university supports it as well. The dean has a strong ag background, as does the chancellor. The recommended changes caught our attention immediately.”

Input was sought from the Illinois Farm Bureau, U of I College of ACES faculty, and others in the U of I system and Illinois farming community to develop the new farm management leaseing strategy.

“Our new approach aligns more closely with farming practices and culture in Illinois, which emphasizes building strong relationships and careful stewardship of our fertile cropland,” stated Killeen. “Our goal is to integrate community values with best management practices to best serve the interests of our donors, to achieve the best long-term value of the endowments, to steward the land responsibly and to support Illinois agriculture by our example.”

The 10,000 acres of farmland leased by the U of I is spread primarily across 19 central and northern Illinois counties, according to Norvell, with 34 farm operators currently under contract through his office. U of I alumni and others who leave farmland to the university in their wills do so through the U of I Legacy Farms Foundation.

“Most of the (profits from endowment farms) go to scholarships and fellowships. Families can establish scholarships in their names through farmland endowments to the university,” said Norvell. “The first gift of farmland to the U of I was received in a trust in 1923, so the university has been doing this for a long time.”