Long-time Farm Progress economics editor makes significant commitment to the James F. Evans Global Center for Food and Agricultural Communications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

For more than three decades, John Otte played a pivotal role in providing economic analysis and guidance to readers of Prairie Farmer magazine and other Farm Progress publications across the Midwest. He addressed complex economic topics in a way that resonated with farmers’ everyday decision-making.

Yet, this University of Illinois agricultural economics graduate with bachelor’s and master’s degrees and additional studies at Iowa State University says it was his Brazilian wife, Maria, whose early education ended in sixth grade, who made it possible for them to give back to his alma mater.

“What Maria lacked in formal education, she made up for in common sense and money management instincts,” John said. “Maria skillfully pinched every nickel so hard that she made the buffalo squeal — that’s why we have a better nest egg than others who made the same or more.”

Maria Eulalia da Silva’s financial acumen grew out of necessity. She was 16, the oldest of eight children, living on a subsistence dairy farm in the mountains of Brazil, when her father died. Before she was 18, Maria moved 300 miles away to Rio de Janeiro to help support her family by keeping house for a retired U.S. military couple. In 1967, the couple moved to Florida and brought Maria with them, helping her immigrate to the U.S. with proper documentation. Maria continued sending as much money as she could back to Brazil.

John’s path to Florida from a dairy and hog farm near the Illinois-Wisconsin border began with a conspiracy between two of his teachers at Lena-Winslow High School.

At the beginning of John’s senior year in 1968, his ag teacher, Carl Miller, asked the class to talk about what they would be doing a year from then. Running short of time at the end of the class, Miller said, “And Otte here may not know it yet, but come next fall, he is going to the University of Illinois to study agriculture.”

Miller’s accomplice and wife, Margaret, taught English at Le-Win and coached John in speech contests. She was the one to note that the U. of I. had scholarships in agricultural communications.

That coming fall, John did, indeed, find himself in Champaign being advised by Dr. Jim Evans, who would become a global leader in the field and a lifelong friend. Attending the university was transformational for a farm kid who started his education in a one-room school and was in the first generation of his family to attend high school.   

Reasoning that production economics theory would be more useful when he went back to the farm after college, John changed his major to agricultural economics. John was a Bronze Tablet scholar in 1973 and received the Coultas Memorial Award for outstanding senior in agriculture.

With the family farm being managed well without him, John decided to follow in the footsteps of his mentor at U. of I. — Al Mueller, professor of agricultural economics — and become an Illinois Extension farm management economist. 

That idea took him to Iowa State University to study for a doctoral degree in economics with a teaching and research appointment. Sixteen months in, others could see that John needed an outlet for the practical application of his knowledge. A co-worker suggested John apply for his old job in Bradenton, Florida, as an area extension farm management specialist for the University of Florida —  a job that, by the way, did not require a doctorate.

In Florida, John learned the fine art of farmer engagement from his boss and mentor, John Holt, a skill that endeared John to his readers throughout his career.

More importantly, he met Maria.

The love they found on the dance floor of a singles club in 1976 saw past their differences. John had never been to Brazil. He knew no Portuguese. Maria knew nothing of marginal costs or trade barriers.

In 1979, John returned to Iowa and agricultural communications as the first agricultural economics editor for Farm Progress Publications. Quickly realizing his error in leaving Maria behind, he brought her to Iowa for visits. They married within the year.

“John and Maria may not have had much in common when they met, but they were definitely made for each other,” said Rod Swoboda, now retired, long-time writer and editor of Wallaces Farmer magazine. Rod met John on their first day of class at the U. of I. and then spent almost his entire career with an office next to John’s.

“You might not pick it up from his writing, but John has a big personality and an animated sense of humor. Maria appreciated it all. She usually had as much fun at his expense as he did retelling an embellished story,” Rod added.

John retired in 2015 and became a full-time caregiver for Maria, who was fighting breast cancer and fading away with dementia. She died in 2020 while she and John were visiting family in Brazil, where she is buried.

Years ago, John and Maria earmarked funds for the University of Illinois Foundation in their estate plans. Last fall, when the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences launched the campaign for the James F. Evans Global Center for Food and Agriculture Communications, supporting the center became a natural fit.

“Students at the Evans Center will receive the inheritance of the children Maria and I never had,” John said. “Plus, they will not have to wait until I die to receive some benefit. We hope our contributions will help expose students to both the academics that fueled my passion and the experiences of life that gave Maria such wisdom.”

John has reached the age at which he must take required minimum withdrawals from his individual retirement account. Sending qualified charitable distributions directly to the foundation allows him to avoid paying income taxes on those withdrawals, while ensuring that the Evans Center and students receive the full benefit.

Their generous gift will help ensure the Evans Center becomes a hub for thought leadership, professional training, and strategic communication research that strengthens the entire food and agriculture sector, preparing future generations of communicators to address complex issues, connect with diverse audiences, and elevate the voice of agriculture on a global scale.

Both multi-year pledges and estate commitments count toward the university’s $5 million funding requirements for permanently establishing the Evans Center. John and Maria’s commitments bring the fundraising campaign much closer to the challenge of raising an initial $5 million for the Center before Jim Evans’ 93rd birthday on Sept. 3 (9/3). 

“I’m looking forward to celebrating Jim’s birthday and the impacts the Center named in his honor will make in the lives of more generations of Illinois students,” said John. “I might have a couple of great stories to tell on the occasion. Maria would approve.”

To learn more about pledge and estate giving and how you can support the Evans Center, contact Stacey Cole in the College of ACES Office of Advancement at 217-244-1676 or smcole@illinois.edu — or give now online.