QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A western Illinois man who uses the state agriculture department’s “Homegrown by Heroes” logo on his products says it’s a way of honoring his late father.

The Quincy Herald-Whig reports that Jim Altenhein spent more than 20 years with the Illinois National Guard before coming back to Altenhein Farms after his father died about two years ago.

He discovered the Homegrown by Heroes program, a broader program sponsored in the state by the Illinois Department of Agriculture that allows farmers, ranchers and fishermen who have served in the military to use a special emblem on their agricultural products sold to the public.

Altenhein says the program is good because customers want to know where their food and other products are coming from.