Bishop comes to Four Beck Dairy for Blessing of the Farm
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- Written by: Matt Wilson - Breese Journal Reporter
The Becker family poses for a picture with a plaque given to them during the Fall Blessing of the Farm on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Four Beck Dairy in Bartelso. Photo by Matt Wilson A nice crowd made their way to Four Beck Dairy in Bartelso on Tuesday, Sept. 24, for a Fall Blessing of the Farm ceremony.
Four Beck Dairy is a five-generation farm owned by Gerald and Diane Becker, Stan and Debbie Becker, Daniel Becker, and Brad and Dawn Becker.
"My heart was full today," Debbie Becker said. "I just appreciate everyone who took the time to come out to this event today. The crowd and the event was just amazing."
Bishop of Belleville Michael McGovern blesses the grains during the Fall Blessing of the Farm on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Four Beck Dairy in Bartelso. Photo by Matt Wilson Bishop of Belleville Presider and Homilist Michael McGovern presided over the service.
During the service, McGovern blessed the rosary, machinery and tools, grain, animals, and the fruits and vegetables on the farm, located on Bartelso Road.
The Becker family was presented with a plaque following the ceremony.
Four Beck Dairy has a long history.
Judge Frederick Becker bought 80 acres of land north of Bartelso in the early 1840s. At the time it was raw prairie land. Frederick and his wife, Katherine, worked to make the raw prairie land into an improved farm.
Bishop of Belleville Michael McGovern speaks to the crowd during the Fall Blessing of the Farm on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Four Beck Dairy in Bartelso. Photo by Matt Wilson The farm was later taken over by their son John Bernard "JB" Becker. JB and his wife resided in the original house raising their nine children and improving the farm. One of their children, Bernard Henry, eventually took over the farm. He and his wife Adel resided in the original house for several years. In 1958, they decided to build the ranch style house that is currently on the farm.
Bernard and Adel turned the farm over to their sons Gerald and Stanley Becker. Gerald and his wife Diane reside in the home just north of the original house. Stan and his wife Debbie reside in the original homestead location.
Stan raised his children Daniel, Tina, Theresa, Michele and Debbie's daughter Tosha all in the original homestead location. Stan's son, Daniel, and Jerry's son, Brad, have worked side by side with their dads their entire life.
Daniel lives just a mile away and Brad with his wife Dawn raise their three children — Grant, Bennet and Vance — just a mile and a half away.
Together, the father and son duo formed Four Beck Dairy, making them the fifth generation to work on the farm.
Four Beck Dairy has always been a grain and livestock farm. They currently grow corn, soybeans, alfalfa hay and wheat. They have had beef cattle and hogs in the past, but now concentrate on dairy cattle. Almost all of their crops are raised to feed their dairy cows.
Stan takes care of the calves and helps as needed with anything else. Debbie maintains the farm books and cattle records. Danny manages everything to do with the cows and the employees. Brad manages the crops and all the machinery maintenance with the help of his children.
CCEC and City of Breese line personnel compete in Lineworker’s Safety Rodeo
Pictured, from left, are Sam Kuhl from CCEC, Jordan Vonder Haar from the City of Breese, and Craig Benhoff from CCEC. The Clinton/Breese team placed second in the cutout change competition at the Lineworker’s Safety Rodeo in Springfield. Line personnel from Clinton County Electric Cooperative (CCEC) and the City of Breese participated in the annual Lineworker’s Safety Rodeo coordinated by the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC) on Thursday, Sept. 19. Fifteen teams from 12 electric co-ops and one municipal electric utility participated in the friendly competition, along with seven others competing individually. The rodeo highlights the skills lineworkers use to work safely and efficiently.
Craig Benhoff and Sam Kuhl from CCEC and Jordan VonderHaar from the City of Breese represented their co-op and city as a team and Cole Timmerman represented the City of Breese as an individual at the rodeo, held at the LLCC Line School Yard in Springfield.
They competed against teams from across Illinois in events using skills that focus on agility, speed and accuracy. While these skills are part of the judging criteria, above all, participants are judged on safe work practices.
Line personnel competed in a series of team and individual events including the 40-foot climb, hurt man rescue and crossarm change. The cutout change was a team event, and the day concluded with a head-to-head climbing challenge.
Scores for each event are based on completion time, proper execution of the task and safety. Deductions were made to a team or individual’s overall performance score due to mistakes such as slipping when climbing poles, dropping tools or executing inappropriate procedures or methods.
At the end of the day, the Clinton/Breese team won second place in the cutout change competition. Congratulations to the lineworkers on their team and individual efforts.
Clinton County Electric Cooperative (CCEC) is a member of Touchstone Energy — a national alliance of local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives providing high standards of service to members large and small.
More than 700 Touchstone Energy cooperatives in 46 states are delivering energy and energy solutions to more than 30 million members every day. CCEC is committed to providing superior service based on four core principles: integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community. The co-op serves more than 6,200 meters over 1,066 miles of line in parts of Clinton, Fayette, Madison, Marion, St. Clair and Washington counties. For more information visit www.cceci.com. CCEC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Area students learn about farm safety at Progressive Ag Safety Day
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- Written by: Kelly Jo Ross - Breese Journal News Editor
AirEvac helicopter loads a “patient” into the helicopter during the mock demonstration of a car crash. On Thursday, Sept. 26, over 400 Clinton County sixth grade students participated in a Progressive Ag Safety Day sponsored by the Clinton County Farm Bureau’s Agriculture in the Classroom Program.
Ag Literacy Coordinator Susan Kleiboeker served as the program coordinator for the event, with the assistance of many other county groups and volunteers.
This was the 15th Annual Progressive Ag Safety Day in Clinton County, however, two years were skipped due to the Covid pandemic.
A live line demonstration on behalf of Clinton County Electric Cooperative during Safety Day Sept. 26 at the Clinton County Fairgrounds in Carlyle. There were 10 schools involved at the Ag Safety Day, comprising of only sixth graders from the schools. This year, students from Albers, All Saints Academy, Aviston, Bartelso, Breese District 12, Carlyle, Damiansville, Germantown, Wesclin, and Willow Grove, attended the event and rotated through various safety-themed stations throughout the day.
The day was broken into morning and afternoon sessions, with approximately half of the students attending at one time.
Stations included: Hunter Safety, Grain Safety, Animal Safety, ATV Safety, Chemical Safety, Confinement Safety (Manure Pit), PTO Safety, Water Safety, Electrical Safety and more.
Ag Literacy Coordinator Susan Kleiboeker tells the students what is going on during the mock demonstration on Sept. 26 at Safety Day at the Clinton County Fairgrounds in Carlyle. One of the stations was a mock demonstration of a one-vehicle accident, where a vehicle crashed due to the driver texting and driving. Fire and medical personnel, as well as a medical helicopter (AirEvac), assisted in the mock demonstration to show students the dangers of driving and texting.
"The goal of the program is to keep our community safe both on and off the farm," said Kleiboeker. "If each of the kids can take away just one thing from the day, we have won."
She said they want people to understand that just because they have always done something a certain way doesn't mean it is the right thing to do.
Jenny Litteken talks to the students about PTO Safety. "Getting rid of bad habits is the hardest thing to do," she said. "Educating against those bad habits is something that we strive to accomplish."
Students attending the event received free Farm Safety t-shirts provided by the Progressive Ag Safety Foundation as part of a nationwide program teaching kids about farm safety.
The event is made possible by the generosity of many of those who volunteer their time and money's for this program to happen.
The biggest donations coming from the Clinton County Farm Bureau and then Maschhoffs. High School FFA students also volunteered their time to educate the students about safety as well. A special thanks to all those local volunteers!
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