Block, John R.

Born on Feb. 15, 1935 in Galesburg, Ill., and grew up on the family farm in Knox County, near Knoxville, Ill. He began his education in the local one room school, attending high school in tiny Knoxville High School. Upon graduation, Block attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, receiving his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry in 1957. After further military training and service with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., Block resigned his commission in 1960 and returned to the family farm in Knox County. Over the next sixteen years Block worked with his father and gradually built up the farm from a few hundred acres, to approximately 3,000 acres, finishing 6,000 hogs annually by 1977. He also became involved in several farming and agricultural organizations, especially the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Hog Producers Association, eventually becoming Farm Bureau president for Knox County. In 1977, newly elected governor Jim Thompson selected Mr. Block to be the Director for the Illinois Department of Agriculture. He served in that capacity for the next four years, and traveled extensively, including trips to China and the Soviet Union. In December of 1980 President-elect Ronald Reagan asked Block to serve on his cabinet as Secretary of Agriculture. Block accepted the post, and handed over the operation of the Knox County farm to his son, Hans. The first few years of the Reagan administration were characterized by a severe recession, high rural unemployment and very high interest rates, all of which were especially difficult on farming and agri-business. One of Secretary Block's first initiatives was to convince President Reagan to lift the nation's grain embargo on the Soviet Union established by Jimmy Carter in 1980. Block was also successful in cutting down government warehoused commodity surpluses with the adoption of the PIK (Payment-in-Kind) program. Secretary Block worked toward a major revision of U.S. farm policy, and in 1985 helped to pass the landmark Food Security Act, which emphasized increasing exports while also lowering farm supports in the future. In 1986 he resigned as Secretary of Agriculture, and took employment in the private sector assisting farmers and businesses work with Congress. Block remained active in the family farm, now run by his son, and watched it grow to over 5,000 acres, finishing 10,000 hogs per year.