Unlike most other charities, the Decatur County Community Foundation (DCCF) does not relegate itself to one purpose. The mission of the DCCF is to improve the lives of Decatur County residents, and the group has found yet another way to do so by establishing the Decatur County Agricultural Field of Interest Fund.

Funds established at a community foundation are designed to be permanent. The flexibility offered by a field of interest grant will allow support to flow to a broad charitable purpose or interest. The Decatur County Agricultural Field of Interest Fund is only going to be limited by the variety of activities that are agriculturally related. The grant will be awarded every year through an application process that will be announced soon.

But to kick off the announcement of the fund, the DCCF sponsored an Agriculture Breakfast and invited those who support Decatur County agriculture, the DCCF and the ag youth to attend. The get-together was set up so the DCCF could highlight and support all of the agricultural community does for the area, and the fund was created to be a small part of that support.

According to Sharon Hollowell, the fund will serve a multitude of things that make Decatur County a better place to live.

“The fund will only be limited by what the community chooses to do,” she explained.

As the crowd settled in to enjoy their breakfasts, featured speaker Orion Samuelson took the stage at A2Z Occasions. Samuelson is a venerable WGN radio personality with years of experience in the field of agriculture. He has been the ag services director there since 1960, where he provides farm reports and covers several events over the air on hundreds of radio stations.

Samuelson noted that he was very impressed by what he had learned about Decatur County and the DCCF.

“The heart and soul lies in the rural communities across this great country,” Samuelson said.

He added that he was pleased the foundation had established the fund and was glad and honored to be a part of its beginning.

The agricultural business is changing, Samuelson said. He had never seen the ag business change so much in his entire life as it has in the past two years. He encouraged his listeners to learn from history. One of the biggest obstacles to over come, he said, was that of a negative mindset. People have a tendency, when things are good, to always believe they will be good, and when things are bad people think they will always be bad, he said.

According to Samuelson, the biggest change in United States agriculture is globalization.

“It’s here and it’s not going to go away,” he noted.

Global markets can keep small farmers in business, and the continually expanding marketplace can help make a place for future farmers. Samuelson had a message for the ag youth of the community.

“You can’t dream big enough,” he said. “There is so much out there in this world for young people in agriculture. Opportunities are out there. There are careers out there that haven’t even been invented yet.”

Samuelson commended the community on its agricultural efforts and programs like the Decatur County Agricultural Field of Interest Fund.