Hastert tours farm, speaks on drought

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LELAND - U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns visited John Hohenberger's Leland farm to see the damage from the 2005 drought. U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Plano, who represents the 14th District, which includes Leland, invited the secretary along with U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Rockford, to tour the farm. They walked through cornfields where the corn is drying to become grain for animal fields. They went through a soybean field where problems include spider mites. The lack of moisture is affecting the number of pods and the number of beans in pods. "The story repeats itself over and over throughout the district," Hastert said. "One hundred counties in Illinois are affected by the drought." Hastert, who grew up in the area, said he has never seen a drought to this extent. "It's devastating," he said. Hohenberger, a DeKalb County Farm Bureau member, has said the drought has significantly decreased the number of bushels of corn per acre in the county. "I'm glad you're here to see this," he said. Hastert said he wanted Johanns to see the damage to the crops from the ground because it's different than seeing it from pictures and reports. "You get a whole different flavor when you come out and look," Johanns said. "You can look at stats ... But it's different when you come out and look." At press time, the group was holding a roundtable discussion with farmers from throughout DeKalb County and Kane and McHenry counties. Renee Messacar can be reached at rmessacar@daily-chronicle.com.