Curt M. Kruse. Mr. Kruse, a farmer from Petersburg, Illinois, has been farming since 1960. Curt and his wife, Christine, now own and operate farms in Cass and Menard Counties. He grew up on a grain and livestock farm in Cass County and graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a concentration in agriculture. After serving overseas as an officer in the United States Army and working as an engineer for Deere and Company, he returned to the family farm. He then became active in the Cass County Farm Bureau and the Cass County Soil and Water Conservation District, where he served for sixteen years as a Director, four of those years as Chairman. He has served as chairman and elder in his church, and is a member of the Menard County Farm Bureau, a charter member and treasurer of the Vintage Ag Association, Inc. , and member of the Land of Lincoln Agriculture Coalition. He holds stock in several agricultural service and grain cooperatives.