METAMORA, Ill. – Delivering field lunches to busy farmers during harvest is more than just good business for insurance agents like COUNTRY Financial’s Michael Flynn, who is also a financial adviser. Along with fellow Metamora COUNTRY agent Kris Stoneking and their staff, the pair spent Oct. 6 preparing, distributing and delivering around 150 field lunches consisting of chips, bottled waters and grilled, butterflied pork chop sandwiches to area farm families and harvest employees. Along the way, the pair not only spread company goodwill but also were privy to first-hand crop quality and condition reports from the farmers themselves.

“Our corn yield is down about 10 to 15 percent from last year, so far,” said Bill Christ, who was harvesting corn with a crew on Black Partridge Road outside Metamora in Woodford County. “However, beans are looking really good so far with high yields.”

A nearby farm worker, pausing to enjoy his field lunch, commented that some of the soybeans he had harvested had been pushing 80 bushels per acre. Throughout the COUNTRY agents’ travels across rural Woodford County, producers echoed the Christ farm’s report of below trend-line yields for corn and above average soybean yields.

A recent survey of local farmers conducted by the Woodford County Farm Bureau estimated the 2026 corn harvest would come in at 230 bushels per acre countywide, with a range of 182 bushels to the west (in Spring Bay Township’s sandy, Illinois River-adjacent soils) and 277 bushels in the rich, flat farmland of eastern Panola Township.

“This time of year represents the result of months of planning, hard work and determination for farmers across our communities. We want to take a moment to recognize their efforts, celebrate the important role they play, and express our sincere appreciation for all they do,” said Lindsey Rinkenberger, director of agribusiness and commercial underwriting at COUNTRY.

Rinkenberger explained that COUNTRY was thanking farmers for their hard work by providing free meals at local Feed a Farmer events during September and October wherever the company serves farm clients. Some COUNTRY representatives partnered with their local county farm bureau, FFA or others to provide meals and an opportunity for farmers to connect with one another at a public location. Others, like Flynn and Stoneking, brought meals directly to farmers in the field.

The first 15 farmers who registered for each event received a free cooler bag. COUNTRY representatives hosted more than 130 Feed a Farmer events in 10 states during the 2025 harvest. The 2026 promotion expired on Oct. 16.