PEORIA, Ill. – Patrick Kirchhofer, who has managed the Peoria County Farm Bureau for the past 29 years, retired from the position effective June 1, 2024. Kirchhofer plans to focus more of his time on his family’s farm near Shumway in Effingham County, where he will join his father and brother in their row crop, wheat and livestock operation.

Kirchhofer came to Peoria in 1995 after serving as manager for the Stark County and Edgar County farm bureaus. Previously, he had received a Bachelor of Agronomy and Crop Science degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an associate’s degree at Lakeland College in Mattoon. During his time in Peoria, Kirchhofer became well known for his many appearances on news programs promoting local agriculture and explaining modern farming practices and machinery.

“I think what I’ll miss most will be the people, and helping people. There are always a lot of diverse questions that come into the farm bureau office, and I think that is what I enjoyed the most. You never know what you might be asked, about anything from gardening to fruit trees to crop production. I love to learn about new things, and if a question came in that I didn’t know the answer to I would research it myself to provide an answer and to educate myself,” Kirchhofer said.

A retirement celebration and reception was held for Kirchhofer at the Peoria County Farm Bureau office in Peoria on May 21. His replacement has yet to be named, but is expected to be selected by the Illinois Farm Bureau before the end of June. “It’s time to turn the reins over to someone else and let them enjoy this job for a while,” Kirchhofer said.