Since the program was brought back in 1968, Prairie Farmer has awarded 166 men the title of Master Farmer.

While the Master Farmer program continues to thrive, there are 39 counties that have not produced a Master Farmer since 1968. With the induction of Doug and Tom Block, Carroll County can now be taken of this list.

Those counties are: Boone, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Clay, Crawford, Du Page, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lake, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Mercer, Monroe, Piatt, Pope, Putnam, Schulyer, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Wabash, Wayne, Whiteside, Will, Williamson, and Winnebago.

DeKalb County has produced the most Master Farmers with 15. Knox and Champaign have produced 10 and nine, respectively.

Help put your county on the list by nominating someone for the award. The nomination form can be found on the Prairie Farmer Web site at www.prairiefarmer.com.  Nominations are due Sept. 1, 2009.