Illinois State Fair Names Best New Food And Novelty Items For 2010

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois State Fair has recognized Mom ‘N' Pop Corn and Miche Bags as the Best New Food Item and Best New Novelty Item, respectively, for 2010.

Mom ‘N' Pop Corn, located on Central Avenue across from the Coliseum, sells flavored, frosted and kettle popcorn.  But it was Mom ‘N' Pop's new S'mores-On-A-Stick that won it the 2010 Best New Food Item award.  This is their second year at the fair.

"This award means a lot to us," Michael "Pop" Paine, of Waseka, Minn., said. "Last year was a really hard year for us.  It just goes to show that if you keep working at something, it can happen."

Miche Bags, located in the Exposition Building on Main Street, is a distributor of designer handbags with interchangeable outer shells.
Sales representative Jeanette Welcy said Miche Bags is very appreciative of the award.

"Things have been wonderful at this stand. Absolutely, wonderful," Welcy said.

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HONORS FARM FAMILIES

The Centennial and Sesquicentennial Farms Program honored long-time Illinois family farms during the Agriculture Day luncheon on the Director's Lawn.  Agriculture Director Tom Jennings was present to recognize those families that have been committed to farming for at least 100 years.

Pam Sigler's family has been farming soy and corn in Illinois for 175 years. Sigler, of Camargo, is the sixth generation of Sigler Farms and plans to bequeath the family business to her son.
 
"I still have the land grant signed by Andrew Jackson from September 1834," Sigler said.

More than 8,300 Illinois farms have been named Centennial Farms since the program was created in 1972.  There is at least one Centennial Farm in every county of the state. Champaign County has the most with more than 200.

For more information about the Illinois Centennial and Sesquicentennial Farms Program, call the Illinois Department of Agriculture at (217) 782-6675.

COMMODITIES AUCTION HELPS UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS STUDENTS

 
The best commodities at the 2010 Illinois State Fair were auctioned Tuesday evening at the Livestock Center, bringing in more than $5,000 for the University of Illinois (U of I).

Proceeds from the sale of the grand champion State Fair wine will benefit the Superior Young Producers Scholarship Fund at the U of I.  Money raised from meat and dairy products will be donated to the university's Sleeter Bull Fund.

A list of the commodities sold at the auction as well as their exhibitors, the purchasers and the amount that each sold for follows:

Grand Champion Cheese
Exhibited by Avanti Cheese Co. (Walnut, Bureau County)
Purchased by Farm Credit and Illinois Auctioneers Association for $1,025

Grand Champion Ice Cream
Exhibited by Highland Roberts Ice Cream (Norfolk, Nebraska)
Purchased by Lee Gaule Auction Service and Nord Animal Hospital for $325

Grand Champion Cottage Cheese
Exhibited by Prairie Farms (Genoa, DeKalb County)
Purchased by Lee Gaule Auction Service for $200

Grand Champion Cream Cheese
Exhibited by Swiss Valley (Luana, Iowa)
Purchased by U of I President Michael Hogan and administrators Robert Easter, Richard Wheeler and Robert Hauser for $375

Best of Show Illinois Wine
Exhibited by Prairie State Winery (Genoa, DeKalb County)
Purchased by Bob Turner in honor of Ann Turner of Boone County for $625

Grand Champion Honey
Exhibited by Robert Walters
Purchased by Top Line Farm for $700

Grand Champion Doe's Milk
Exhibited by Cameron Jodlowski (Atlanta, Logan County)
Purchased by Marty and Donna Davis for $300

Grand Champion Bacon
Exhibited by Eickman's Processing (Seward, Winnebago County)
Purchased by U of I President Michael Hogan and administrators Robert Easter, Richard Wheeler and Robert Hauser for $700

Grand Champion Ham
Exhibited by Eickman's Processing
Purchased by state Department of Agriculture Director Tom Jennings for $1,000

Grand Champion Summer Sausage
Exhibited by Eickman's Processing
Purchased by George Obernagle for $700

Grand Champion Processed Beef
Exhibited by Jones Meat and Locker (Jacksonville, Morgan County)
Purchased by Sorrells Farm Supply for $700

Income from the sale of the grand champion honey and doe's milk goes to their exhibitor.