The DeKalb Farm Bureau Board of Directors has elected Paul Rasmussen as the Bureau’s 13th president.

Rasmussen has been a Farm Bureau director from Sycamore Township for the past 16 years, serving on the Executive Committee since 1988 and as treasurer for eight years.

Rasmussen’s main agricultural business experience is his two-year role as president of the non-profit county Corn Growers, a council that meets monthly to discuss ways to improve the probability of the corn industry.

As president of the Corn Growers, Rasmussen promoted the usage of ethanol and high fructose corn syrup as a means to benefit corn usage.

Rasmussen also participated in the ALOT program and the Ag Leadership program, which provided him with the necessary skills to lead the bureau’s 33 board members.

Rasmussen was one of five agricultural business people in DeKalb County elected by the Illinois Farm Bureau to participate in the 1986 Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow program at Waubonsee College in Aurora.

The ALOT program is held yearly in different parts of the state to discuss community and organizational decisions affecting agriculture.

“Rasmussen and others in the ALOT program discussed issues such as community and organizational development, the economic model of agriculture, the political process and monetary policies,” said Mike Hart, assistant manager of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau.

Rasmussen also participated in the Ag Leadership program, a two-year program that included a 10-day domestic trip and two-week international trip to Hungary, Spain and Morocco.

“All three countries have three very different forms of government and are very diverse agriculturally,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen plans to gear his agricultural knowledge toward his role as president of the DeKalb Farm Bureau.

“As challenges arise, we will face them and solve them for the betterment of Farm Bureau,” he promises.

As a rural Genoa farmer, Rasmussen has worked in the agricultural world throughout his 50 years.

Rasmussen has raised corn, soybeans and wheat on 1,600 acres in Sycamore and South Grove Townships, with the help of his wife and four children.

Rasmussen plans to work for the well-being of DeKalb county’s 5,800 members, succeeding former five-year Farm Bureau president Vince Faivre.

“I hope that together with the board and members we can continue to maintain a strong and viable Farm Bureau,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen plans to uphold the Bureau’s importance in education for membership through advertising, as well as the agricultural education of school children.