Danner stays busy on, off farm

ALEDO – A newly-elected at-large director for the Illinois Corn Growers Association manages to stay busy.

Kate Danner serves as president of Longley Farms where she and her father, John Longley, manage a 1,600-acre row crop operation in Western Illinois. They raise corn, soybeans and parent soybeans for Pioneer. Danner does all of the financials, operates equipment and manages employees while her husband, Jason, operates his own tiling and excavating business.

“When it’s my slow time of the season, I’ll help him put starter holes in or help string tile,” Danner explained. “On the opposite side, if I’ve got some machinery that’s down, he’ll help me fix it.”

Danner was both surprised and pleased with yields this past fall. She was expecting average corn yields of 200 bushels per acre but ended up with a 230-240 bushel average.

“It was pretty smooth sailing, it was just a really long harvest,” Danner said.

With her recent election to the ICGA board, Danner hopes to keep promoting ethanol and support the farmer’s reputation. She has had plenty of leadership opportunities, such as speaking at USDA’s outlook forum and taking part in USFRA dialogues. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue even toured Danner’s farm last summer.

“The ag industry is hungry for young people. They want good, young representation,” added Danner.

The Danners are also involved with the Mercer County Farm Bureau Young Leaders.

Danner graduated from Iowa State University in 2012 with a triple major in Agronomy, Farm Management and Environmental Studies.