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2006 WHAT A GREAT IDEA!
Project Ideas for County Farm Bureaus
County Farm Bureau annual reports submitted in the Illinois Farm Bureau PEARS (Program
Evaluation and Awards Reporting System) Program provide several kinds of feedback to assist
county Farm Bureaus in future program development.
This booklet features nearly 170 Project Ideas for county use. Each project was nominated by
county Farm Bureaus for "MOST OUTSTANDING PROJECT AWARD" consideration and was
placed by the evaluators in the "top 3-5" for each membership group in each program area.
PEARS Evaluators selected the "Most Outstanding Project" in each of the four membership
groups for each of the eight program areas. These 32 projects, done by 26 counties, were
recognized at the 2005 IAA Annual Meeting and are indicated with a * in this booklet.
To get best county use of this resource, share appropriate project ideas with County Committee
Chairs. Or better yet, duplicate the entire book or parts of it for each Chair. Contact the county
that did the project to get additional details.
The booklet is also available on ilfb.org. Select ―Programs & Activities,‖ select ―Committees &
Volunteers,‖ select ―CFB projects,‖ then select ―What A Great Idea‖ book.
TABLE OF CONTENTS (By PEARS Program Area)
Page
100. Ag Literacy ......................................................................................................... 1
200. Commodities and Marketing .............................................................................. 5
300. Health and Safety ............................................................................................... 10
400. Legislative/Political Process ............................................................................... 16
500. Local Affairs ....................................................................................................... 21
600. Communication & Promotion ............................................................................. 27
700. Member Relations .............................................................................................. 31
800 Policy Development............................................................................................ 33
Disclaimer: This booklet was prepared by Illinois Farm Bureau Word Processing
Department. Word Processing prepared all project summaries exactly as submitted by the
county Farm Bureaus and disclaims all typographical errors, grammatical errors, or
punctuation errors.
MSPRPEARS\ideas2006
2006 MOST OUTSTANDING PROJECTS
Program Evaluation Awards Reporting System
PEARS evaluators selected these 32 county Farm Bureau projects as 2006 MOST OUTSTANDING PROJECTS. Each
project received an award certificate at the 2006 IAA Annual Meeting.
MEMBERSHIP GROUPS
Program
Areas I II III IV
AG DAY ON THE ADOPT A COW AG JEOPARDY THINKING OUTSIDE
SQUARE CONTEST THE BARN
100
Ag Literacy
Schuyler County McDonough County Grundy County DeKalb County
LIVESTOCK LIVESTOCK FARM SHOW DIRECT MARKETERS/
DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT SPECIALTY GROWERS
200
WORKSHOPS
Commodities &
Marketing
Scott County Pike County Whiteside County Kane County
SAFE TRAINING SOYFOOD AG RESCUE CLASS ANHYDROUS SAFETY
WELLNESS CLINIC TRAINING
300
Health & Safety
Stark County Piatt County Effingham County Champaign County
LEADERSHIP ELECTED OFFICIALS ADOPT-A- HARVEST EVENING AT
INITIATIVE DAY HANDBOOK LEGISLATOR THE FARM
400
Legislative /
Political Process
Gallatin County Mercer County Jefferson County Kane County
FLOOD DEBASEMENT SAVE OUR RURAL COMPREHENSIVE COUNTY ZONING
MAPPING CULTURE PLAN INFO APPROVAL
500 MEETING
Local Affairs
Lawrence County Piatt County Monroe County LaSalle County
HARVEST FOR ALL HARVEST FOR ALL HEART OF THE MOVE THE FAIR
2006 HARVEST
600
Communication
& Promotion
Lawrence County Carroll County Henry County St. Clair County
1ST ANNUAL YOUNG INCENTIVE DRINKS FOR TORNADO CLEANUP
LEADER GOLF PROGRAM DRIVERS EFFORTS
700
OUTING
Member
Relations
White County Edgar County Montgomery County Sangamon County
POLICY TOWNSHIP PULSE ON COFFEE SHOP
DEVELOPMENT SCOPING SESSION AGRICULTURE– VIEWPOINT MEETINGS
800 MEETING RADIO
Policy
Development
Pulaski-Alexander Pike County Christian County Adams County
MSPRPEARS\ideas2006
100. AG LITERACY
* Schuyler, “Ag Day on the Square” – To honor our farmers, an ag celebration was held on the town square.
Activities included: a petting zoo, chore run and tractors (FFA Chapter) Food Safety Presentation (extension
office) and Animal Habitat (Soil and Water Conservation). Approximately 650 students Pre K-6, their teachers
and room mothers attended. Farm Bureau presented ―Beautiful Bovine‖ teaching the different body parts of a
cow and the significance to our food chain. All listeners received bubble gum to represent the cow‘s cud. This
presentation was enjoyed by all ages including many adults who did not know a lot of the everyday products we
use, not just meat, come from the cow. Without the support of our many volunteers and businesses, this
celebration this would not be possible.
Edwards, “There’s a Cow in my Cheeseburger!?” – February 8 & 9, 2006. ~ 25 volunteers, 2 schools, 380
students. In conjunction with the local FFA chapter, Agriculture Day was held at two of the county elementary
schools. The title of this year‘s Agriculture Day was ―There‘s a Cow in my Cheeseburger!?‖ The different
aspects of a fast-food restaurant were broken down into commodities and the FFA students presented this
information to the K-5th grade students at each school. The FFA students decided which topic they wanted to
present from the seven topics the AITC coordinator came up with. The topics were Wheat into Hamburger
Bun, Beef Cattle into Hamburger, Dairy Cattle into Cheese, Fruits and Vegetables into Sandwich Toppings,
Potatoes into French Fries, Soybeans into Oil, and Corn into Soda. The FFA members, on the topic they
chose, made tri-fold displays and they came up with a seven minute presentation. As part of each presentation,
a hands on activity was created. Research on each topic was done in order to come up with the information
that explained the process of getting that particular commodity from the field onto the tray at the restaurant.
When a classroom arrived in the gym, they saw an enormous drawing of a hamburger bus with a cow in the
middle, this caused a lot of laughter, but got the attention of the students from the beginning. Each classroom
rotated through the gym, stopping at each station for seven minutes to learn about the subject matter being
presented. When a classroom finished all the stations, the students were able to make the connection from
the fast food restaurant to the farm. All presentations were hands on and were given by a group of FFA
members. As they left, teachers were presented with a hand-out that was to be sent home with the kids that
explained to the parents what their children had learned that day. The AITC department also purchased
gummy hamburgers and gummy French fries that were sent home with the students as a treat, as well. The
local paper from each town covered the event at their grade school, and several photos were printed in both
newspapers.
Scott, “AITC Golf Tournament” – FB sponsored an AITC golf tournament through its Foundation. A 6-
member committee organized the event. They solicited prizes and hole sponsorships from area businesses.
They worked with the local golf course and restaurant on tournament details. They developed tournament
signage, posters, advertisements, and news releases. They developed prize packages and special golf
awards. Seventy-six golfers participated in the tournament. The function netted over $7,000 for the two-county
Foundation AITC efforts. FB shared with the golfers its AITC goals. It also offered an opportunity for members
to support AITC efforts while enjoying a FB sponsored golf outing. They also promoted the IFB Foundation‘s
golf outing and fund raising efforts.
Stark, “County AITC Cookbook” – Five volunteer board members organized a new fundraiser to improve our
Foundation‘s long-term success. The board defined success as being able to give at least $1,500 in
scholarships every year to local students studying agriculture and to provide funding for the county‘s ag literacy
program. After discussing the idea with teachers whose classrooms benefit from the program and school
administrators, students in grades 1-5 were asked to submit recipes and design divider pages and the cover of
a cookbook. Students were encouraged to think about the connection between food and agriculture as they
submitted their artwork. 18 classrooms participated in the effort and winners were selected for each of the
categories. Over 200 recipes were collected and compiled into a 9 category book with full color front and back
covers. This idea sparked other local and state organizations to follow suit and assemble their own cookbook.
Approximately 300 books were sold, realizing a profit of $1,500 for the county Foundation.
White, “4-H Club of the Year Award” – November 2005 ~ 8 4-H clubs. We wanted to create competition
among area 4-H chapters and recognize them for outstanding efforts during the year. A discussion with
Extension staff and 4-H leaders proved a genuine interest in the creation of an award program for clubs. The
extension staff and our Farm Bureau created criteria for winning the award. This included the level of
participation of the club, individual awards, creativeness, and an overall desire to compete. One club was
selected from information provided by the Extension office and an award was presented to the club at the
annual meeting of all clubs in the county. The CFB Board President presented a plaque for their achievement.
The traveling plaque has the names of the past winners engraved upon it, along with the current year‘s winner.
The project raises a positive desire for each club to perform at their best.
* McDonough, “Adopt-A-Cow” – This program involved 75 children in it‘s first year and has been expanded to
150 for 2006-2007. This project entails three 4th grade classrooms ―adopting‖ a dairy cow from a local dairy
farm. The children receive a poster of the cow for their classroom and individual folders where all the material
we hand out is placed. Every month we go into the classroom and give updates on how much milk the cow
produced and then do other activities that we can related to any of the subject area‘s the teacher is working on.
At the end of the visit we have a different dairy snack such as yogurt, cheese, milk, etc.. At the end of the year
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the kids make a trip out the dairy farm to meet their cow and learn about the dairy farm. This project has been
a huge success and the teachers and children love it. This project was partially funded through grants.
Carroll, “Fair Ag Fun Days” – On both of the kids‘ days at our county fair, we used the Hospitality Tent to
promote agriculture to the many children attending the fair on those days. On the first day, we held a scavenger
hunt. We set up stations all over the fair grounds. Children and parents were given a map of the fair grounds
with the many places they needed to go to in order to collect a square of paper that had a picture of an animal
on it. When they hit all of the spots, we had them come back to the tent and turn the squares over to us where
they received a bag of Ag Mags on all the different animals they visited. We then put the names of all the kids
who participated in a hat and drew for free movie passes to see the Backyard Animals movie. On the second
day, we had different ag in the classroom hands-on activities for them to participate in. Again, we gave out Ag
Mags based on the activities we did. By having our Fair Ag Fun Days we were able to reach a large number of
children from our county and from a neighboring county.
Hancock, “Are Farmers Really Super-Heroes” – Just ask all the 4th Graders in our county and they‘ll tell you,
―They are.‖ They heard it come from a farmer himself, who happens to be our Education Committee
Chairperson. This past winter, he dressed up like a super-hero and visited all the 4th grade classrooms in the
county and talked to the students about why farmers are considered to be super-heroes; because they feed
and clothe the world. That‘s quite a responsibility, and not just anybody can do it, it takes somebody special
like a farmer to do it. As a way to continue educating our youth about where their food and fiber comes from
our CFB bought five new books for all eight of our elementary school libraries. On the day of the presentation,
the super-hero read a book, Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type to each of the classes. They really enjoyed the
super-hero reading to them. The other books that were donated were; Green Eggs and Ham, Harvest Year, A
Handful of Dirt, Bread Comes to Life A Garden of Wheat and a Loaf to Eat. This program will have a lasting
impression on the students‘ young minds about how an American Farmer should be portrayed. The books will
hold a shelf life for many years to come. This program reached 480 kids directly, but indirectly several
thousand depending on how many times the book gets used over its shelf life. This program was featured in
the area newspapers. The Committee plans to donate five more books next year.
JoDaviess, “4th Annual Adventures in Agriculture Day Camp” – 8 volunteers. The Women‘s Committee
conducted and taught 40 children from ages 5-10 about agriculture through activities like making ice cream, a
safety puppet show, a beautiful bovine lesson, wool spinning, making hog feed sacks, a craft activity, and
much more. We served subs for lunch and taught the kids about all the commodity groups that are on their
sandwich. Each child was able to take their activities home with them. The camp was conducted from 9am to
4pm.
Saline, “Monster Farm Night” – In April of 2006, we had volunteers & teachers develop & carry out the
program. It began from the thoughts of teachers & volunteers working together, discussing the importance of
agriculture & how ―little boys & girls‖ would be amazed by the size of some of the farm equipment used. They
contacted local farmers, farm implement dealers, local cooperative (FS) & monster truck owners. We had a
combine, large tractors, spray trucks, nurse trucks, monster trucks and more. A cookout was provided with a
chance for the kids to ―crawl‖ on the equipment & trucks. Then we had a chance to tell the kids & parents how
each item of equipment was used. There were over 500 people (conservative estimate) that had a chance to
see, hear, ―crawl on‖ and be educated on the equipment. We feel this was a great education program as it
peaked the interest of everyone in the community & gave them opportunities they do not normally have
throughout the year. People need to understand the power & safety issues when seeing this machinery. They
need to understand that farmers feed everyone in the community & agriculture has many parts, including
Monstrously neat parts. We hope to make this an annual program so people may be educated on the
importance of agriculture & the inputs that go into it.
Washington, “Dairy Farm Tour” – For the first time, the Ag Literacy Coordinator was able to set up a dairy
farm tour for a local second-grade classroom. One board member agreed to host the activity. The students
arrived about 9 a.m. on a cold, rainy morning. Four stations were set up for the students to rotate among: milk
parlor, calf barn, feed lot and other animals. Students learned first-hand the process of feeding, milking and the
stages a cow goes through as it grows. Also, a neighbor had brought a peacock, baby turkeys, baby rabbits,
and chicks for the children to play with and ask questions about. The program included a 3-A-Day dairy meal,
with each student receiving a cup of yogurt, half-pint of milk and cheese stick.
* Grundy, “Ag Jeopardy Contest” – Every year the CFB organizes the Ag Jeopardy Contest one evening at the
end of April. The contest is the year end project for fourth graders in the county. Each school has the
opportunity to enter a team of six to compete in a circuit of quizzes and hands-on activities to demonstrate their
agricultural knowledge gleaned from the presentations made throughout the school year. The evening starts at
6:30 p.m. with an opening welcome to parents, siblings, and grandparents attending to cheer on their student.
The schools are then separated into 10 stations, which focus on a topic presented to the students over the
course of the school year. At the end of ten minutes, all activities at the station must stop, and the team
proceeds to the next station. For 2006 the stations consisted of: Animal Agriculture, Corn, Soy, Dairy, Written
Quiz, Wheel of Agriculture, Nutrition, Careers, 3-A-Day, and Renew, Reuse, & Recycle. All teams accomplish
identical tasks and at the end of the evening, the top three teams are announced and trophies and medallions
are awarded. Every participant earns a certificate, ribbon, and engraved pen. This year the contest was held on
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April 28. Nearly 500 people watched as the 3 highest point winners were announced and trophies awarded. 35
volunteers from local banks and other businesses, FS, U of I Extension, SWCD and county FB board and
committee members help run the event which is sponsored in kind by McDonald‘s, CF Industries, FS, a local
John Deere dealership, the county Pork Producers and the local radio station.
Christian, “How Agriculture fits into the Urban Market” – 15 teachers from our county and a neighboring
county went to Chicago for 2 days in early August, 2006. We visited the Green City Farmer‘s Market to show
the correlation of the unique and niche direct farmer contact between them and the consumer. We then visited
the Naha Restaurant which offers the majority of their menu from the Green City market to give the filed to the
plate concept in Chicago. The owner serves on the Green City Market Board and emphasized the importance
that the market plans in offering the best product possible to consumers. We then took teachers to Eli‘z
Cheesecake factory for a fun and educational twist to the day. Their Pres/CEO is also on the board at the
Chicago High School of Agriscience and he informed us of the programs they conduct for ag students within
their corporation. The next morning, our teachers not only toured the Board of Trade, but they directly on the
floor at the opening bell for more than 1 hour of trading which provided them with an unbelievable outlook on
commodity trading. Our final stop took us to the Chicago High School of Agriscience where our teachers had
the opportunity to see a 39 acre agriculture high school that offers vocational studies in agricultural high school
such as this has on students in a very urban area. The program offered CPDU credit to the more divers
seminars we have offered for county educators. The planning was conducted 100% by FB/Ag Literacy
Committee.
Effingham, “Park District Programs” – The AITC committee worked with the local park district to offer
programs during the summer camp program for kids. Two volunteers presented hands-on ag literacy programs
to over 75 children each week for 4 weeks. The park district campers enjoyed participating in ―The Great
Snack Experiment‖, ―Seeds and Soil Terrariums‖, ―Dairy Industry and Ice Cream‖, and ―Animals and Snow
Globes‖.
Jefferson, “Green Eggs and Agriculture” – Kindergartners, 25 Teachers, 14 different schools. In celebration
of Dr. Seuss‘s birthday Kindergarten classes in the county were invited to participate in a county-wide effort to
help include ag in their classroom. The W.C. acquired 25, ―Green Eggs and Ham Books,‖ and 25 green plastic
eggs (with notes inside). The books and eggs were presented to each Kindergarten teacher in the county two
weeks prior to Dr. Seuss‘s birthday. The note inside the egg asked each teacher to be creative by including ag
into their curriculum for the celebration of Dr. Seuss‘s Birthday. The note also included the AITC website to give
the teachers guidance for classroom activities. Each teacher was asked to submit a summary (via e-mail) of
their activity to the county farm bureau office. Those who responded had their name entered for a drawing for
a set of nine FREE Dr. Seuss Books. We received an overwhelming response of fifteen different summaries
reported. The teachers and students had fun with this activity and they learned more about agriculture.
Randolph, “Traveling Agricultural Exposition” – 356 Students, 4100 indirectly – Getting agriculture into
classrooms is a priority that all of us strive to achieve. However, limitations of funds and volunteers seem to
divert our intentions. Thanks to AITC grants and 28 wonderful volunteers, we were able to put together a
program that is a step above anything we thought would be possible. A traveling Agricultural Exposition in
which an agricultural experience is brought to the local schools. This program serves a multitude of purposes.
First, a feeling of accomplishment and gratitude fills our volunteers, because they make a difference in
children‘s lives. The students interact with the volunteers, staying focused and interested throughout the day.
Children take the words, visual effects, and message to heart truly changing their mindset toward agriculture.
Second, the children, 1st-6th grade, get to experience the entire realm of the agriculture in a one-day event.
There are nine booths that included information, demonstrations, and hands-on experience for the students.
The booths include dairy, planting & harvesting, corn & soybeans, nutrition (pizza), Livestock, soil conservation,
safety, and precision farming & biotechnology. The students received packets of info, including workbooks,
stickers, pencils, and various features, along with refreshments that relate to various Ag products. Finally, the
teachers not only learn a great deal from the experience, but they are also well prepared to bring agriculture
into their classroom on a regular basis. Each teacher is given a packet of information corresponding with their
grade level that can be utilized in his or her lesson plans with very little effort. What an amazing day.
Whiteside, “Teacher Grants” – Realizing the financial challenges teachers face in providing educational
experiences for their students, our CFB Foundation board of directors initiated a grant program for teachers.
The program offers up to (5) $150 grants to teachers in our county to carry out AITC programs. The first grants
will be awarded in October 2006. The application and funding guidelines were patterned after the IAITC and
Wisconsin Farm Bureau grant programs. The decision to initiate this program came from comments made by
teachers that attended past Summer Ag Institutes. Our county Pork Producers, Cattleman‘s Association, FS
company, and COUNTRY Insurance agency partnered with the Foundation to fund the program. Each
organization committed to contributing $150 per year for 3 years. Following the 3 years, we‘ll evaluate the
program. The program was promoted through direct mailings to teachers, through the Regional Office of
Education (ROE) newsletter, on local radio, and in local newspapers. Nearly 100 teachers were directly
contacted. Approximately 850 more teachers received information through their school and ROE.
* DeKalb, “Thinking Outside the Barn” – Purpose: To raise awareness among principals and counselors of ag
as a cutting-edge industry that reaches far beyond production, and to encourage them to guide students
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towards education and careers in agriculture. Plan/Impl: Middle-high school principals and counselors were
invited to learn about the high-tech nature of and career opportunities within today‘s ag industry by touring the
corn breeding, soybean pathology, and insectary areas of a local research facility and hearing a presentation
on biotechnology. Participants were also treated to dinner at a winery followed by career-focused presentations
from FCAE and junior college reps. Impact/Needs Met: Pre- and post-program surveys showed a positive shift
in attitudes towards the ag industry as well as increased commitment to making students aware of ag
opportunities. At least two principals later hosted school-wide career events including representatives from ag
businesses. Volunteer/Attend: 10 presenters/tour hosts, 8 committee members, 20 principals/counselors
influencing hundreds of teachers and students.
Champaign, “Annual Agriculture Open House” – Purpose: To educate 5th-8th grade students and teachers
about the diversity of agriculture. Implementation/Volunteers: An agriculture open house was organized at a
community college with 75 agriculture college students and 6 college instructors providing an educational
experience for 34 teachers from 7 schools. Needs met/impact: 596 students participated in hands-on activities
while they learned about the various varieties of pumpkins, squash, and gourds; animal nutrition and care; soil
identification and properties, soil conservation, renewable resources, and horticulture/landscape design. Each
teacher received a teacher packet with materials for each student to use during a one to two week follow up
agriculture education program in their classrooms.
Kane, “Touch a Tractor” – To help fulfill our goal of reaching the general public, taking into consideration that
our office is on a four lane road with 50,000 cars a day, the fringe of an urban area and a dividing line between
farm and city. Having observed the interest farm machinery created with students and teachers at Ag Days, we
decided to host our first ―Touch a Tractor‖ event so that the people in our community that do not have any
connections with farming could see the equipment up close and personal. March 10 th and 11th of 2006 our
lawn and parking lot sections were filled with farm machinery and young children with their parents. It was the
first annual ―Touch a Tractor‖ event. With the help of 12 farmers and volunteers, we were able to successfully
launch this new program. Farmers and implement dealers brought their farm machinery, including a brand new
combine, tillage equipment, corn planter, and many different tractors—ranging from antiques to new day
models. Volunteers, staff and farmers were on hand to answer questions and help the families explore the
equipment. Inside, we had six baby chicks for the children to touch and learn about, as well as educational
materials for them to take home. Volunteers: 30+, participants 200+ , drive by exposure to this unique FB
program was 100,000+
Kankakee, “Ag Literacy Coalition Growth” – In order to accomplish the goal of teaching the importance of
agriculture to as many of the 19,000 students in the County as possible, it was decided to continue providing
and raising the funds necessary for the position of Ag Lit Coordinator for the 7 th year. The program grew this
year by reaching 13% more unduplicated students and increased by 20% in the number classrooms receiving
4 or more presentations throughout the year – over 6,000 students were reached with 40 classrooms receiving
4 or more presentations. The number of classroom presentations during the school year increased by 25% to
an impressive number of 250 presentations. This outstanding growth was made possible by the trained
volunteers and utilizing over 90 volunteers total throughout the year. The Coordinator works 9 months and
approximately 1000 hours per year. Local contributions totaled nearly $12,000 coming from organizations,
agribusinesses, and numerous other individuals and private donations. Grants from the Partners of Ag Literacy
generated about $7,000 bringing the total funds raised to over $19,000 which was close to the annual budget.
Donors were thanked personally, and noted in a locally produced Ag Literacy brochure as well as in the Farm
Bureau‘s monthly publication throughout the year. Large donors are offered a seat on the AITC Committee.
Local funds and contributions made achieving the goal of maintaining an Ag Lit Coordinator and reaching a
large number of students with agriculture‘s message a reality.
McHenry, “Bio Fuels Kit” – 7 committee members, thousands of adults, 25 teachers and hundreds of
students. Our AITC Committee felt it was extremely important to be able to make bio-fuels and be able to
demonstrate their effectiveness to teachers, students and the general public. Our Ag in the Classroom
coordinator designed the kit in which we use to demonstrate the actual process of making renewable fuels
such as ethanol and bio-diesel. We then demonstrate the emissions of traditional fuels, blended fuels and bio-
fuels. We also developed a power point that covers information about bio-fuels and fuel safety. The kit was
funded by an AFBF grant and our CFB Foundation. The kit has already provided great exposure for bio fuels
and our CFB. We used the demonstration for our Ag. Day with Reporters program, Summer Ag Institute,
Driver Ed Programs, and our County Fair. One other CFB also utilized our kit for their fair.
Sangamon, “Agventure Barn Tour” – To promote agriculture and to introduce students to farm animals, the
FB takes animals to schools for one entire week in the fall and again in the spring. The FB has a portable barn,
which can either house presentations or animals. Teachers are mailed a flier about the free event and are
asked to call the FB to sign up as one of the 10 schools visited that week. The barn is filled with farm animals
and one volunteer goes from class to class giving a 10-minute lesson then releases the students to walk
through the Barn. In November 2005, we hosted over 1,800 students and in May, over 1,900. Television news
coverage of the tours also provided significant awareness throughout the community. There are always at least
two volunteers in the barn with about 20 total volunteers throughout the week to answer questions and help the
children with the animals. With this resource, kids learn with nearly all of their senses – they see, touch, listen
to and even smell the animals while learning about them.
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200. COMMODITIES & MARKETING
* Scott, “Livestock Development” – A county goal is to increase livestock production to historic levels. We
worked directly with the Illinois Livestock Development Group (LDG) and IFB to identify resources and
limitations to expansion in the county. We highlighted and toured areas of the county available for
development. We organized a meeting with local economic development and utility officials to identify service
access resources. We also developed a ―county profile‖ for use by producers interested in relocating which
includes electric and water service, local regulations, and floodplain maps. We also had the LDG present a
report to our Board of Directors in August supporting local efforts to increase livestock numbers. Our goals
include maximizing land resources for livestock expansion; promote growth in hog production; utilize ethanol
production by-products such as DDG and pastured areas for beef and dairy production/expansion; and prepare
local officials and systems for growth of the livestock industry. We are actively seeking reestablishment of dairy
operations in the county. We have had several inquiries regarding new development in the county and some
expansion plans by existing producers.
Brown, “Friends of Agriculture Using Biodiesel” – Our County Farm Bureau Board and Marketing
Committee has worked hard promoting Biodiesel in our county. Our Committees wanted to recognize Trucking
Companies, Grain Elevators, School District and Local F.S. Inc., in our county for using Biodiesel. Committees
decided to do recognition at our Annual County Farm Bureau Meeting. 12 special guests receiving Friends of
Agriculture for using Biodiesel Certificate would be given out at our County Annual Meeting. Our Women‘s
Committee helped in getting our certificates made up and framed. Our certificates read ―Friends of Agriculture‖
Presented to (name) Recognition for promoting Biodiesel renewable fuel that supports our local economy, and
also reduces our dependence of foreign oil and sign by our County Farm Bureau President. 150 in attendance
with our local newspaper where 7,000 people could see and read where we had recognized those trucking and
buses using Biodiesel. Our special guests were very pleased to be receiving a framed certificate and the thank
you for using Biodiesel.
Edwards, “CSP Meeting” – The manager of the local co-op plant approached our Farm Bureau manager
about doing an information workshop on the Conservation Security Program (CSP). He felt that this was a
government program farmers know little about, but that they needed to know about. With this inforamtion, the
local NRCS office was contacted and a workshop scheduled. The evening started off with an information
session lead by the NRCS on what the CSP program was, and how to could increase the income of farmers
involved. As part of this session, the NRCS represenative explained how this type of program was WTO
(World Trade Organization) compliant. He explained that this program is based on watersheds, and is not
currently for our area, but that no one has any idea when the governement would open our watershed;
however, if farmers did not have the paperwork ready when they did open our watershed, they would lose out.
He expalined what paperwork farmers needed, and how they could compile the proper paperwork. Next, a
represenative from the local co-op spoke about how the co-op could help the farmers with the paperwork, and
keep them in compliance for when our watershed is open. All farmers in attendance were glad this workshop
was held, for the information they gained was invaluable. The event was covered in both local papers, for
those who could not attend to learn about the CSP program, as well. The event was advertised in both papers,
and on the radio. The local co-op furnished supper for all those in attendance.
Massac, “Equine Seminar Fall” – November 2005. Our Marketing Committee recognizes that the equine
industry provides a strong economic value to our region. We wanted to provide horse owners with useful
information to use in caring for their horses. In order to make this a regional event, we asked eight surrounding
County Farm Bureaus and the Extension to cooperate on this project. A livestock auction barn, which is
centrally located, was chosen as the meeting site. 10 volunteers helped to contact speakers and distribute
flyers and press releases. Topics covered at this seminar were: getting your horse ready for the winter, how to
read the feed bag tag and horse hoof care. We felt that this program was a success, with 36 equine owners
attending. 10% per CFB.
Stark, “Farmers’ Market” – This is the 2nd year for the county-wide farmers‘ market. Throughout a series of
monthly planning meetings, over 15 volunteers came together to finalize the market plans, using feedback from
vendors and customers to determine the new location and market dates and times. The new location of this
year‘s market yielded more traffic and customers, thus satisfying the vendors. The number of vendors who
participated this year jumped to approximately 12 as compared to 4 from last season. The committee was able
to secure $900 in a Specialty Crops Grant through the Illinois Department of Ag, which assisted with
advertisement costs and enabled the committee to develop a portable 6x8 foot vinyl banner. Volunteers helped
in putting out large plywood signs that the committee designed to advertise the market, as well as assisting in
distributing flyers, church bulletin inserts, and bag stuffers to local businesses and organizations. To attract
more customers, the committee decided to give local organizations the opportunity to run weekly food stands
at the market, which proved to be a huge draw as people routinely came each and every week for the grilled or
home cooked food, and then proceeded to shop the market.
White, “Countywide Yield Survey” – August 16, 2006 ~ 30 farmer volunteers. A crop survey provides
valuable information to area farmers, elevators, banks, etc., about the size and quality of this year‘s local crop
in a time frame that makes the information extremely useful in marketing decisions. This is why the marketing
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committee decided to work with a local grain company and our FS cooperative to conduct a countywide survey
of the corn crop. Those participating split up into teams of 2 or 3. They were assigned a particular township,
and visited 8 different fields on a random basis, with 2 samples taken per field. They took measurements for
grain length, kernel rows, ear population, ear-to-stalk ratio, stalks in 60‘, ears in 60‘, rows spacing, plant
population, and ear populations. Following the tour, results were compiled and lunch was served. The crop
tour itself was very successful and had an attendance of 30 people including farmers, bankers, and
agribusiness leaders. We publicized the results, live on the local radio station and in area newspapers. We
also had a feature story in our county publication. The complete printed report of the survey is available to the
public at our Farm Bureau office.
* Pike, “Livestock Development” – A county goal is to increase livestock production to historic levels. We
worked directly with the Illinois Livestock Development Group (LDG) and IFB to identify resources and
limitations to expansion in the county. We highlighted and toured areas of the county available for
development. We organized a meeting with local economic development and utility officials to identify service
access resources. We also developed a ―county profile‖ for use by producers interested in relocating which
includes electric and water service, local regulations, and floodplain maps. We also had the LDG present a
report to our Board of Directors in August supporting local efforts to increase livestock numbers. Our goals
include maximizing land resources for livestock expansion; promote growth in hog production; utilize ethanol
production by-products such as DDG and pastured areas for beef and dairy production/expansion; and prepare
local officials and systems for growth of the livestock industry. We are actively seeking reestablishment of dairy
operations in the county. We have had several inquiries regarding new development in the county and some
expansion plans by existing producers.
JoDaviess, “County Home Grown Directory” – The 4th annual printing of this popular directory has
increased our Specialty Growers/Marketing committee. 22 active, voting members have joined the Marketing
Committee from this booklet. The booklet includes vendors who sell seasonal produce, meats, orchards,
berries, farm stands, and also includes information for the 5 county farmer‘s markets held weekly throughout
the summer. Our CFB gained 5 new MM members this year from the booklet and the publicity of this book has
been well received by the county. The booklet was distributed throughout the county at hotels, banks, post
offices, and other tourist attractions. Signs were also purchased that read ―(County) Home Grown Products
Sold Here‖ and distributed to the vendors to advertise at their base of operation.
Mercer, “Risk Management Seminar” – To provide a variety of information pertaining to the 2006 crop year,
our Marketing Committee co-sponsored this seminar in conjunction with a neighboring county Farm Bureau
and the COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services Agency that services our two counties. Area producers
were invited to hear guest speakers talk about topics including incorporating the best crop insurance package
into your 2006 marketing plan, corn hybrid placement by environment and the value of corn traits, and the
overview of 2005 Income Tax Law changes pertaining to agriculture was provided by a tax auditor. Also, a
couple of crops claims adjusters spoke about claims procedures. The seminar concluded with a luncheon
provided by the sponsors. There were nearly fifty farmer members who attended this informational and timely
program.
Piatt, “E85 Grand Opening Celebration” – With the help of a grant from the Illinois Corn Marketing Board,
the CFB wanted to promote FS‘s 1st E85 pump in the county. The promotion was in April from 10AM-2PM.
Publicity appeared on the WCIA‘s Ag News on the Morning TV Show, 2 advertisements appeared in the county
newspaper, and radio advertisements were aired before the event. The day of the event WCIA TV did a live
broadcast on their noon show and WDRK had a 4 hour long live remote broadcast. Both media sources
interviewed 10 volunteers that day. About 250 gallons of E85 were sold for a discounted price of $1.85. Free
hotdogs, chips, and pop were given to consumers of E85. Representatives from the Illinois Corn Growers,
American Lung Association, and Representative Tim Johnson‘s office were also on hand. Both car dealerships
in the county brought Flex Fuel Vehicles for people to look at. The day was a huge success. With all of the
promotional activities, the amount of E85 pumped was double that of an average day.
Wayne, “Ethanol – Biodiesel Billboards” – September 2005 – August 2006. Our Young Leader committee
wanted to develop an effective means of advertising ethanol and biodiesel in our county. Previously our
committee had used billboards to promote the use and recognition of slow moving vehicle signs. As these
billboards are highly visible to the general public, the committee chose to produce new billboards promoting the
bio-fuels to replace the existing ones. They worked with the Promotions & Graphic Arts department of the
Illinois Farm Bureau to develop the design of the 8 foot by 4 foot billboard banner. The sign reads ―Safer
Nation, Cleaner Air, Stronger Economy… Ethanol – Biodiesel.‖ The words are printed over a corn field with a
blue sky above. The Young Leaders mounted the billboards on plywood and then installed them over the top
of our old billboard signs. Both billboards are located on state highways in two different areas of the county.
This project, although simple and inexpensive, will reap great benefits for agriculture by promoting the use of
bio-fuels in our area.
* Whiteside, “Farm Show” – December 2005. We worked with a Chamber of Commerce office, value-added
development organization, and park district to develop a local farm show. The idea behind the show was to
provide an opportunity to ag businesses that couldn‘t afford, financially and/or in personnel, to participate in the
larger regional farm shows. We focused on ag businesses in four counties. An exhibitor list was developed
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and information was sent. The park district provided their 50,000 sq. ft. expo center for the show. The show
was promoted in various farm publications, including FARMWEEK, in local CFB newspapers and offices, in
regional newspapers and on local radio stations. 94 vendors participated in the show. Attendance was
estimated at 2,000 for the two-day show. The show provided a great venue for local ag businesses to display
their products/services. Plans for the 2006 show are well underway.
Boone, “Forage Expo” – In efforts to support the current livestock industry in our area, the CFB co-sponsored
a Forage Expo along with a number of different organizations and ag agencies. The expo provided local
farmers the opportunity to take part in educational presentations on stored fee options, manure management,
alfalfa pest and nutrient updates, raising dairy replacements on pasture, and an update on cow health issues.
Other activities during the expo included a quality hay contest, 18 commercial exhibits, and field
demonstrations on mowing, raking, tedding, bailing large squares, chopping haylage, and no-till forage
seeding. In order to prevent the spread of disease, the 150 attendees had the opportunity to hop on board one
of the 7 wagons pulled by local horse/mule teams to tour the host family‘s 300 head dairy operation. A local 4-
H chapter was invited to set up a food stand and a local FFA Chapter handled the parking. 30 Volunteers
helped organize, set-up and run the forage expo. Despite the challenges we faced with the weather, we felt
that the expo was a success.
Christian, “FS-FB Ethanol Pump Promotions: Fuel from the Farm & Not the Oil Fields” – September
2005 & August 2006. Our county FB & FS hosted an Ethanol Promotion to demonstrate the importance of
using ethanol based fuels to help boost our county‘s economy and make the US less dependent on foreign oils.
To re-cap previous events, our first promotion broke the US record pumping 3,824 gallons in three hours. This
record was not broken until our 2nd county Pump Tour Promotion, where 5,071 gallons of ethanol based fuel
were pumped in three hours in March 2004. Then last (Sept-2005) we pumped 6,100 gallons of E10 in 3 hours
shattering our previous two marks. After evaluating the past programs, we chose to use most of our
sponsorship dollars for the August 2006 event on lowering the price of fuel, rather than on advertising. We were
able to gather enough assistance to lower E10 to $1.99 and E85 to $.85. Cars were lined up more than ½ mile
from our Fuel 24 station. The line actually ended at our competition‘s gas station. We pumped 7,024 gallons of
Ethanol Based fuel that day. The event was sponsored, planned & hosted 100% by the county Farm Bureau &
our Farmers Supply Co. as well as monetary sponsorships from numerous local and regional agricultural
organizations. The event was hosted at the county FS Fuel 24 Station and broadcast throughout the United
States on AgriTalk Radio. This year‘s event ranks number one in the USA as the most fuel pumped during one
day at a single gas station. (45 volunteers, 12,000 residents)
Henry, “Marketing Seminar Series” – FB and Extension coordinate quarterly marketing seminars during the
year (prior to the release of a crop report) to educate producers on what dictates the markets. Our 17 member
marketing committee secures 4 interesting/informative main speakers. Includes dinner, local experts panel (FS
grain merchandiser, farm manager, livestock commodity broker, and weather analyst), and ends with a
featured speaker. Speakers for this year include: Virgil Robinson, Pioneer; Jeff Beal, Strategic Marketing
Services; Dr. Elwyn Taylor, Iowa State University Extension Climatologist; Terry Jones, Russell Consulting.
Attendance at 4 seminars: 53, 54, 115, 50 respectively. Local Ag Lenders are sponsors of the Marketing
Seminars.
Monroe, ”Measuring the Value - Evening on the River” – The lock and dam in a nearby county was slated
for closure a few years ago and that would be devastating to the agriculture industry. Our local service
company has a terminal on the river and, if the river were to close, the company would be financially hindered.
Washington, D.C. and the Corps of Engineers need to know that the river is important to our farmers. This
year marked 50 years of the river, therefore, a special barge trip was organized. A group of individuals
including the local service company staff and board members, Lower River Stakeholders, Corps of Engineers,
and our County Farm Bureau members worked together to host an event to draw publicity to the importance of
the river. A catered meal was served to 250 individuals who boarded a barge for a ride on the river. Our U.S.
Congressman, IL Senator and Representative addressed the attendees. The Corps of Engineers
representatives spoke about the river. An event like this is one of the ways the Stakeholders group keeps the
importance of the navigation channel in the forefront with our political leaders.
Randolph, “Illinois Agriculture: Right on Target” – 20,000 directly from 45 states-4 countries, 160,000
indirectly. The FB set up a large 40x60 booth at the new World Shooting & Recreational Complex to inform
patrons from around the nation about general Illinois agriculture, biofuels, Farmer‘s Markets, dairy production,
AITC, local history, animal production, alternative farming, agritourism, and local land sales. The space was
divided accordingly; ½ farmer‘s market, ¼ food stands, ¼ displays. The anticipation for this event has been
the talk of the town for months. When the 11-day event finally arrived, careful preparation paid off big time.
Thousands of people flowed through are booth on a daily basis to be greeted with the best food on sight,
delicious home made ice cream, scrumptious bake goods, 4 displays, shaded eating facility, and the best
looking fresh fruits and vegetables around. A special newspaper was printed and handed out that gave
information on biofuels, Illinois agriculture, and advertisements for the farmers market and agritourism. We
teamed up with local Orchards, specialty producers, a Buffalo producer, and a local butcher shop to provide
this convenience market to the 1000+ campers, 5500 shooters, and 100,000+ attendees. We were known as
the best place to eat and shop on site. The displays were conveniently located throughout the booth to catch
people‘s attention. We advertised for Biofuels, AITC, Land, and Illinois Ag. We wanted to give the visitors a
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better understanding of Illinois Agriculture and our county. Other functions that spearheaded out of our booth
were a Trivia Night and Agricultural Tour. The agriculture tour visited a barge loading facility, FS elevator, 650
head dairy farm, historical towns, antique shops, German restaurant, large grain farm, and a pumpkin
patch/craft store. The attendees raved about the tour, an attendee from New England said, ―this is priceless.‖
We raised nearly $3000 for our foundation, handed out 6000 pens, 6000 cup holders, 2000 key chains, and
6000 newspapers, sold several bushels of produce, 170 gallon of ice cream, 800# of beef, 1600# of pork, 100#
of chicken, 1000# of buffalo, 2500 cookies, 150 pies, and told thousands of people about Illinois ag. Several
other states will be putting pictures and articles about our booth on their website for next year‘s visitors. This
program demanded cooperation among members, committees, and businesses.
* Kane, “Direct Marketers/Specialty Growers Workshops” Nov. 05 – Aug. 06. Our CFB formed a
Committee to meet the needs of non-traditional farms. The 27 persons Committee hosted workshops on:
11/15/05, Hort Research Center Tour & Organizational meeting; 12/13/05 local Agritourism possibilities with
area CVB‘s; 1/10/06 Successful Niche Marketing with Ross Ament; 2/14/06 Consumer Oriented Marketing
Strategies with Kim Tack & Photography Skills for making Farmer‘s Market displays; 3/14/06 Agritourism
W orkshop with presentations on Marketing your Image, Product Mix and Developing W ebsites & Print
materials; 4/11/06 Designing Direct Market Brochures; 7/11/06 County Fair Displays & 8/14/06 Permits & Food
Service with 2 local Health Departments. These efforts added a new dimension to our programs, two dozen
new and enthusiastic volunteers and three new voting members.
Champaign, “Soy Biodiesel Label” – Purpose: To increase awareness and visibility of soy biodiesel benefits
and use by area businesses. Implementation/Volunteers: A 9‖ by 13‖ label that says ―Fueled with Soy
biodiesel from Illinois soybeans‖ was developed for the back of vehicles with the help of the Soybean
Association. Three volunteers helped distribute the label to businesses that may use soy biodiesel. The
volunteers also participated in a press conference where the label was unveiled and the first one was placed on
the back of a bus that uses soy biodiesel. Needs met/Impact: One thousand labels were printed. 100 have
already been placed on buses from the mass transit district. Other fleets such as municipalities are also in the
process of using them. The event was covered by two television stations and the largest newspaper in the
area.
Clinton, “EPA Education Workshop” – The FB in conjunction with the SWCD and UofI Extension sponsored
a workshop entitled, ―How to Avoid and EPA Vist and What to do if you get Visited by the EPA?‖ The intent of
the program was to help area farmers plan for and prepare themselves for the possiblity of a surprise or
planned visit by an EPA inspector. We had a rash of anoynomous complaints against area dairy farmers that
generated interest in this topic. A planning committee made up of FB Board members, Extension Council,
Prairie Farms Producers, Extension staff, and NRCS staff planned the program. Approximately 75 farmers
from 4 counties attended the 5-hour meeting. Topics covered included: 1-steps to avoid an EPA visit, 2-What
to expect if inspected by the EPA, 3-what to do following a visit and possible compliance issue, 4-different
types and levels of complaints and 5-a presentation on Animal ID. Evaluations listed the program as one of the
best offered and a desire to hold a followup program. Possible topics would include EQUIP funding, design of
waste handling systems, and a farmer panel on livestock waste management programs. The program was
planned and coordinated by our county, but publicized and people accepted from neighboring counties that
were dealing with the same issues.
Kankakee, “Young Leaders Ethanol Certificate Promotion at ’06 Farmers Market” – The Young Leaders
decided to build on their previous year‘s Renewable Fuels Promotion. This year in conjunction with the
displays, brochures, bumper stickers and 3 E-85 vehicles, the Young Leaders also gave out $10 certificates to
be used for the purchase of ethanol blended fuel at either of 2 specific gas stations in the county which sell E-
85 and 10% ethanol fuel. The certificates contained Ethanol and Biodiesel facts for the recipient to become
familiar with before they could receive the fuel coupon. Monetary contributors to the Ethanol Certificate
program were 3 Ag Chemical Companies and the Young Leaders Committee. When it came time to pay the
gas station for the amount of certificates redeemed, the gas station discounted the bill by 10% to be named
and thanked as a sponsor of the promotion. 101 $10 certificates were distributed and 38 redeemed with 7
used for E-85 and the rest used for 10% ethanol blended fuel. The County Farm Bureau‘s adopted legislator
and spouse and two nieces attended the promotion to discuss ethanol tax incentives with the group making an
excellent addition to the program. 5 Young Leaders worked during the promotion educating the public, giving
away certificates, and promoting homegrown fuels in the setting of the local downtown Farmers Market. With
the addition of the fuel certificates and the adopted legislator and family, the event went even better than the
previous year with extensive media coverage in the local paper reaching 80,000 readers daily, two local radio
stations, and follow-up article in our county FB publication sent to all 5,200 members.
Livingston, “Welcome to the Ag World Baby Bundles” – During Ag month the first 20 babies born at a local
hospital received a basket filled with products that come from the farm that are used in infant care. Each
bundle contained: baby powder (corn starch); oatmeal cereal (oatmeal and soy oil); ―Biter‖ biscuits (wheat flour,
corn flour, milk, soybean oil, corn starch); chicken noodle dinner baby food (chicken, wheat flour, soybean oil);
beef baby food (beef and corn starch); and Motrin infant drops (corn syrup.) Also included: farm animal wash
cloth puppet and a farm magnetic photo frame. A pamphlet explaining the items and the event was included in
each bundle.
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McHenry, “Grape production/wine making seminar” – 5 volunteers, 36 in attendance. Our CFB and U of I
co-sponsored a grape growing/wine making seminar. The program featured University specialist, grape
growers, and two wine makers. Topics included selection of plants, production, diseases, pests, marketing,
costs, wine production, and tourism. The program gave a realistic look at the difficulties of entering the
business and the cost associated. One person has since started grape production and two in attendance are
considering starting a small acreage in 2007. Articles were published in three county/regional papers reaching
more than 30,000 people.
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300. HEALTH AND SAFETY
* Stark, “S.A.F.E. Training” – Each year unnecessary deaths and injuries affect farmers and their families, farm
employees, and rescuers. Emergency responders often lack knowledge of the nature of farm machinery,
chemicals, and farm structures. For this reason, and in a group effort with 2 neighboring CFBs and Extension, a
S.A.F.E (surrounding area farm emergency) course was held to provide local emergency service providers the
opportunity to participate in a hands-on farm accident simulation, where they worked to react to particular
situations. Twelve emergency personnel from the tri-county area participated and received 8 hours of
continuing education credit. This program was beneficial to those who registered, along with their respective
departments because the teachings and learning can be passed on. This resulted in a more properly trained
force ready to handle farm accidents should they arise, therefore yielding safer rural communities. (Note:
Henry CFB nominated the project in Group III but did not win in that group. Bureau CFB also participated in
the project but did not nominate it for Most Outstanding Project consideration.)
Brown, “PTO and Mower Safety” – Our Women's Committee is always looking for a different safety project
for the 6th Farm Safety Day Camp to be held in May for Early Childhood through fourth grade from the public
and private schools. We had thirteen different stations lasting fifteen minutes each. We had sixteen FFA
students helping guide the different classes to all station. Naming a few stations: Sheriff Stranger Danger,
Food & Farm Safety Chemical Look A Likes, Fire Dept. with Safety Robot (Fire Truck & Dog) our Farm Bureau
station had Mower and PTO Safety. We had a PTO display demonstration to show potential hazards of Power
Take Off equipment to the students. Several model toys with a PTO on them for students to see a tractor,
baler, grinder mixer and rotary mower to show how the PTO hooked up to different equipment and to be more
realistic. The Women's Committee made a dummy model of a person with torn jeans, shirt, loose shirt, long
hair, along with two different kinds of shoes. The torn and loose cloths showed how fast the PTO could grab
and take off clothes, arm, leg or loss of life. The two different kinds of shoes to show that long shoes strings
could get caught by a PTO, or where tennis shoes with smooth soles could slip on equipment. Women's
Committee also had three lawn mowers, a toy push mower, a real push mower and a riding lawn mower.
Students were told no extra riders, where not to place hands or feet, protective eye wear, and good work shoe
and not slip on shoes. We also had different kinds of gas containers; one in a labeled red gasoline container,
orange plastic container and glass clear bottle with a little water in bottom. We talked about using only the
labeled red gasoline container because someone could always put something else and mess up a motor or a
small child could drink out of the glass bottle thinking it was something OK to drink. Both hands on
demonstration went over very well. We had great media coverage by our local newspaper and Illinois
AgriNews paper together would go into forty one thousand homes. Three hundred and fourteen students
attend our Safety Day Camp.
Edwards, Lawrence, & Wabash, “Farm Safety Day Camp” – April 2006 - 60 volunteers, 300 students, 18
teachers. 33% this county 66% two adjacent counties. In coordination with two adjacent county Farm Bureaus
and the University of Illinois Extension Service, our county Farm Bureau produced a safety camp with grants
from the Illinois Farm Bureau and Progressive Farmer. The goal of the project was to make children aware of
the hazards on the farm and how to prevent accidents. The program was offered to the fourth grade
classrooms in all grade schools in our county and the adjacent county. We purposely planned the event on a
Friday towards the end of the school year. Having the camp during the school day allowed us to utilize their
buses to transport students to and from the location. We held the program at the county fairgrounds inside and
outside of the Exhibition Building. We set up five stations with the following areas of instruction:
Ambulance/EMT – The ambulance service from a local hospital attended the camp, informing the
students about the service. The students learned the fundamentals of making a 911 emergency call, and
were told what to expect if they should need to be transported to a hospital in an ambulance.
Household Poisons – An Extension educator administered a learning game for the students. She broke
the individuals into three teams. She had the students run to the table and identify which item was a food
product, and which item was a poisonous chemical. The students then ran back to the start grabbing a
―point bar‖ at the finish. Correct answers meant you could keep the points collected for that particular
question. The team with the most correct answers and points won a prize.
Electrical Safety- A local electrical co-op set-up a station about how dangerous electricity can be.
Several linemen, taught the students about electrical currents and different ways they could become
electrocuted. By adding a sense of humor to their presentation, the students were in awe at the power of
electricity.
Methamphetamine Awareness- Local 4-Hers and a county sheriff department deputy taught the students
about all the everyday items they might found that are actually used in meth production. As part of the
station, the students were also taught the many effects meth can have on the body. On the evaluations,
the majority of students listed this as their favorite station.
Farm Equipment- A county manager, along with FFA students showed the fourth graders how dangerous
farm equipment can be. With the use of straw men, and other objects, they showed the students how one
mistake could cost them a limb, or their life.
Disability Awareness- Staff from local Farm Service Agencies sponsored this station. Students spun
the ―wheel of hazards‖, where the wheel stopped was a farming related accident that hurt them in some
way. The students then were made to have that fake injury and had to complete several activities with
that injury. Injuries included- loss of sight, loss of arm or leg, paralysis, and missing fingers.
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Smokehouse- A local fire department brought their smokehouse to the camp. Students climbed through
the house to experience what they would need to do in case their own living quarters caught on fire and
they needed to evacuate.
Students furnished their own lunch, and were given a bag of information and give-a-ways before leaving. This
was the second year for this project. It was deemed a huge success. Response from the teachers involved
was overwhelmingly positive and they are looking forward to next year‘s camp. Photos taken throughout the
day were published in our county publication and in all local county newspapers. Each Farm Bureau also
made a donation to the fire department for the upkeep on the smokehouse.
Hamilton, “Farm Safety Day” – 325 Participating Students (8-13 yrs age). Students in the 3rd, 4th, and 6th
grade in a county-wide safety day camp. The camp was sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension and
the County Farm Bureau. The event took place at the local fairgrounds with lunch provided. T-shirts were also
provided to each participant. Thirteen different stations were strategically placed throughout the fairgrounds.
They consisted of the following: 1. Grain Safety – A Farm Bureau representative spoke about safety around
grain wagons, silos, grain bins, and the power of flowing grain. 2. Hunter Safety – An IDNR Officer spoke to
the students about firearms safety. 3. Weather Safety – A local meteorologist spoke to the group of how to
keep safe during different types of weather. 4. Farm Machinery Safety – A local implement dealer spoke
about the dangers of farm equipment (especially augers and PTO‘s)(Straw dummies were used for a demo).
5. ATV Safety – Two employees from a local implement dealer spoke about safety hazards involving an ATV.
6. Lawnmower and Weed Eating Safety. 7. Animal Safety – Another F.B. representative spoke about
animal safety (horses in particular). The presenter showed the appropriate way to approach an animal. 8.
Poison Look-A-Like – An Extension Educator had the students decide which were the harmful drugs and
which was the candy. 9. Seatbelt and Auto Safety – Two Illinois State Policemen brought a rollover
simulator and demonstrated how seatbelts can save your life. 10. Fire Safety – The city fire department
brought a fire house display to help teach the children what to do if their house was to catch fire. 11.
Ambulance/EMT – Both of our local ambulance services came and explained first aid and showed the inside
of the ambulance. 12. Health and Nutrition – A local nutritionist spoke about wellness and the appropriate
foods to eat. 13. Drug Awareness – A local DARE Officer was present to talk about the effects of drugs. 14.
Electricity – Our local Regional Electric Cooperative was present to show the live wire demonstration.
Concluding the program the students were given a bag of safety materials. Students spent at least a half a day
at the event and it took at least 90 volunteers to implement this program. This is extremely popular with the
local schools and has become an annual event.
Schuyler, “Mammogram/PSA Discount” – Early detection of cancer is the key to survival. Members are
given a $20 discount on mammograms and Prostrate Specific Antigen (PSA) tests. A PSA is a test to check
for abnormalities of the prostrate gland. The members set up their appointment at their convenience. Upon
proof of having a mammogram or PSA completed, Farm Bureau® gave them a rebate check for $20.00.
Twenty ladies took advantage of the mammograms and 3 men received a rebate on their PSA tests. It gave
their families the peace of mind knowing their loved ones do not have cancer. Detecting cancer in its early
stages is very important to our members and their families as is saving money on health care.
* Piatt, “Soy Foods Wellness Clinic” – With the assistance of a grant through the Illinois Soybean Association,
the WC decided to promote the importance of soy food in a person‘s diet. Eating healthy is becoming more of
a issue today with obesity and health issues on the rise so the WC decided to target two groups of seniors in
the county and teach them the benefits of soy food. Each group was served a four-course meal and each of
the courses contained one or more soy food products, including soy sausage, soy milk, soy cheese, tofu, and
soy flour. After the meal the WC presented information on the health benefits of soy, what diseases soy has
been proven to treat, and the recommended amount of soy a person should eat each day. The WC was able
to introduce a new healthy eating alternative to over 70 people.
Carroll, “FarMedic Program” – Our county Farm Bureau hosted a FarMedic program. The FarMedic
program is designed to educate Emergency Services Personnel on how to treat agricultural-related accidents
and how to properly evacuate victims from accidents. This year‘s focus was placed on a silo or grain bin
accident. Forty firefighters and EMTs attended the one day seminar on safety that included a classroom portion
and a hands-on training portion where county EMS and EMT personnel were divided into groups and instructed
how to secure bodies that would be removed from the accident site. The Emergency Services Personnel were
able to learn how to secure a victim from a high area, how to free a silo auger victim, and were even given the
chance to load a victim into a Lifeline Helicopter for speedy transportation to a more advanced hospital. Those
who attended were able to use this program for their continuing education hours. The benefit to our volunteer
EMS and EMT services was priceless.
Edgar, “Harvest Safety Bags” – During harvest our County Farm Bureau and local University of Illinois
Extension office worked collectively to begin a new program to remind farmers to be safe during harvest by
putting together harvest bags. The bags contained information about combine safety, a reminder about SMV
emblems and where to place them on all equipment, getting enough rest, and other safety information that was
donated by our local hospital, implement dealers, health department, and other businesses. In addition, each
bag contained a small snack of a granola bar and a box of juice. The 2,000 harvest safety bags were delivered
by committee volunteers to local elevators and to farmers in the fields. The bags were a very successful
program and will be completed again in the future.
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Hancock, “Autumn Safety Promotion” – Harvest Season is an exciting time of year, it also can be a
dangerous one too. As a way to help remind farmers to be safe during harvest season,15 buckets filled with
over 65 pieces of candy, with safety messages attached, were displayed at all the county elevators during
Farm Safety Week. 8 members from the Women‘s Committee helped decorate the buckets and assemble the
candy with labels. They used 6 different types of candy, with a message that was tailored to fit their
description. Rollos- Don‘t be a Rollo-ver victim! Make sure you only operate tractors with roll-over protection
structure. Smarties: Be a Smarty! Think Farm Safety! Dum Dum Suckers: Don‘t be a dum-dum, play it
safe this fall! Snickers, Baby Ruth, Reeces: Don‘t be a nut, by getting into a rut. Play it safe this fall! All the
labels noted that it was a program that was sponsored by the CFB Women‘s Committee. The buckets were
painted green or yellow, had fall harvest leaves and twine rapped around the handle, and a fall harvest tag was
attached which said, ―National Farm Safety & Health Week.‖ We estimated that the buckets would reach 40
farmers at each location for a total of 600+ people reached. The candy buckets were very popular and farmers
who read the messages had a good chuckle, and hopefully remembered to use safe farming practices, which
was our goal.
Mercer, “Monthly Farm Safety Promotions” – To stress the importance of farm safety to our members, a
pro-gram is sponsored by our Women‘s Committee on a continuing basis each month on some topic of farm
safety. Monthly promotions included: September – Safe Sue of Harvesting Equipment; October – Sharing
Roadways during Harvest; November – Grain Storage Structures and Handling Equipment; December – Safety
Stressed during Holidays; January – Slips and Falls on Farms; February – Farm Shop Safety; March – Falls on
the Farmstead; April – Power of Crime Prevention on the Farm; May – Keeping Your Family Safe during
Tornado Season; June – Tractor Safety Facts; July – Working Early or Late? Drive Safe!; and August – Sun
and Heat Exposure. These monthly promotions are utilized to keep our more than 800 farmer members aware
of the many hazards around the farming operation.
Union, “Safety Day Camp” – September 2005. 4 county Farm Bureaus with the cooperation of COUNTRY
Insurance & Financial Services, FS, University of Illinois Extension, FFA, SWCD and other volunteers
organized a two-day Farm Safety Day Camp for 4th grade students. 349 students & teachers participated in
the event, because of the large number the event was offered two days. Safety sessions covered included:
ATC, Tractor, Lawn Mower, First Aid/911, Poison Look a-like, Fire, Seat Belt, Electrical, Water, Firearm, and
PTO. The students received a sponsor t-shirt and learned the importance of rural safety. 3 local papers
covered the event. Over 50 volunteers helped to coordinate the event.
Washington, “High School Meth Awareness” – Our Women‘s Committee has a strong vendetta against
methamphetamine and tries to increase knowledge of the dangers whenever possible. After a relatively
unsuccessful effort to attract high school students to an evening meeting at the Farm Bureau, the committee
decided to take the program to the students. Three officers from the Illinois State Police Meth Response Team
joined with our county‘s State‘s Attorney and the Farm Bureau to present an hour-long program on the physical
and legal dangers of using meth. The program was a huge success with more than 100 students, teachers and
administrators in attendance.
Wayne, “2006 Safety Day Camp for Kids” – September 1, 2006 ~ 180 kids. The Young Leader Committee
continued its service to educating area youth about common safety hazards during its 2006 Safety Day Camp
for Kids. We invited all of the 4th grade classes in the county to participate. The program was broken into eight
different safety stations. Each station was presented and taught by area organizations or companies. The
2006 stations included:
Electrical Safety – Our local electric cooperative has a demonstration they use throughout our area to
educate kids on the dangers of power lines. The 45–minute program shows the dangers of different
scenarios kids may be involved in, such as flying a kite, letting go of balloons, and climbing trees. The
7,800-watt demonstration concludes with a loud ―bang‖, as the crew overloads and blows a bus breaker.
Smoke House – Our Young Leader Committee, along with a rural fire district, lead kids through a
smokehouse to demonstrate the need to create and follow a home fire evacuation plan. Kids are taken to
the second level of the house and must climb out a window and down a ladder to escape the smoke and
―flames‖.
Fire Safety – Members of an area rural fire department discussed the importance of a fire escape plan.
The kids watched a video, and were allowed to sit and climb in the fire truck.
Chemical Safety – A staff person with our local GROWMARK/FS cooperative reviewed farm and home
chemical safety with the kids. He explained how to properly store chemicals and what to know when
providing an emergency report to medical personnel.
Stranger-Danger – A local city police detective presented the common Stranger Danger program,
teaching kids how to avoid strangers and how to use a ―secret word‖ system to identify individuals
designated as safe by their parents.
K-9 Demo - This was the first year for this station. We invited the K-9 unit from our city‘s policy
department. The officer provided some background on the K-9 unit and allowed the dog ―Elvis‖ to
demonstrate his drug sniffing abilities, as well as an attack on a would be criminal.
Farm Tractor Safety – A Young Leader provided a combine to use during this farm tractor safety station.
Committee members allowed kids to climb into the combine and discussed the safety features of the
equipment including areas of danger and the purpose of the SMV sign.
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Air Evac – The Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter was on hand to give kids a tour of their emergency vehicle
and to explain to kids their procedures when responding to an accident.
Sun Safety – Our Agricultural Literacy Coordinator developed a presentation teaching the students the
importance of protecting their skin against overexposure to the sun.
The program was financed through local donations and an Illinois Farm Bureau safety grant. We chose to
limit our pre-camp promotion to working directly with the teachers. We provided pictures and a news story to
the local media following the camp, as well as included it in our multi-county publication. The Farm Bureau
provided all attendees with a complimentary t-shirt promoting the camp with sponsor names on the back, along
with lunch and a mid-morning snack. As this event is unique and important to our community, we will be
offering the program again next year.
* Effingham, “Ag Rescue Class” – The YF sponsored an ag rescue class for all fire fighters, EMTs and law
enforcement in the area. Instructors from the Illinois Fire Service Institute served as the trainers for this 12
hour hands-on course. During the classroom portion participants received an overview of farm rescue, incident
management, response and safety, farm equipment, tractor rollovers, farm trauma and confined space and
helicopter use. During the hands-on training the class covered tractor rollover, auger extrication, row crop head
disentanglement, and basic farm equipment overview. Due to the extensive hands-on training, the YF needed
assistance from several FB members who donated equipment to use in the extrication exercises. The YF sent
invitations to every fire department, EMTS and law enforcement in the area and advertised in the local
newspaper. 46 public safety officials attended the training and received CEU‘s for their participation.
Bureau, “Amber Alert Volunteer Campaign” – Through the vision of a local citizen, and the effort of those
volunteers who are willing to serve, a concept of volunteer support has been developed. Here is how it works;
Upon issuance of an AMBER Alert within the county, or, one of the surrounding counties, or, during the alert
where there is a possibility the offender and/or victim will travel through the county, available volunteers will
provide supportive vigilance in an effort to notify law enforcement of helpful location and direction information.
Notification and activation of the volunteer effort will be accomplished through the use of an organized phone
response system. Upon notification by the system, the volunteer(s) will travel to a predetermined location
within the county, where they will maintain a constant and aggressive vigilance for individuals and/or vehicles
which closely or exactly resemble those in question. Upon reasonable certainty of observing what is believed
to be a vehicle or individual matching the AMBER Alert description, the volunteer(s) will call 9-1-1 or the
appropriate law enforcement telephone number and relay what they have seen. 15 people have volunteered to
date.
Christian, “CFB Disaster Recovery Plan” – May 2006. Our CFB developed a 7 page disaster plan for staff,
directors and tenants to outline basic procedures to be followed in the event of a disaster declaration. The
information we provided in our outline contained specific assignments and call lists which identify the names
and telephone numbers of staff, leadership, affiliate personnel and other key individuals designated to
participate in these procedures. In this we included a designated disaster team and key contacts of staff,
directors and people such as our realtors, contractors, plumbers, heating a cooling reps, and our restoration
services company. We also assigned specific duties and an emergency meeting location for our team to follow
in a disaster situation. This was developed 100% by our building committee to help prevent ―mass chaos‖ and
to protect the health and safety of our building employees, members and tenants.
Grundy, “Environmental Health Focus Group” – The County Farm Bureau was approached by the County
Health Department to host a meeting to discuss environmental factors contributing to the health and well being
of county residents. It was determined the CFB would host the meeting, in conjunction with the U of I Extension
office. Other people invited to participate included the USDA office and various health professionals. The
purpose of the group was to determine different environmental factors that could be used to help educate the
public on problems with in the county and the potential solutions. The group determined that water and air
quality are two of the most important factors that people need to address. The overall theme was that the
general public needed education in these areas. From this focus group, there have been discussions for
creating town meetings to help inform the public on some of these issues.
Jackson, “Soy Tasting” – July 2006. Our committee provided a ―Soy Tasting‖ at the largest health clinic in
our county. The event was held in the doctor‘s lounge during a two hour scattered lunch period. All the food
was made with soy products which included soy flour, soy nuts, tofu, soy milk, and more. Each of our ladies
prepared a soy recipe which was served nicely on a buffet table. The foods included TVP taco dip with nacho
chips, soybean pasta salad, spinach dip with bread, soy chicken salad, soy chik-n-nuggets, soy trail mix,
chocolate chip and soy nut cookies, chocolate tofu pie, and pineapple cake. We served approximately 70
doctors, nurses, and health-care professionals. They were all very pleased with the presentation and tastes of
the foods. We gave each of them pamphlets, soy recipes, and soy magazines which were filled with lots of
useful information. All of the recipes we used were included in the booklets. We shared with them how easy it
is to incorporate soy into their diets and how beneficial it is to them. They were all very pleased with our
committee coming to the clinic and having the ―Soy Tasting.‖ The seven ladies from the committee that
worked on this project were elated at how well the day went. It was a very productive and worthwhile
experience.
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Marion, “Health & Wellness Seminar” – 35 members/8 vol/3 hospital reps. The Special Projects committee
wanted to offer members the opportunity to get a blood test and especially wanted to encourage members to
have a cholinesterase test to check enzyme levels in the body that could indicate the presence of chemicals in
the blood. We worked with the local hospital and made arrangements to conduct a health screening at the FB
office for our members. The test included an Executive 3 Blood Profile, PSA test, Cholinesterase testing, blood
pressure screening and body fat analysis. Members can also make arrangements to have a mammography
done at the local hospital for a reduced charge as part of this program. The normal cost of the Cholinesterase
test would be approximately $125 if you went to the doctor, but we were able to get the test for $65.00. Thirty-
five members attended the wellness program and 9 members had the cholinesterase test. The program was a
huge success and we plan to offer it again in February. The cholinesterase test is best conducted each year to
establish a base line for reference. A couple of our members were alerted to special health concerns, heart and
blood pressure, as a result of this screening. They were extremely appreciative of the service provided and
that is what the program is all about.
Marshall-Putnam, “EMT & Fire Dept-Tractor Extrication Class” – Twenty emergency personnel from
throughout the county took advantage of the class that was held at a local fire station and county fair grounds.
The class was conducted by staff from the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS). The
program included 3 hours of classroom instruction. The rest of the training was hands on scenarios using
actual farm tractors and equipment. The program dealt with trauma patient care, cribbing, extrication tools, etc.
Students performed several evolutions in patient extrication. A local grain company donated $1000.00 to the
CFB for the purchase of a tractor to be used for these training purposes. All EMT‘s, First Responders, and
Firefighters received 8 hours of continuing education credits through local EMS system. The CFB provided
lunch.
Monroe, “Find the Farm Hazards” – Four members of our Women‘s Committee and two of our County Farm
Bureau Board Members built a 4‘x 4‘ farm with twenty hazards for our fair booth four years ago. Our Women‘s
Committee decided to place the display in our County Farm Bureau office lobby instead of storing it in the
basement. Individuals who visit our building look at the display to find the hazards. Approximately 300 youth
and adults were fascinated by the display and are more knowledgeable about the safety practices to follow on
the farm and roadways. This display reached our goal of educating farm families and the general public about
farm safety.
* Champaign, “Anhydrous Safety Training” – Purpose: To train firefighters and emergency responders to
effectively deal with the dangers of anhydrous ammonia and its related injuries and situations.
Implementation/Volunteers: The WC worked with a local hospital and cooperative to set up a class for
firefighters to learn about the transportation and handling of anhydrous as well as the treatment of anhydrous-
related injuries from an emergency room physician. The committee also provided a meal for the participants.
Needs met/Impact: Fifty (50) emergency responders participated in the class and received credit.
DeKalb, “Farm Safety Camp for Kids” – Purpose: Increase awareness of the potential dangers present on
farms and ultimately prevent accidents and injuries from occurring among rural children. Plan/Impl: Our
countywide Farm Safety Camp was planned by Health & Safety Committee members; one member hosted the
camp. The committee developed goals, budget, areas of focus, and a camp schedule. Open to 8-12 year old
rural children, the camp emphasized safety with 12 safety stations: farm animals, machinery, grain
bins/wagons, electricity, first aid, fire, bikes, lawn mowers, ATVs, hearing, chemicals and semi-tractor trailers.
Committee members identified and contacted local experts to present these important messages. The camp
was well publicized in local media and our FB newspaper. Campers were provided with lunch, a t-shirt and a
bag full of materials and giveaways. Volunteers: 11 committee members helped with planning and logistics;
60 presenters/adults were involved on camp day. Impact: 90 rural children were exposed to valuable farm
safety messages and gained an appreciation for the hazards present on farms.
Kane, “Safety Treats for Safety Week” – September 18-25, 2005. A Women‘s Committee program in
cooperation with local elevators, FSA, implement dealers and others. As farmers gear up for the harvest
season, it is important to remind them of safe practices and that they are involved in a dangerous occupation.
Last fall, our Committee developed Safety Treats to be placed in the businesses above with farm safety
reminders like: Safe farmers make ―Jolly Ranchers‖; Be a ―LifeSaver‖, Remember to play it safe this fall!; Don‘t
put a stop to your ―Payday‖, Practice farm safety!; Don‘t be a ―Butterfinger‖ when it comes to farm safety!; and
four others. 12 committee members assisted in making 400 treats and placing them in 10 locations across the
County. The messages were a fun and humorous way to drive home a serious topic and much appreciated by
the farm community.
Kankakee, “Farm Safety Presentation to 5-County Fire Chief’s Assoc” – As a result from contacts and
discussions during a township fire department farm safety session, the Farm Bureau was invited to speak to a
5-County Fire Chief‘s Association for a farm safety program. The Farm Bureau made a presentation to the 24
fire department chiefs detailing the program covering farm safety with combines, mowers, anhydrous ammonia,
tillage equipment, grain bins, augers, corn driers, and tractors. Each fire department chief received the 12-
page farm safety guide put together by the County Farm Bureau to take back and share with each of their
departments. By reaching such a large number of fire chiefs and their first responders, this farm safety
program was a great educational session improving farm safety.
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Livingston, “CPR Class for Elevator & Implement Dealer Employees” – 20 elevator and implement dealer
employees participated in a free Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) class sponsored by YLC. We have a
high volume of grain elevators and implement dealers in the county. These businesses are often located in a
remote area of the county, miles from emergency services. A heart attack, grain drowning, electric shock and
other problems may cause a victim's heart to stop pumping blood. This is called cardiac arrest. When an
accident happens, the first few minutes are critical. Studies show that effective CPR right way improves
survival from cardiac arrest. That‘s why it is important to have someone trained in CPR on site in the event
someone goes into cardiac arrest. The Young Leaders committee contacted the local hospital to provide
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation training for grain elevator and implement dealer personnel free of charge. The
American Heart Association recently implemented changes in how CPR should be administered. This program
would be the first to use the new procedures.
Will, “Boat Safety” – This was a program that we have never done & we hear about boat accidents quite a
bite. We researched this area & found a group that provided the boat safety instruction & they were approved
by the Coast Guard. We then secured them to teach a program & we offered a discount to the first 10 that
signed up. This was a four night program & each night was 2 hours in length. This program covered boats,
canoes, swimming, skiing, jet skiing, tubing, rafting, fishing just to name a few. A very comprehensive program
that certified each person once they past the test on the last day. We had 16 that took & passed the program &
we provided refreshments each night & we were very pleased that 6 of the boat group joined our Farm Bureau.
4 volunteers worked this program which was held 4-20 & 27 & 5-4 & 11.
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400. LEGISLATIVE/POLITICAL PROCESS
* Gallatin, “Leadership Initiative Day” – March 10th, we invited our state & U.S. legislators along with IL DOT
District Rep., DCOE District Rep., & our county board of directors for a lunch at a local banquet facility. This
program was developed for the tasks of thanking our legislators & officials, discuss current issues in legislation,
discuss local issues, create better working relationships with our officials, & provide a program for members to
talk to our legislators. The 44 people in attendance had opportunities to visit with our state representative,
state senator, U.S. Congressman, U.S. Congressman staff, staff for U.S. Senators, IL DOT District Director,
DCOE District Director, & our county board. We also had 2 candidates for county board attend. Rich
Clemmons of IFB staff moderated the program for us. The program ended up covering both legislative & local
affair issues. Transportation issues, inheritance tax, property tax, private property rights, local road issues,
local tax issues, right-to-ride issues, railroad information, access off of state routes, local economy, & several
more issues were discussed. The local television station, local newspapers & our FB publication covered the
event. As a result, we did have a chance to thank our elected officials & discuss of variety of issues of local,
state, & national importance. The program was only supposed to last 1.5 hours, but ended up being a 3 hour
program that turned out to be very beneficial to all who attended.
Edwards, “Ribeye Dinner” – June 6, 2006 ~ 43 volunteers. As a way to bring more members‘ concerns to
our representatives on both the state and national level, the Farm Bureau decided to host its second annual
legislative ribeye dinner. The purpose of the dinner was to bring the members concerns to the legislators and
allow the legislators to talk about what they are currently working on in the state and national general assembly.
This year, we were interested in having our adopted legislator at the event. She was contacted, and a date
chosen when she could attend. Invitations were then sent out to all of our state and national legislators. Once
a date was agreed upon, the dinner was publicized in both county papers and the Farm Bureau publication.
Reservations were required. Sixteen ounce ribeye steaks were cooked for all who had registered. On the night
of the dinner, the ribeyes, mashed potatoes, corn, and dessert were served to all in attendance. First, the
business man building an ethanol plant in the area, talked to the crowd about the plant‘s status. Second, our
state senator and representative spoke. They spoke about what they have been doing in Springfield, and
some of the hurdles they have been forced to deal with in regards to issues important to Farm Bureau. Next,
our adopted legislator spoke about the similarities and differences in the priorities from people in the Chicago
suburbs, and our area of the state. After both presentations, the floor was opened for questions. The Farm
Bureau board had prepared some of their own questions, and the president asked these questions to the
legislators. Some of these questions included, ―What is your opinion of the state budget?‖ ―Eminent domain,
the bills that were passed, what all do they contain, and will they save us from our land being taken?‖ ―What
will the effect of electric deregulation have our on electric bills?‖ ―What is your main priority for the next
legislative session?‖ Next, representatives from our national legislators spoke. They talked about the issues of
current importance on the national front, and then opened the floor for questions. They were mainly asked
about WRDA (Water Resource Development Act), the death tax, and the 2007 Farm Bill. All stayed after the
dinner to answer more individual questions. All members in attendance were extremely grateful for the meal,
and the opportunity to meet in a small, personal setting with their legislators. The program succeeded in
bringing members‘ concerns to the legislators, as well as, allowing the legislators to address their concerns.
Both county papers had reporters at the dinner that covered the program for their papers with pictures and
articles. Several board members have been asked if the program will be held again next year; with an answer
of ―yes‖, we expect an even better turn out in 2007.
Pulaski-Alexander, “Meet the Candidate” – Two candidate forums were held in our two counties. The CFB
Leg Committee co-hosted the events with the local Seniors Center and one of the local FFA Chapters a total of
60 volunteers helped with the events. The purpose was to provide an opportunity for citizens to get a better
view of the Superintendent of Schools, Sheriff, County Commissioner, County Clerk, and County Treasurer
candidates before the primary elections. The 25 candidates were given 3 minutes for their introductions and
then they were allowed to discuss individual questions with those attending. Over 150 citizens attended the
forums and were given great opportunity to ask questions of the candidates.
Scott, “You’re Part Of The Solution: Trip To DC” – The FB planned, organized, and funded a three-day
leadership trip to Washington DC in March. The theme of the trip, ―You‘re Part of the Solution‖, centered on the
FB policy goals of Energy, Environment, Hunger, Income Security, and National Security. Our goals were to
empower and educate leaders on important national and international issues. Included on the itinerary were the
Pentagon, AFBF, USDA, USEPA, American Wind Energy Association, Pork Producers, US Senators and
Congressmen, US Agency for International Development, US Corps of Engineers, Christian Solidarity
International, and the Ethiopian Embassy. Three county leaders including the manager plus eight leaders from
an adjoining county participated in the trip. The participants were involved in issue identification. They held two
pre-trip briefing meetings and a post-trip debriefing. They also held daily briefings while in Washington DC.
Participants were presented with briefing papers on the groups, people, and issues they would study. Each
participant was responsible to serve as a group leader during each meeting or dinner function; introduce the
topic and the speaker; lead questions and discussion; and follow-up with the speakers upon our return. We
discussed FB policy with agency officials directly impacting our members. Many of our speakers were
appreciative of having the chance to speak with producers directly—some had never met with farmers before.
Our leaders learned much on the many challenges facing their business but from a different perspective. In
addition, they were forced out of their comfort zone by leading a session and becoming experts on issues as
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disparate as wind energy, relations with the Islamic world, and sub-Saharan politics. Our goal of empowering
the participants was exceeded as exemplified by the enthusiasm of the group upon our return. They all gained
by the pre-trip study, pre-trip briefings, trip sessions, and post-trip debriefing allowing them to be fluent on
current issues. An added benefit was the relationships between participants that will pay dividends to the
organization well into the future. We have also built relationships with agency officials and diplomats that we
continue to foster. FB plans to continue this program biennially.
Stark, “A Day on the Farm with Legislators” – After brainstorming to find a way to have our legislators see
first-hand the impact that last year‘s drought had on local farmers, the legislative committee invited our state
and federal legislators out for a ―day on the farm.‖ Over 15 farmers met for a lunch discussion meeting before
heading to the fields, where legislators were given rides at 8 different farmers‘ fields on two different dates
throughout harvest. Members were able to raise their concerns about the drought and other important issues
relating to agriculture, while the legislators were able to witness just how hard the drought hit local farmers.
Members were given a chance to inquire about current or potential legislation on disaster relief as well as many
other important issues, along with strengthening relationships with those legislators. The committee and
legislators were so pleased with the event that it has already been planned out for this coming fall, where
legislators and farmers can come together to discuss this year‘s relevant issues and legislation.
* Mercer, “Elected Officials Handbook” – As we ask our Farm Bureau members and the general public to be-
come more involved in contacting our elected officials on various legislative and public issues, we realize that
often they might not know who the officials are or how to contact them. A joint project of our Governmental
Affairs Committee and our Women‘s Committee, we updated the Elected Officials Handbook after the April
2005 election to provide the names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. of our elected officials and how to contact
them on the issues of importance to agriculture. The handbook is a compiling of information about our elected
officials who serve on the federal, state, county and township levels of government. It is the only type of book
containing this information that is available in our county. It contains information about our United States
Senators and Congressman, State of Illinois Constitutional officers and state legislative officials. Also listed
are our county board members, what districts they represent and what commit-tees they serve on, our other
elected county officials and appointed county officials. Each of the townships in the county and all of the
township officials are listed in the handbook. The school board members of the school districts in the county,
along with mayors or village presidents for each of the cities and villages in the county are listed. The last item
in the handbook is information on the proper procedure for writing letters or making contact with our officials.
The Elected Officials Handbook is a comprehensive informational tool for our members as well as the general
public. Dozens of the handbooks have been distributed throughout the county and placed at public local
locations. We have received excellent response from many sectors to this effort.
Franklin, “Legislative Initiative” – Local landowners, over the last few years, have experienced problems with
the presence of oil production equipment occupying surface land. Most landowners in the county do not own
their minerals. The Drilling Operations Act provides for the payment of damages upon entry to the land for
drilling but does provide for the compensation of lost income from the existence of the production equipment.
Our county Farm Bureau worked with a local property rights group to formulate a plan to amend present
legislation to correct this issue. We contacted our IAA staff that indicated that new legislation was the only
viable remedy to the problem. We asked our IAA Director to submit the issue to the IAA Board and ask for it to
become a priority issue for State legislation. We were successful and began work with IAA staff to draft
legislation to amend present law. We worked with our Senator and Representative and a House Sub-
committee hearing was held in our county to identify the problem. 5 of our members provided testimony for the
hearing. We initiated negotiations with the Illinois Oil and Gas Association to reach consensus on language.
We now have an amendment pending in the veto session that is an agreed bill.
Piatt, “Adopted Legislator Visit and Ethanol Meeting” – The CFB truly put their relationship with the
Adopted Legislator to work this year when a joint meeting was held in her district to discuss how they can tap
into the E85 market. Our CFB has an excellent working relationship with our Adopted Legislator (AL). She had
contacted our CFB to get more information for her constituents about E85, and more importantly to get E85
pumps in our AL‘s district. The CFB, Illinois Corn Marketing Board, and representatives from municipalities
and park districts from our AL district, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and a representative from
the Economic Development Department all met to hold a roundtable discussion on how the AL‘s district could
access the E85 market. Background information was given on corn production, what E85 is, grants that were
available to put in E85 pumps, and the environmental benefits of running E85 in a fleet of cars or trucks. The
municipalities were very receptive to the idea of converting their fleets to Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFVs), however
there were no E85 pumps located anywhere in their county. Plans were made to do more research on the
possibility of the municipalities and park districts obtaining their own E85 pump for their use only, and not for
retail sale. Currently there are no grants or funds available for putting in a new E85 pump of this type. The
group has also decided to target the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and ExonMobile-the gas station that
leases the Oasis‘s on the toll roads-to spark interest to install E85 pumps there. The meeting was very
productive and all parties plans to meet again in October to see what new information can be brought back to
the group The CFB has also been requested to create E85 talking points for the park districts and
municipalities, so they can further spread the good word on E85. The CFB is excited to be involved in this
program and feels this is how valuable the AL program can be to out organization.
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Pike, “You’re Part Of The Solution: Trip To DC” – The FB planned, organized, and funded a three-day
leadership trip to Washington DC in March. The theme of the trip, ―You‘re Part of the Solution‖, centered on the
FB policy goals of Energy, Environment, Hunger, Income Security, and National Security. Our goals were to
empower and educate leaders on important national and international issues. Included on the itinerary were the
Pentagon, AFBF, USDA, USEPA, American Wind Energy Association, Pork Producers, US Senators and
Congressmen, US Agency for International Development, US Corps of Engineers, Christian Solidarity
International, and the Ethiopian Embassy. Eight county leaders including the manager plus three leaders from
an adjoining county participated in the trip. The participants were involved in issue identification. They held two
pre-trip briefing meetings and a post-trip debriefing. They also held daily briefings while in Washington DC.
Participants were presented with briefing papers on the groups, people, and issues they would study. Each
participant was responsible to serve as a group leader during each meeting or dinner function; introduce the
topic and the speaker; lead questions and discussion; and follow-up with the speakers upon our return. We
discussed FB policy with agency officials directly impacting our members. Many of our speakers were
appreciative of having the chance to speak with producers directly—some had never met with farmers before.
Our leaders learned much on the many challenges facing their business but from a different perspective. In
addition, they were forced out of their comfort zone by leading a session and becoming experts on issues as
disparate as wind energy, relations with the Islamic world, and sub-Saharan politics. Our goal of empowering
the participants was exceeded as exemplified by the enthusiasm of the group upon our return. They all gained
by the pre-trip study, pre-trip briefings, trip sessions, and post-trip debriefing allowing them to be fluent on
current issues. An added benefit was the relationships between participants that will pay dividends to the
organization well into the future. We have also built relationships with agency officials and diplomats that we
continue to foster. FB plans to continue this program biennially.
Saline, “Leadership Initiative Day” – March 10th, we invited our State & U.S. legislators along with IL DOT
District Rep., DCOE District Rep., & our county board of directors for a lunch at a local banquet facility. This
program was developed for the tasks of thanking our legislators & officials, discuss current issues in legislation,
discuss local issues, create better working relationships with our officials, & provide a program for members to
talk to our legislators. The 44 people in attendance had opportunities to visit with our State Representative,
State Senator, U.S. Congressman, U.S. Congressman staff, staff for U.S. Senators, IL DOT District Director,
DCOE District Director, & our county board. We also had 2 candidates for county board attend. Rich
Clemmons of IFB staff moderated the program for us. The program ended up covering both legislative & local
affair issues. Transportation issues, inheritance tax, property tax, private property rights, local road issues,
local tax issues, right-to-ride issues, railroad information, access off of state routes, local economy, & several
more issues were discussed. The local television station, local newspapers & our FB publication covered the
event. As a result, we did have a chance to thank our elected officials & discuss of variety of issues of local,
state, & national importance. The program was only supposed to last 1.5 hours, but ended up being a 3 hour
program that turned out to be very beneficial to all who attended.
* Jefferson, “Adopt-A-Legislator” – Population shift in Illinois has caused more and more legislative
representation to come from the Chicago Metropolitan area. W e felt it a high priority to educate an urban
legislator of agricultural life and issues. Bill Bodine with IFB matched us with a State Senator from the heart of
Downtown Chicago to participate in the Adopt-A-Legislator program. W e made our initial contact with the
Senator and visited him in Springfield and in his district in Chicago. Plans developed to have the Senator and
his family visit our area last fall. Contacts were made by our manager through Bill Bodine. The Senator and
his family agreed to a two night stay in Southern Illinois with scheduled farm visits. The following activities
were planned by our Legislative Committee (8) and Board of Directors (9); Day one – Arrive and check into
lodging, tour a grain handling facility, visit a grain farm, view a local rural school district, welcome reception,
wiener-roast hayride, horseback riding. Day Two – Bottle feed calves, harvest corn, and tour a cattle and hog
operation. The evening concluded with an enjoyable dinner with a few of the board members and manager
present. The Senator and his family (wife and two young children and nanny) were overwhelmed with the
weekend. They learned a great deal about agriculture and the issues that farmers face in Illinois. Each of
those involved in organizing and participating in the tour were mailed a thank you gift by the Senator and his
wife. Several photos were copied on a disk and mailed to the family as a memorabelia. Their visit was a
fantastic experience. W e feel that we are building a positive relationship with the Senator and his staff. The
Senator now wants to plan visits of his constituents to So. Illinois. This experience and relationship will benefit
our organization for hopefully many years down the road.
Christian, “Legislative Reception & Viewpoint Seminar” – Our Farm Bureau utilized a very effective format
to spark direct answers from our State and National Legislators. Using a specific, open forum system, one of
our Legislative Committee directed questions to 2 state Reps, 2 state Senators, along with 1 US
Representative and 2US Senatorial Staffers. The issues that were covered included economic development,
the upcoming state budget, renewable fuels legislation and usage, along with many controversial issues that
would be very influential in the upcoming election. The goal of this program was to get questions answered first
hand, and it was also an excellent way for legislators to see what was important to their Farm Bureau
Constituents. More than 110 Farm Bureau Members attended the program, along with 7 County Board
Representatives, which ensured that the local, state and national scenes were covered politically. During the
program, the Illinois Farm Bureau State Legislative Staff addressed the audience on the work that IFB was
doing and accomplishing legislatively for farmers in our county and IL. The event was also covered extensively
by the media from the Legislative Reception and during the moderated discussion and debate. In addition, 2 of
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our local TV stations gave exclusive, live coverage to the event, along with the local newspaper which ran a 2-
day series article on this program that had not been equaled in year‘s past in our county. To ensure a
professional atmosphere, 5 of our board of directors went continuously throughout the crowd and delivered
questions on note cards to the moderator. This program was attended by many strong agriculturists including
the National Corn Growers Chairman, the chairman of the Illinois Soybean Check-off Board, two IAA Directors,
two Growmark Directors, as well as four mayors from our county communities. Furthermore, 11 Board of
Directors were present and visible with name tags, for ―MM‖ members to address township issues and
concerns for the year ahead. Following the legislative discussion and debate, the Farm Bureau Board of
Directors conducted a first-hand Viewpoint ―Open Discussion‖ with the audience to find out what we need to be
doing as representatives of the Farm Bureau, Corn Growers, Soybean Association, Growmark and the county
board. In the words of one ―MM‖ member, “this was the best and up-close Legislative program that I’ve ever
attended!” This event was organized, coordinated and planned 100% by our Farm Bureau Board of Directors
and Legislative & Viewpoint Committee.
Fulton, “Meet the Candidate Night” – March 13, 2006. Held in cooperation with our Chamber of Commerce
at a local community center. 2 of our volunteers obtained a sample ballot, researched candidate addresses on
the internet, and sent invitations to everyone included on the ballot; federal, state, county, and judgeships. We
had 53 candidates attend and over 250 citizens. A local cable channel recorded the event and played it
several times during the following week in area communities.
Grundy, “Sweet Corn Delivery to Adopted Legislator” – The Legislative Committee worked closely with Bill
Bodine to adopt a legislator. While several attempts were made to meet during the visit to the capitol, it was not
possible. The Legislative Committee decided to visit to the district of the Adopted Legislator for June 06.
Arrangements were made to travel to the district with the Legislative Committee Chair, manager and the CFB
President. The group brought materials to present to the Adopted Legislator to inform her about the county,
and show the differences between her urban area and the still rural area of the county. In turn, she provided the
attendees with information and took the group on a tour of her district. To follow up with the visit to her district,
the legislative committee decided to send a basket of sweet corn to her district office. In July, the committee
chair and the CFB president picked 4 dozen ears of sweet corn which was then shipped to the district office
with a simple noted thanking her for the hospitality. The reception of the basket was wonderful! The assistant
couldn‘t believe the thoughtfulness of sending such an item, and they raved about how good the fresh sweet
corn tasted. The committee accomplished the goal of adopting a legislator, and with the contacts made so far,
it has been a very positive experience for the county.
Warren-Henderson, “Primary Candidate Questionnaire” – 2,600 people reached. 4 volunteers. W e felt it
was important for our members to learn about the candidates, but our ―Meet the Candidate‖ forums hadn‘t been
well attended and we felt we weren‘t reaching a lot of people. So we designed a questionnaire & sent it to
everyone on the ballot. W e asked them to tell about themselves, give a brief summary of why they were
running for office, their goals, how they would work with up-state legislators when trying to pass legislation for
downstate, how they planned to handle the education funding problem, ideas for attracting new business to the
state as well as maintaining the ones we have, workable solutions to combat health care costs & gave them a
space for closing comments. They answered the questions & we then printed the questions & their responses
in our monthly publication. In it we reminded our readers how important it is to vote. W e ended up with a 15-
page insert, but it was well work the time and effort it took to put it together. W e had people coming in the
office to get extra copies of our publication.
* Kane, “Harvest Evening on the Farm Leadership Picnic” – September 28, 2005. (Legislator Appreciation
and Acquaintance) To thank legislators and local officials for their attention to farm issues and to better
acquaint our members with them, our Legislative Committee planned a Harvest Picnic for public officials. Our
U.S. Senators, Congressman, State Senators and Representatives along with County Board, County elected
and appointed officials, Mayors, Township Supervisors and Highway Commissioners were invited to attend. FB
Board and Legislative Committee served as hosts. The local Corn Growers Association cooked pork chops,
bratwurst and sweet corn and specialty crop producers provided the remainder of the meal. An evening picnic
was held on a centennial farm with combine ride sign-up, harvest bingo, local farm product sampling and
displays from 8 specialty growers among the activities at this function. While there, pubic officials learned
more about commodities and specialty crops grown in our county including corn, soybeans, dairy, grapes &
wine, sod, nurseries, vegetables & greenhouses. They also saw a demonstration of clean burning properties of
e-85 fuel put on by a local municipality‘s public works department. 96 attended including 68 public officials, 3
State Reps, 2 State Senators and a representative from our Congressman‘s office all of whom were recognized
for their voting records.
DeKalb, “Lawmaking and Lobbying 101” – Purpose: Develop a program to educate our youth on the
legislative process and how involvement can provide results. Implementation: FB worked with area eighth
grade teachers to design a program that would assist students in capturing the realization of being in a
legislative hearing. A topic was identified, a bill was drafted and students were asked to prepare statements
both supporting and opposing the issue. The topic identified was the banning of junk food in schools. IFB staff
was enlisted to talk to the students about the legislative process and what to expect in a hearing. Our local
legislators agreed to serve as committee members during this process and challenge the student on their
positions. The committee hearing was held and students provided written, oral, and tabulated support and
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opposition on the topic. At the end the legislators were ask to vote on the issue and close the committee
hearing. Volunteers: 15 member committee, 2 staff and 1 IFB staff. Needs Met: Students gained a true
understanding of the legislative process and were able to use their knowledge in a mock committee hearing
during a legislative trip to the capitol. Impact: 8 teachers, 6 schools districts and 30 students participated in
the program. FB was respected for their insight into this type of program and was encouraged to continue the
program next year.
Kankakee, “Farm Bureau and Chamber of Commerce Legislative Reception” – In order to show
appreciation to our state and national legislators it was decided to sponsor our 6 th annual Legislative Reception
and it was again decided to hold this as a joint reception with the area Chamber of Commerce. 29 Farm
Bureau members and over 120 legislators, elected officials, media, and other community leaders attended. 7
state and national offices were represented either by the office holder or a representative. The Farm Bureau‘s
adopted legislator was invited but was unfortunately unable to attend. As a change to this year‘s agenda,
specific questions were prepared unique to each legislator for them to address. This took a few additional
planning sessions between the Farm Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce, but was well worth the effort as
this provided more structure to the legislators‘ remarks. Agricultural issues dominated the remarks from the
legislators as they addressed the crowd from the podium. Coverage of the event was carried on the local radio
stations, in the local newspapers (one reaching 80,000 readers daily), in the Chamber of Commerce news, and
in the County Farm Bureau monthly publication reaching all 5,200 members. The esteemed ―Friend of
Agriculture‖ designations were also announced and presentations were made to those deserving legislators in
attendance. Our two State Reps and two State Senators each were honored that evening with that award. The
reception was held at the country club which offered an excellent menu as well as an atmosphere conducive to
visiting and mingling. The event accomplished the goal of building relations with our elected officials and other
community organizations and leaders.
Will, “Legislative Barn Meetings” – We held four legislative barn meeting during the year on 4\15\06,
7\24\06, 8\1 & 3\06. We discussed school reform, budget & why we had to borrow so much money to pay our
debt instead of raising taxes which would have saved tax payers money in the long run, wetlands legislation,
eminent domain, education liability reform for the farm, inheritance tax, local road projects & livestock. These
were great meetings which allowed for interaction & questions. We feel the personal touch is the best & we had
5 Senators & 7 Representatives attend these meetings.
Winnebago, “Invited Political Candidates to Farm Talk Meeting” – Our purpose was not only to inform our
members about current FB policy, but to give political candidates seeking county board offices at the county
level, and house and senate seats at the state level to learn about FB policy & what issues are of concern to
area farmers. The CFB hosted a Farm Talk Meeting with IAA Pres. Nelson. The CFB invited area county FB
members and candidates for the county board, state senate and house positions. We had three county board
candidates, three existing county board members, a candidate for the Illinois House, a candidate for the Illinois
Senate and a state legislator attend. Following the presentation, we discussed some of the issues that are of
concern at the local level for those members and county board candidates in attendance. Not only were we
able to introduce the candidates to our members, and our leadership, we also were able to inform them on the
issues that we are very much concerned about and will be working on in the year ahead.
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500. LOCAL AFFAIRS
* Lawrence, “Flood Debasement Informational Meeting Series” – Because of our unique flooding problems,
our county had a flood map that was the equalizing factor to bring high assessments, due to very productive
soils, down to more reasonable levels. Once we were informed that the county‘s flood map was to be
challenged by the Department of Revenue (DOR), the Farm Bureau immediately took action. With the
assistance of our State Representative, we arranged a meeting with the appropriate DOR officials and
successfully defended the current flood debasements. However, the DOR did request that we perform some
―spot checks‖ to ensure that the map accurately represents flood losses in our county. Our Supervisor of
Assessments was tasked with developing these ―spot checks‖ of the current flood debasement map. After the
results came back, the DOR decided that it would be in the county‘s best interest to collect information from all
of the landowners affected by flooding and experiencing crop losses. In order to accomplish this, our County
Assessor was again tasked to mail out flood questionnaires, developed by the DOR, to all of the farm
landowners that were currently receiving some level of debasement on their taxes due to flooding. Fearing that
our members and the farm community would flood the Assessor‘s office with questions and complaints, the
Farm Bureau spear-headed an effort to arrange a series of informational meetings throughout the county.
Working with our County Supervisor of Assessments, we coordinated a series of four (4) meetings. At these
meetings our County Assessor explained the type of information that landowners would be required to
document in order to realize any adjustment to their taxes for crop losses due to flooding. Our Local Affairs
Chairman also went to great lengths to explain the history of flood debasements in our county, and try to help
our members relate to what they were being asked to do. During the course of our series of informational
meetings, we reached over 150 individuals from our county. At the deadlines to have materials into the
Assessment office, our Chief Assessment Officer reported that they had received an 80% return rate on the
questionnaires. In the near future this information will be used to essentially create a new county flood
debasement map. Our Local Affairs Committee plans to remain at the frontlines of this process to assist the
Supervisor of Assessments and make sure that the agricultural community maintains a strong voice in this
task. This issue continues to be one of great interest to our County Farm Bureau, and we continue to work with
our Supervisor of Assessments, the DOR, and our producers to ensure that our member‘s best interests are
preserved.
Gallatin, “Local Road Issue” – We had several members work with the IL DOT & legislators to increase
access to a local elevator. Several years ago, a ramp & access point was built to give better access to a grain
facility. Now, the road has become in dire need of repair. The ramp has excessive holes & cracks, making the
road near un-useable. Also, the ―old‖ access road has also become horrible to use. We contacted the District
Director of IL D.O.T., county board, & members to work on this issue. Our county did not have the necessary
funds to make the repairs. We worked with IL DOT, the county board chairman & other government entities to
find the funds for the project. Television stations and newspapers in our area covered the issue many times in
our local news. As a result of our member efforts, we did find the funding & work will begin after harvest on
repairing & even re-paving all the access points. This has been a major issue for our farmers in our area. We
applaud the efforts of our county board, members, staff and all who worked on this program.
Hamilton, “RR Spur Informational Meeting” – Those involved included: 100 concerned land owners, Jerry
Quick, Attorney, and Kevin Rund, IFB. A coal company South of our county was wanting to construct a private
RR spur through the center of our county. Concerned landowners approached our board of directors asking for
guidance. A series of small meetings took place at the homes of the affected landowners. Those small groups
consisted of the Farm Bureau President, Farm Bureau Manager and a few of the affected landowners. At the
small meetings input from the landowners was asked on what they would like to see accomplished. The board
of directors decided upon an informational meeting with Jerry Quick and Kevin Rund present. The meeting
took place on May 23, 2006 in one of the township buildings where the RR would go through. Post cards were
mailed to each of the landowners. The County President emceed the program and both speakers Jerry Quick
and Kevin Rund spoke on the issue. Kevin Rund spoke about right-of-way of RRs. Jerry Quick spoke on the
legality of the RR spur coming through the county and what to look out for before signing an agreement with
them. The Farm Bureau did not take an official position on the RR and provided an informational meeting only.
Those attending the meeting were grateful for the service that the Farm Bureau provided. Our local affairs
committee has been keeping abreast of the issue.
Pulaski-Alexander, “Citing of new Ethanol Plant” – The CFB Board of 9 members conducted a feasibility
study on an Ethanol Plant in our County. The feasibility study was funded through the USDA. Our county was
the first County Farm Bureau in the United States to be awarded such a grant. The grant was in the amount of
$100,000. We are still in the study portion and will be until December 2006. Currently, the feasibility study is
complete and the other components are being completed. This will greatly improve our local economy by
providing jobs and the need for more corn acres across several counties. The impact of this scope of project is
over 50,000 people.
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Stark, “County Ag Visioning” – Approximately 25 agriculturists came together for a series of 5 ―visioning‖
sessions. This program was designed and carried out by the Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs from Western
Illinois University. Farm Bureau was a leader in organizing and bringing this project to the county because
Farm Bureau saw endless opportunities for community involvement and creating a unified vision for the future
of agriculture in our county. Invitations were sent to a variety of local people, in various aspects of the
agricultural industry, most of which are Farm Bureau members. Each director on the Farm Bureau board was
asked to participate in order to best hear and understand the dialogue and requests that were being made by
community participants. Leaders and community members came together to brainstorm new ideas and
uncover existing ways to utilize our local value-added opportunities. Four work groups were formed based
upon the priority issues and areas that participants decided upon. To Farm Bureau, this translated into an
opportunity to receive feedback from a variety of agriculturalists in the county and to gain insight on strengths,
weaknesses, the many opportunities of, and threats to the county. A follow up session will be held to meet
back as a group and discuss progress and work to overcome any obstacles. This one-of-a-kind program
resulted in a long list of ideas to think about and projects to work on and utilized local experts in the process.
Participants benefited as they were able to contribute to the vision for the future and the county as a whole
came out ahead as there is now a path for success in place.
White, “Farmland Assessment – What You Need to Know” – November 7, 2005 ~ 95 landowners, 2 county
Farm Bureaus. When the Illinois Department of Revenue announced that they would be enforcing rules
regarding the assessment of timberland, and when county assessors began realizing the impact of Bulletin 810
on farmland valuations in the county, we began hearing a lot of rumors regarding how farmland would be
assessed. We thought it was time to put together a seminar to help answer landowner‘s questions on the
issue. We asked three area county assessors as well as Brenda Matherly of the Illinois Farm Bureau to be
speakers at the program. Matherly provided some general background information on farmland assessment
law and Bulletin 810 implementation. Each of the three county assessors spoke on the impact Bulletin 810
would have in their county, how they were preparing for Bulletin 810 implementation, and how they were
interpreting IDOR‘s rules on timberland assessments. The crowd asked several questions of the assessors
following the program. The program was covered well by local news media. We were extremely pleased with
the turnout that we had for the program.
* Piatt, “Save Our Rural Culture” – A municipality in the county decided that the current airport in the county
wasn‘t sufficient, so the municipality decided to make plans to build a new airport on 640 acres of prime
farmland in the county. When farmers in the county and surrounding area got word of this project, the CFB
knew they had to step in. Members of the CFB received plans and maps of the proposed airport and contacted
the landowners to see if selling their land to the municipality was of interest to them. In an overwhelming
response, the CFB found that no landowners were willing to sell. A meeting was held in which CFB members,
landowners, tenants, and area farmers and residents were invited to attend to discuss a plan of action. The
group decided to call themselves ―Save Our Rural Culture.‖ Several actions were taken: an ‗anti-airport‘
petition was started (CFB members got over 500 signatures in less than 24 hours) that was presented to the
city council; newspaper ads were placed in the newspaper letting county residents know what was going on
with the airport and how to contact their aldermen to let them know how they felt about the airport, a website
and email listserve was started to keep all members of the group informed on what was going on with the
airport issue on a daily basis; and CFB members attended city council meetings on a bi-monthly basis to show
their disapproval of the proposed airport. After 3 long months, the city council finally backed down to
renegotiate their contact with the current airport. Negotiations are still under way, and the CFB members and
community are hoping the proposed airport will never come up again. The CBF members and local community
alike both saw what the CFB can do for them when we come together and fight for what they want.
Edgar, “Land Owner Rights Meeting” – This spring the County Farm Bureau partnered with the Soil and
Water Conservation District and other agribusinesses to co-sponsor a Land Owner Rights Meeting. The
evening started with a catered meal for all attendees. After dinner, a panel consisting of the County Sheriff,
Supervisor of Assessments, State‘s Attorney, the District Conservationist, a representative from Illinois
Department of Natural Resources, an agent from COUNTRY Insurance and Financial Services, and a
representative from the USDA-FSA office. The panel began the program by giving a short opening statement
about themselves and how the career they have affects land owners in this county. Audience members were
given the opportunity to ask questions out loud or write questions and give them to the moderator to read.
Many of the questions centered on Bulletin 810, methamphetamine usage, hunting permits, and insurance
coverage on rented acreage. There were 39 landowners who attended this meeting.
Perry, “Big Doe Contest” – One-and-a-half years ago the CFB received a letter from a disgruntled member
who wanted us to do something about wildlife that causes damage to farmers‘ crops. After much discussion on
the issue, the board formed a small committee to plan a Big Doe Contest. The idea behind this contest would
to show members and the public that the CFB is concerned and making an effort to promote deer population
control. We would give $500 to the owner of the biggest doe entered, if that person was a CFB member. If a
non-member won, they would receive $300. Also, we offered four random drawings for prize packages valued
at $100 each. A local outdoors store had hosted big buck contests in the past and still had scales, which the
owner agreed to let us use. Many businesses also made donations toward prizes. A feed store, a liquor store, a
local grocery store, four Country Insurance agents, and a gun store all offered $25 contributions. Board
members and Young Leaders staffed the event from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. the Saturday of the first shotgun deer
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season. Just 18 deer were weighed during the day, and a non-member took home top prize. This program is an
outstanding PR project that they board is strongly in favor of and will continue into the future. Each year we
learn a bit more and can tweak the contest to entice more entries and gain more publicity.
Saline, “Local Mine Issues” – 4 different CFB‘s have visited our county to discuss mining issues. Many are
afraid of the long-wall mining because they have never had it in out county. A former board member & active
volunteer opens his doors and his lands to be viewed and to discuss the various issues. A current board
member also helps with each visit as he has had room & pillar underneath his lands. We have had board
members, former mine workers, & a former mine inspector come to our meetings to help with the discussions.
Our guys believe long-wall is the least detrimental for farmland. It does reduce production, largely due to
drainage issues. They told the 3 groups the importance of hiring a good attorney & going through each
contract with a ―fine-toothed comb‖. Also, they provided a meal with each group. Each time, the volunteers
have welcomed 9 to 20 people. This local issue is beginning to effect people across the state & we need to
help one another when dealing with these issues.
Union, “Petition Drive” – Union County is a commission form of government. State law changed in 1999 to
allow for a county to go from 3 commissioners at large to 5 commissioners from districts. Our County Farm
Bureau Board studied the pros and cons of going from 3 to 5 commissioners. One of the Governmental Affairs
staff came to one of our Board meetings to discuss the issue. Our Farm Bureau Board decided to pass
petitions to have the question of going to 5 commissioners on the ballot. A total of 1,461 signatures (10% of
registered voters) were required to put the question on the ballot. The Farm Bureau Board got 1,624
signatures. The question of going to 5 commissioners from districts will be on the November general election
ballot.
Wayne, “Public Safety Sales Tax Referendum” – April 2006. Our county government placed a referendum
on the April 2006 ballot asking voters in our county to approve a .75% sales tax increase. The new tax money
would be spent on public safety, primarily with the sheriff‘s department. Our county government has operated
with a deficit budget for several years, with the sheriff‘s department and the county jail being the main culprits
in overspending. A few weeks after it was announced, we contacted the chairman of the county board and
invited him to our monthly Board of Directors meeting. The county board chairman also brought with him
members of the county finance committee. They proceeded to explain their proposal to our Farm Bureau
directors. Following their presentation, the Board of Directors reviewed member input from a recent viewpoint
survey that we had conducted. The Board of Directors developed a resolution supporting the increase in sales
tax. CFB staff developed talking points and sent them to all directors with a copy of the resolution. In addition,
we provided a news release to local media, as well as wrote opinion articles for our local newspaper and county
Farm Bureau publication. There were several members who were upset with our decision to support the tax,
as they thought it was an endorsement of the sheriff and his policies. We continued to work with local media to
make sure our message was clear, that we were supporting the sales tax to improve the county finances. We
also expressed our desire for the county board to replenish their reserve fund, and to maintain fiscal diligence
with the county office holders. The sales tax referendum was passed by the voters by a 2 to 1 margin. In May
2006, several county office holders approached the county board asking for a pay increase. The public was
outraged by this action, and felt betrayed by the county. Fortunately, the county board maintained their
promise and did not approve the salary increase. In September 2006, the sheriff approached the county board
with a budget amendment of $40,000. To our county board‘s credit, they did not pass the budget amendment
and forced the sheriff to live within the budget that was previously established. We continue to monitor this
issue, and are ready to provide public comments to our county board and to the local media, if we feel it is in
the best interests of our membership on this issue.
* Monroe, “Comprehensive Plan Informational Meeting – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers unveiled the
Comprehensive Plan this summer. One of the alternatives in the plan has devastating impacts on our county and
was strongly supported by agriculture organizations in the state. After becoming aware of the situation from some
angry County Farm Bureau members, we immediately made contact with Illinois Farm Bureau and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers. Our work was to provide accurate details of the plan to our members and levee district
officials. Our CFB Board of Directors sponsored an informational meeting including staff from the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers. They provided answers about the plan. Illinois Farm Bureau President (IFB) Philip Nelson
provided comments on IFB‘s position of support for the plan. Over 250 members and landowners attended the
meeting. This is an on-going issue and the board members are continuing to talk with Illinois Farm Bureau
leadership and staff, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Upper Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri River
Association (UMIMRA) to deal with the details of the plan.
Effingham, “Vision 2020” – Four FB volunteers represent agriculture as members of the Infrastructure and
Natural Resources Committee which is part of a county initiative called Vision 2020. The Vision 2020 group
has a mission ―to create a vision for our county that would serve as a model for rural America‖. Two of the
goals set by the Infrastructure and Natural Resources Committee are to improve the 911 system and to
encourage the county to implement land use planning. The committee has recruited four other FB volunteers
to help achieve the 911 system goal. The committee partnered with the local fire departments to improve the
marking of houses for 911. As a result, the fire departments now sell the proper signage for houses and this
also acts as a fundraiser for the department. The committee then recruited six other FB volunteers to be a part
of the land use planning project. The committee met with experts on land use planning including individuals
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from IFB and Extension and scheduled various presentations to the County Board. The committee then
decided to promote a land use planning model known as LEAM (Land Use Evolution and Impact Assessment
Model) which would be administrated by the University of Illinois. Following more presentations on this
particular program, the County Board and the Infrastructure Committee extended the invitation to other
neighboring counties to partner together to make the LEAM project regionally based. Currently, the
Infrastructure Committee is seeking other funding sources to help reduce the total cost for each county. The
committee continues to strive to meet its goals and they regularly update the CFB board of their progress. The
positive attitude and energy possessed by these volunteers will bring fantastic results and improve the quality
of life for all residents in our county.
Grundy, “Community Works Advisory” – With the growth occurring in the county, several community
leaders from various communities felt the need to address several issues. In November 2005, the CFB worked
with several other organizations with in the community to host a meeting focusing on three general topics: child
care, land use & protection, and workforce development. The committee worked closely with the county Soil &
Water Conservation District, as well as the U of I Extension to develop the portion of the program. Invites were
sent out to all members, and members of the community. At the meeting, nearly 300 people were in
attendance, then split into one of the three groups. The Land Use & Protection workshop had 75 people
brainstorm for ideas or areas they would like to see developed for this area. All ideas were collected and
discussed as a group. Ideas were then assembled into key areas of focus, which were: farmland protection,
open space, and recreation. The group then determined to meet again in January 2006. Once these areas
were determined, a U of I educator specializing in those areas drafted a plan utilizing the ideas generated from
the Nov. meeting and presented it to the group in January. During the meeting, the group voted on which areas
needed more development, and what were tasks that would be completed at a later date. Another meeting was
held in May 2006 to discuss if the group was heading in the right direction. A final meeting, to present the
recommendation is slated for September 2006.
Henry, “Com Ed Energy Rate Change Issue” – 100 members, 4 CFBs. When our county became aware of
the possible elimination of off-peak electrical rates from Commonwealth Edison we joined with other CFBs to
inform our members of this situation. Implications of this rate hike would be devastating on those operating
irrigation equipment and grain dryers. A meeting was held for those farmers that would be affected by the
change and John Leick, speaker from Com Ed, spoke to those attending. By incorporating the assistance of
IFB legal staff, we were able to work with other groups and to decrease the rate hike that would have been very
detrimental to many farmers.
Randolph, “Local Leadership Breakfast Series” – 400 attendees, 25,000 indirectly - Working together to
form unified regional coalition is a dream come true. Two years ago, 8 people from various industries in the
community met together to share ideas, goals, and plans for the future. That small committee has grown to a
multi-county economic development infrastructure. The committee includes people from all sectors; ag,
banking, local business, community and county officials, industry, communication, education, etc. We had a
vision of working together to achieve greatness. The committee began hosting a Leadership Breakfast Series
in the Spring and the Fall. The meetings are a gathering of local and regional business leaders (CEO‘s,
Presidents, and Managers). The focus of each meeting is to build relationships and network, however the main
topic and location of each meeting fluctuates. The topics, developed through the committee, highlight key
areas of the region that play a significant role in the economy. So far they have included; Economic
Development through Industry, the World Shooting and Recreational Complex, the Coal Industry, and the local
river. The location rotates around the region and is booked until fall of 08. The committee is responsible for
seeking sponsors for each breakfast. For the April breakfast, the committee secured $14,000 from 60
sponsors. Each breakfast has Gold or main sponsors that contributes at least $750 and is given a 15 minute
portion of the program. FB was the lead sponsor for the October breakfast. Rich Guebert gave an update on
IFB, general agriculture, and working together as a community. FB displays were set up around the room
informing them of benefits, safety, and policy development. We also have provided milk and yogurt via Prairie
Farms for all of the breakfasts. After each meeting 30-minutes of networking has allowed businesses to work
together to form partnerships and great friendships. Once the meeting concludes an organized tour, relating
to each topic is available for the attendees. During our short existence, the community has come together to
embrace economic changes, worked together for a regional benefit, and changed from a scattered effort to a
unified cooperation of all parties involved.
Whiteside, “Comed Rate Hike For Farmers” – February 2006. Our CFB Board of Directors was informed by
a neighboring CFB that ComEd was proposing to eliminate their off-peak electric rate. The off-peak rate
afforded farmers with irrigation units a substantial savings on their electric bill by running their irrigations units
during off-peak electrical use times. It was discovered that in some situations, farmers could see as much as a
250-300% increase in their irrigation electric bill if they lost the off-peak rate. It was decided we needed to
inform farmers of the ComEd decision so they could prepare for the dramatic rate increase they were going to
incur. Our CFB contacted two irrigation companies explaining the ComEd situation. Both companies agreed to
let us use their customer database so we could send out notices for an informational meeting. We also
publicized the meeting in our CFB newspaper and in FARMWEEK. ComEd was contacted and asked if they
could send someone to the meeting to explain their proposed rate structure. They agreed to send a
representative. We had 130 farmers attend the meeting.
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Following the meeting, we met with IFB staff to discuss the issue. We also met with our state legislators, sent
letters to the Illinois Attorney General‘s Office, and talked with representatives at the Citizen‘s Utility Board
(CUB). Following conversations with IFB staff and our District Director, the IFB board agreed to seek outside
legal counsel to work on the issue. In the meantime, we continued to contact officials and keep farmers
updated on the issue. We encouraged farmers to contact their elected officials and the Illinois Commerce
Commission (ICC); the ruling body on ComEd‘s rate hike proposal.
All the work paid off. In July 2006, the ICC ruled that ComEd had to offer an off-peak rate. Although ComEd
can still appeal the decision, we believe we‘ve won the battle. Grassroots involvement works and our farmers
are better off because of Farm Bureau.
* LaSalle, “County Wide Zoning approval” – Our county is experiencing a rapid growth in population.
However, our county did not have county wide zoning as a tool of controlling where the growth occurs. It came
to the attention that of our local affairs committee that the county board was considering establishing a Zoning
Commission for the purpose of studying the issue and to report back to the county board for a vote at a later
date. This is very contentious issue with some of our members who are very out spoken to their opposition of
county wide zoning. In fact, they along with others in the county have organized their our political group to
defeat it. Knowing that the board will be looking for a recommendation from the committee to either support,
not support or stay neutral on the issue, the committee set about gathering as much information as possible.
The committee met with the county board chairman, who is leading the charge to get zoning implemented as
well as some of our members who do not want it. Both sides gave very compelling reasons. To help us with the
issue, we meet with Kevin Rund to help us understand the zoning and what it would do for our county. The
Zoning Commission asked for our input on their proposed zoning ordinance that they were going to take to the
county board for approval. Each committee member was given a copy of the proposal and asked to review it.
We also asked Kevin to review as well and make any suggestions. After getting the input from our committee
members as well as Kevin, the chairman of our committee(who is also the president) presented our proposed
changes to the manaul to the Zoning Commission. After reviewing the changes, the commission approved all
our suggestions for inclusion into the zoning manual. At our next committee meeting, the committee voted in
favor of to recommend that we support the county wide zoning issue. We also invited Adam Nielsen to help us
manage the issue if the board approved it. Adam helped us develop talking points and reasons why we should
support it. The county farm bureau board approved the committee‘s recommendation to support it. A press
conference was called the day after the board meeting to release our position to the public on this issue. At the
next county board meeting, our president was asked to speak to the county board in support of county wide
zoning as they had scheduled a vote on the issue. Our President did speak with many in the audience heckling
and jeering him as he spoke as they were in opposition to it. After our president spoke, the county board did
vote in favor of county wide zoning and we now have it in our county. We feel very confident that our
involvement and the steps we took to reach our decision, made a difference in the outcome of this issue. We
have heard from a few members that they are canceling their membership because of our position, but we feel
that we made the right decision.
Champaign, “County Friend of Agriculture Award” – Purpose: To recognize members of the County Board
who have supported agriculture and Farm Bureau related issues through their voting record.
Implementation/Volunteers: The positive results of the IFB Friend of Agriculture program inspired our
Political Involvement Committee (PIC) of five members to implement a similar program to recognize policy
makers on the county level. The PIC looked at the voting records of board members over the last two years on
issues that concerned agriculture and/or Farm Bureau policy. Each of the nine issues that were voted on was
given a point value and board members received that number of points for a positive vote and no points for a
negative vote. Needs met/Impact: Fourteen County Board members received the Friend of Agriculture
distinction. The award has brought more awareness to agriculture and Farm Bureau related issues as well as
giving the county Farm Bureau more of a platform to lobby. Finally, it has demonstrated our commitment to
monitoring county issues and representing our members on the local level.
McHenry, “2020 Unified Land Use Plan” – Our CFB along with an local environmental group teamed up to
defeat a county land use plan that would of placed an additional 53,000 people in 40,000 acres of
unincorporated Ag-rural areas. The plan also allowed Commercial, Office, Research, and Industrial
developments within agricultural districts. Our CFB strongly opposed this plan and sent an action request to all
900 voting members along with color maps indicating the proposed developments. We asked for phone calls,
meeting attendance and letters to the editor. The response was tremendous; Over 100 attended our
informational meeting, over 200 phone calls were made to county board members, 82 people provided
testimony against the plan and three letters to the editor were published. The plan was narrowly defeated with
an 11 to 11 vote. The local papers, the Chicago Tribune, local radio stations, and WGN followed the process
over a three month period. Well over 100,000 people were exposed to the issue and Farm Bureau‘s position.
Sangamon, “Fire District Reorganization” – The FB rallied efforts to get fire protection to everyone in the
county rather than having people and property outside of fire districts. Departments that offer subscription
services rather than tax based are left supporting those who pay and those who don‘t because the department
would not risk the injury of an individual because they hadn‘t paid. This also caused significant confusion and
time delays throughout the 911 system. Because of this the FB was instrumental at influencing the county
board and garnering member support for a comprehensive fire protection plan. The adopted ordinance will
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place parcels in the county within a fire protection district and redraw the district boundaries to allow for the
most appropriate distance for departments to travel in order to provide the best service to rural communities.
Will, “810 Circular” – We pushed the county to hire a farm specialist to handle this & other items, sent out a
survey to farmland owners to make sure correct assessments were made on all properties & many changes
benefited farmers as wasteland was missed & barns were a part of the home site when they shouldn‘t be. The
survey identified potential changes & by having a farm specialist farmers were not afraid to have them visit their
operation to discuss changes. The assessor indicated that we had 327 people save money by participating in
this process. The Supervisor & Farm Specialist addressed the 810 changes at a mtg. & they were keeping
forest land as Ag. We also received a copy of every parcel with assessments & changes for our records. We
had 18 volunteers & affected over 1,000 people directly. Mailings went to 8,900 people.
Winnebago, “Siting of Ethanol Plant” – A company proposed to site an Ethanol Plant on property located
behind our CFB building. The property needed to be rezoned from Agriculture to Heavy Industrial. Our goal
was to work with the company and help get the necessary zoning changes that would allow the plant to be
located on this site. The company met with our CFB Board and outlined the plans for the plant. Three TV
stations and the local newspaper attended our meeting. The CFB Board voted to support the efforts. Letters
were sent to Co. Bd. members supporting the project. Opposition surfaced from several neighboring
subdivisions that were located within a half mile of the proposed site. The CFB sponsored a public meeting at
our building for the Ethanol Plant developer to bring in their experts to explain their plans and answer questions
regarding the ethanol plant. Over 600 people attended the mtg. The CFB met with a representative of the
IEPA to get answers to questions being asked about the EPA regulations of ethanol plants and how Illlinois
may differ from other states. FB started a petition campaign and obtained over 1400 signatures within a month
in support of the siting of the plant. Members of the board and local affairs committee did TV and newspaper
interviews explaining the importance the plant would have on the local agriculture of the communities in the
area. We contacted the local school district, the townships, and the village located in the twp. asking for their
support. Neighboring county FB‘s were contacted and asked to send letters of support to the county board.
The CFB board testified at a special ZBA hearing which lasted two evenings in support of the plant siting.
Support Ethanol buttons were distributed to the the supporters at the hearings. The CFB also testified at the
three Co. Bd. Meetings in support of the project. The project passed the county board with more than a ¾ vote
in favor of the plant. A special appreciation picnic was held at our building thanking those that supported the
project.
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600. COMMUNICATION & PROMOTION
* Lawrence, “Harvest for All” Contest Participation” – Our YFC wanted to do what they could to help out
those in need. Each week, fifteen (15) volunteers would donate their time, energy, and resources to distribute
food to all of the area Sign of the Kingdom food pantries. These volunteers would pick up food by the semi-
load every Tuesday from the local Wal-Mart Distribution Center and bring it back to an area farm to be sorted
and dispensed to all of the local food banks. Throughout the ―Harvest for All‖ contest time frame, 27,626
cases, or $468,849.00 worth of food was picked up and distributed, and 408 volunteer hours were utilized. This
program has continued to be a tremendous benefit to our area, and has touched the lives of countless people
weekly.
Massac, “.31 Cent Breakfast” – The entire YF Committee of 16 individuals explained the actual $ the
American Farmer receives from an average breakfast meal. The meal cost was $6.25 per person and the
committee charged .31 cents per person to represent the amount the farmer receives from the meal price. The
300+ people learned about the breakfast via newspaper articles, flyers, and the local radio station. The
committee planned, helped prepare the meal & served it to the public. The publicity efforts were coordinated
with the Farm Bureau Paper and the local papers. The breakfast consisted of eggs, sausage, biscuits & gravy,
bacon, orange juice, milk, & coffee. 5 local organizations supported the event monetarily to help offset the
meal costs. 100% YF
Wabash, “Antique Tractor Ride and Show” – August 2006 – 20 participants, 6 Young Leaders, 100%
county. This year during the community festival the YFC decided to sponsor an Antique Tractor Ride and
Show. The group worked with the local law enforcement to plan a parade route. It was decided that the best
route was to meet at the local fairgrounds and travel into town on the Saturday morning of the festival. The
committee held a couple of informative meetings about a new Antique Tractor Association in the area. Many
antique enthusiasts came and shown their support by lining up for the tractor ride. As the parade traveled
through town dozen‘s of people watched as the tractors putted past houses and through intersections. The
event concluded in a uptown parking lot where the tractors could be viewed by admirers of all ages. The event
was covered in a couple of local publications as well as on the radio. The program received high quality
remarks, one even said ―This is what we need, a little taste of agricultural history."
White, “Wabash Valley Ag News Farm Bureau Publication” – September 2005 – August 2006 ~ 7 counties.
Our county Farm Bureau is one of 7 county Farm Bureaus that are working together to reach our members in a
more efficient, effective, and economical manner. Our multi-county publication is used to promote upcoming
programs and events as well as provide pictures and stories of events passed. We also use the publication to
inform our members of local affairs and legislative issues as well as the promotion of membership benefits.
Partnering with our local FS cooperative, we have developed a monthly publication that reaches over 10,500
members in our area of the state. The publication is 16 pages in length during most months of the year,
decreasing to 12 pages during our slowest programming months. At least four pages are in full color to
highlight pictures taken during our programs. We provide the publication to both voting and associate
members of the Farm Bureau, with the FS cooperative paying for around one-third of the production cost.
Within our monthly publication, we offer several services to the members…
What does Farm Bureau policy say? – This section has become a regular feature in our paper as
part of the opinion page. It allows us to highlight a current IFB policy in the paper, so members have
a chance to review Farm Bureau‘s position on an issue. The policy we use each month is selected
based on recent ag news stories that are being covered in national, state, and local media.
Ag News Classifieds – We provide our members the opportunity to place a free classified each
month. We organize the classifieds into several subheadings including equipment, livestock, real
estate, for sale, and many others. We feel this is an outstanding benefit to our members.
Opinion / Commentary – This portion of our newspaper is made available for commentary from
AFBF, IFB, CFB, or from a member. In addition, the general manager of our FS coop uses this
space to write a monthly column.
Local Business Discount Page – This program is a way for us to promote our small businesses as
well as provide a valuable tangible benefit for our members. We currently have over 50 different
business discounts as part of the program.
This publication has been a valuable multi-county project in our area. We have received
outstanding comments from our members on the quality of the production, and the multitude of
content available in the publication. This project truly serves the membership as the primary means
of member communication.
* Carroll, “Harvest for All 2006” – Our 18 Young Leaders contacted over eighty individual family farmers in our
county to donate grain to help our local food pantries get the monetary resources they need to keep the
pantries full of food that is used to supply needy families in our county. Phone calls were made, semis were
filled, and on a cool Saturday morning in June over 4213.7 bushels of corn was donated. With cash donations,
the committee was able to donate over $9590 to the four food banks in our county. The food banks on an
average serve 150 families in a month. The event was publicized in three area newspapers along with blurbs
on the local radio station. To inform the public of our success and to acknowledge those who donated, we took
out a full page ad in our countywide publication, which reaches 13,000 people, on the event listing the names
of those who donated.
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Coles, “Local Business Foundation Fundraising” – 3 volunteers reached over 40 area businesses and
seed dealers informing them about the County Farm Bureau Foundation in raising funds for its purpose in the
month of July 2006. Area businesses are contacted for donations to the annual fundraising auction. The items
are placed on a silent auction during the annual membership picnic for members. Nearly 200 associate and
voting members attend the picnic. Over $9,000 was raised for the foundation by this effort. This helps bring
awareness about the foundation and it purpose to carry out charitable scientific, literary and education work in
the field of agriculture.
Hancock, “Ag Week Activities” – Monday’s Activities: As a way to kick-off National Ag Week, The FB sent
the ―Farmer‘s Prayer‖ to all the churches in the county, had the County Board Chairman read the Ag Day
Proclamation live on the radio to designate March 20 as National Ag Day. The Ag Literacy Coordinator put
informational soybean displays in 11 county banks. Each display showcased a bushel of either soybeans or
corn, products made from the commodity and fun facts. Ag Mags, coloring books and other information was
available for bank customers to take home. In addition, the participating banks sponsored ―guess how many‖
kernels or beans contest in which the person with the closest guess received a bucket of ag products.
The YL‘s kicked off their ―Harvest for All‖ Food Drive Campaign to help raise canned goods for the County
Health Department Food Pantry Program. All Junior High-& High School students were asked to bring in
canned goods to their school office, $100 dollars was awarded to the class, in each school, that raised the
most canned goods. The YL Committee raised 125 pounds of food. The food drive lasted throughout the
week. As an additional reminder for the students to bring in canned goods, reminders about National Ag Week
were put into their school bulletins.
Are Farmers Really Super-Heroes? Just ask all the 4th Graders in our county and they‘ll tell you, ―They
are.‖ They heard it come from a farmer himself, who happens to be our Education Committee Chairperson.
This past winter, he dressed up like a super-hero and visited all the 4th grade classrooms in the county and
talked to the students about why farmers are considered to be super-heroes; because they feed and clothe the
world. That‘s quite a responsibility, and not just anybody can do it, it takes somebody special like a farmer to
do it. As a way to continue educating our youth about where their food and fiber comes from, our CFB bought
five new books, for all eight of our elementary school libraries. On the day of the presentation, the super-hero
read a book Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type to each one of the classes. They really enjoyed the super-hero
reading to them. The other books that were donated were; Green Eggs and Ham, Harvest Year, A Handful of
Dirt, Bread Comes to Life A Garden of Wheat and a Loaf to Eat. This program will have a lasting impression
on the students‘ young minds about how an American Farmer should be portrayed. The books will hold a shelf
life for many years to come. This program reached 480 kids directly, but indirectly several thousand depending
on how many times the book gets used over its shelf life. This program was featured in the area newspapers.
The media played this program up and prepared the viewers for National Ag Week. Publicity; 1 newspaper, 2
radio stations.
Tuesday’s Activities: biodiesel promotions were held in 3 school districts, where they switched their fuel
supply over to biodiesel. School buses are one of the largest mass transit programs in the United States.
Every school day, some 440,000 yellow school buses transport more than 24 million children to and from
schools and school-related activities. If all of those buses ran on biodiesel, think what that could do for us in
the Midwest, not the Middle East? 15 Farm Bureau Members, made up of the WC, YL & Marketing
Committees, along with 30 FFA Students, 10 School Board Members, and Illinois State Legislators passed out
3000 soy candles to all the students. One of the local FFA Chapters helped us assemble the soy candles by
placing them in a small Ziploc bag that included real soybeans and a message attached that said, ―cleaner
air…safer nation…stronger economy…burning biodiesel has never smelled so sweet.‖ In addition to this
promotion, we also asked the school teachers to read a special message to their class about biodiesel. The
FFA students wore official dress, and informed the students about biodiesel. Biodiesel is a win-win situation
for everyone; the school, the children, and for the farmers who produce soybeans. This program had a huge
impact! Publicity; 2 television stations, 2 radio stations, and 3 newspapers. Many hours were spent
coordinating this event because school boards, superintendents, principals, FFA Advisors, FFA students, FB
Volunteers, Legislators, and Media all had to be contacted. Plus, thank you notes to the people that helped
pull off the event. This program was selected as ―Spotlight on the County‖ in the FarmWeek Paper.
Wednesday’s Activities: For the first time ever, ―Policy Development Meetings‖ in three different
locations across the county were held. Route 9 Restaurant at 8:00 a.m.- Jim Drozdz Hancock County State‘s
Attorney discussed overweight trucking issues, Family Restaurant at 11:30 a.m. – Unit Leader of County
Extension Office talked about the services they provide to farmers. The Buss Stop at 6:30 p.m. - Illinois State
Representative gave a brief update on Ag legislative issues, and the Hancock County Health Department
talked about water quality issues, well testing services, and gave each person a free well testing kit. 25 people
attended the meetings.
Thursday and Friday, The Women‘s Committee educated the 4th Grade Classes at MacArthur
Elementary in Schaumburg on corn, soybeans, the environment, and biodegradable products.
The FB received a lot of publicity for their efforts. The television stations, radio, and newspaper media
covered these events / stories. Thousands of people were informed by these programs. This was the first year
the CFB had taken this much interest in National Ag Week.
McDonough, “Ag Day at the Football Game” – Our CFB in cooperation with the local college, broadcasted
Illinois farm facts every 2 minutes on the scoreboard during the football game. In the program insert was a
sheet where people could write them down. This was a great event because we used the facts that people
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would not likely know and it worked great. We figured we reached approximately 10,000 people during the
game.
Mercer, “Sesquicentennial Parade Float” – In September 2006 our county seat celebrated a major
milestone when the Sesquicentennial event was held marking the 150th anniversary of the city‘s founding. Our
Public Relations Team participated in a large Sesquicentennial parade with a float that depicted the percentage
of a family‘s income spent on food in 1850 compared to the amount spent today. The Public Relations Team
developed the idea for the float and then constructed the float relating the fact that a far smaller percentage of
a family‘s income today is spent on food than was spent 150 years ago. Public Relations Team members,
along with some of their children, rode on the float which showed a modern day kitchen scene and a kitchen
scene typical for the 1850‘s. The float was seen by in excess of 10,000 persons who viewed the parade and
got to see the message of how affordable food is today.
* Henry, “Heart of the Harvest” – 1 volunteer, local NBC affiliate. In order to alert the general public
concerning the effects of the drought in our area, a local farmer and FB Director began a series with the local
NBC affiliate. Throughout the growing and harvest season he did a weekly television interview on his farm and
submitted a weekly email that was then posted on the stations website. To conclude the series, a special was
aired compiling the entire segments and recapping the year‘s crop and harvest. This series went on to win an
award for the television station in the area of agriculture. This was a great opportunity for farmers and Farm
Bureau to inform the general public, especially reaching the non-ag community, about the struggles the farmer
faces.
Bureau, “Farm City Week Donation” – 144 Needy Residents, 7 Volunteers, 25% YL Committee. During
National Farm City Week the committee wanted to raise awareness of the importance of farmers and others
playing a role in getting food to the tables around the world. The committee donated, to a local food pantry,
enough food to feed Thanksgiving dinner to 144 people. This is the number of people a farmer in the county
feeds in an entire year. After contacting the press, 7 volunteers unloaded 20 turkeys, 21 cans of sweet
potatoes, 24 cans of cranberry sauce, 9 boxes of instant potatoes, 10 packets of gravy mix, 42 cans of green
beans, 12 packages of rolls, 10 jars of apple sauce and 15 boxes of cake mix. This donation not only reminded
the community that farmers are responsible for the worlds most abundant, cheapest and safest food supply,
but also helped the needy.
Christian, “Tourism Garden Walk” – June 17, 2006. This year our CFB served as the hub for our tourism
council‘s Annual Garden Walk. Our board‘s goal is to have one of the most beautiful properties in town for
members to be proud of and enjoy. Following a number of landscape and remodeling projects our building has
become one of the hot spots for garden and landscape enthusiasts. During this year‘s Garden Walk our CFB
was the headquarters, which provided us an endless opportunity to promote FB and agriculture to more than
1000 tourists. We served more than 400 free Certified Angus Lunches to patrons, paraded our American Flag
Antique Oliver Tractor plus 10 additional antique tractors along with a variety of corn and horticulture plots on
our CFB property. This was also the kickoff of our annual membership/beef promotion where we signed 5
MM‘s and a number of new associate members. There was also great TV, radio and newspaper coverage. If
your CFB has the opportunity to get involved with our tourism council and programs like this…do it! It‘s truly an
awesome and diverse way to do some great PR for your CFB. (100% FB/WC implementation)
Fulton, “Ag. Week Baby Basket” – The first baby born during 2006 National Ag. Week at our hospital was
greeted with a special gift from the Fulton County Farm Bureau Women‘s Committee. Our Committee marked
the event by putting together a basket of nearly two dozen baby items and products made from agricultural
commodities, farm-themed toys, books, and a hand made blanket. One of our members made and donated the
blanket. Our small hospital is very active and is one of the few rural hospitals in our area of the state to still
deliver babies. In January 2006, we contacted the media representative for the hospital and told her of our
plans. She thought it was a wonderful idea and wrote up the program in the employee newsletter and talked to
the maternity nurses. We gathered about 2 dozen items; either baby products made from farm commoditites or
farm-themed toys, books, and other items. Some of the items in the basket included diapers, formula, powder,
diaper rash cream, cereal, and a gift certificate for a Family Pleaser, donated by our local Monical‘s Pizza
restaurant. We printed a slip of paper to afix to each item explaining it's origin on the farm and/or including a
pertinent ag fact. We then arranged all of the items into a large laundry basket (noting it contained corn-based
plastic) and wrapped the entire basket in colored cellefane, tied with ribbon. We visited with the nurses at the
beginning of March and left the completed baby basket with them. They informed us of how many babies were
expected that week. We left several phone numbers for them to reach us at when the first baby was born
during that week and we also left a disposable camera with them in the slim chance that we could not make it
to the hospital while the family was still there. Through the awarding of the basket and the news coverage of
the activity we made consumers & the public aware of the importance of agriculture in everyday life. A little boy
was born on Tuesday, March 21, 2006. 3 area newspapers carried an article and picture. We did one radio
interview. We had much media attention for the event.
Jefferson, “National Ag Day Baby” – As an organization we felt it was very important the general public be
aware of Nat‘l Ag Week and its purpose. The Women‘s Comm. (6) and Y.F. (8) decided to work together and
recognize the first baby born on Nat‘l Ag Day. Arrangements were made with the local hospital and the two
local newspapers to cover this event. Nat‘l Ag Day came as well as the Nat‘l Ag Day Baby. Reps from both
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committees delivered the gifts to the mother ($60 worth of baby items and a nice car seat). The two local
newspapers covered the event and we received great publicity. Both news releases were front-page photos
with a story attached about the importance of agriculture and Nat‘l Ag Week. Approximately 20,000 people
subscribe to these two local newspapers and had the opportunity to read the articles. Our Nat‘l Ag Day Baby
has turned into an annual event and the local hospital stated that our program provides more gifts than the New
Year‘s Baby contest.
Stephenson, “County Agriculture Video” – With agriculture being the foundation of our local economy, we
wanted to find a means to communicate that message effectively in various settings. With the help of the IFB
Promotions Department, we produced a video showcasing five operations in our county – a dairy farm with
methane digester, swine/beef farm, large grain operation, ethanol plant, and cow-calf/grain farm (operated by a
technologies teacher and featuring classroom footage). A four-minute kiosk version was unveiled at the county
fair and will be shown at our county visitors‘ center, service clubs, etc. A longer, more detailed eight-minute
educational version will be used in Ag-in-the-Classroom applications. The video‘s theme is safe,
conscientious, and responsible agricultural production. 12 volunteers worked on this project.
* St. Clair, “Move the Fair” – After more than 30 years of frustration at the current County Fair, our County
Farm Bureau took the lead to move the 4-H livestock and craft exhibits from the decaying urban fairgrounds to
a community park at the heart of the farm community. At the initial event, held in August 2005, we were forced
to use a large tent to house the livestock and a distant school auditorium for the craft exhibits. Adequate
permanent on-site facilities were needed. Young Farmers Committee wanted to be a part of this historic effort
and had already raised $16,000 for a building at a June 2005 fund raiser. However, the estimated cost for the
building was $120,000. The Young Farmers worked with our Foundation to send a letter that asked every
Farm Bureau voting member to contribute to the effort. The committee developed and contacted a list of
potential farm related business donors. The Young Farmers also designed a marble memorial ―tablet‖ that
would recognize the names of the contributors. Our fundraising efforts ran from late spring to early summer.
The committee raised an additional $70,000 from 175 individual donors and another $60,000 from
businesses/organizations. We worked with the city to award the building bids in early June and construction
began in late June. The 75 X 250 foot steel building was completed in time for the August 2-6 event. It
included a large livestock area and a large air conditioned room for exhibits. The new facility provides the
children with a safe and clean environment to show their animals. The tremendous response from the farm
community demonstrated their commitment to the project. The project created a positive feeling among the
children, their parents, the host community, our membership, Extension and fairgoers. Farm Bureau‘s image in
the county benefited because we accomplished something that has been needed for 30 years.
Champaign, “Television Program” – Purpose: To educate and engage the non-farm public about the basics
of agriculture with a fun, informational television program. Implementation/Volunteers: The 5-month series of
programs featured 4 half-hour segments on 1-4 different topics each month including soils and agriculture
economics. A CFB board member hosts the talk show style segments and interviews experts from the
agriculture industry. 26 panelists, including many members, have shared their knowledge on the show. The
idea came from a realization that most people in the county have very little knowledge of agriculture. Needs
met/Impact: Each segment has been broadcast at least 6 times each on two cable channels to a potential
viewership of 60,000 people. Surveys indicate the shows are informational and easy to understand.
Rock Island, “Adopt An Acre 26 week TV series” – ABC –TV sales staff ask FB to get involved with doing an
Adopt an Acre segment for 26 weeks. PRPC obtains support of young FB director to do weekly interviews
beginning with the planting season every Friday. CFB will receive weekly on air mentions if the the TV station can
sell $ 9000 worth of advertising. CFB obtains $ 3000 from Growmark, Country, and Pioneer Seed. Thanks to their
support CFB receives 10 weekly on air mentions. The Friday weather report is live each Friday night during the 5, 6
and 6;30 p.m. news. The Friday night viewership is low however, the weekly on air mentions is priceless,
considering the CFB didn‘t pay a dime for their weekly on air mentions. The weather reporter, a native Floridian and
city boy, has gained a broader knowledge of the farming industry and furthermore respect. The viewership for this
tv station is 40,000 households.
Will, “Phone Cards for Troops” – 11 volunteers, year round program. We selected a chairperson & worked
with our American Legion & used their tax exempt number to purchase phone cards to send to our troops. We
did fund raising events, flea markets, garage sales, had booths at different events, sent letters, spoke to
groups, placed cans for donations at bakeries and to date we have raised over $15,000.00 and have provided
over 3,500 phone cards to our troops. This was to be done for the holidays but extended to all year long. We
also work with Operation Care package whom has the addresses of the troops & our items are enclosed in
their packages as we also collected beanie babies, wet wipes, socks, toothpaste, batteries, hand held games,
hard candy & more. Over 800 troops have e-mailed us back saying thanks as we have placed a sticker on
each card.
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700. MEMBER RELATIONS
* White, “1st Annual YL Golf Outing” – Just 29, 2006 ~ 9 teams, 8 young leaders, 36 golfers. This year the
Young Leader Committee added their second fundraising program, a golf tournament. We worked with the
local country club in setting up the arrangements. A member of our Young Leader Committee took the lead in
developing the rules for the tournament. We chose a 4-man, best ball style game. The committee produced a
flyer that we distributed around the county. CFB staff produced ad slicks and news releases regarding the
tournament. We had three sponsorship levels… ―Harvest Sponsor‖, ―Growing Sponsor‖, and ―Planting
Sponsor‖. The sponsor levels were $100, $75, and $50 respectively. Those businesses who were Harvest
Sponsors received a free golf registration for one of their players. We also had a sponsorship level called
―Replant Sponsor‖ for those individuals who donated a raffle item. We placed the names of the sponsors on a
large 8 foot x 8 foot banner. We mounted the banner near the putting green the day of the course. Team
registration was $40 per team member. This included 18 holes of golf, cart, and dinner. We also had a 50/50
drawing, raffle drawing, and mulligan sales during the event. We provided free bottled water, as the
temperature was quite warm that day. First place team received four St. Louis Rams tickets, and the second
place team received four St. Louis Cardinal‘s tickets. We also gave first choice of the raffle items to the
winners of the farthest drive, closest to the pin, and longest put awards. Following the event, we submitted
articles to our local paper and publication regarding the success of the event. We also placed an ad in our
publication similar to the artwork for the sponsor banner to recognize the sponsors. We sent thank you letters
to our sponsors along with a couple pictures from the golf outing. Our committee was able to raise over $1,900
towards committee programs, making it our most successful fundraising event this year.
Calhoun, “Mother and Daughter Luncheon” – The purpose of this luncheon was to honor our WC and AITC
and hope to get some young people interested in being a part of our committees. We had a luncheon for the
mothers and daughters of the committee members. This is the third time we had done this. We took them to a
nice tea room. The daughters were told what their mothers were doing with their programs and how many new
programs had been started because of their dedication. We had two new attendees. We had 13 to attend.
We found this a great way to thank our volunteers and gain new interest. We succeeded in what we had set
out to do. They all had an enjoyable time. As each person left, each mother and daughter received a gift. An
article and photo was put in our FB newsletter people.
* Edgar, “Incentive Program” – After our county cancelled the members who had not renewed their
membership the MC recognized that our county was short for making quota by a considerable margin. The
committee wanted to create a program that would be a win-win for everyone meaning agents, members, and
local businesses, so the incentive program was formed. The program ran from February 1, 2006, through
August 31, 2006. The following guidelines were set, for every ―A‖ member signed, the recruiter received a
$5.00 gift card for Dairy Queen, for every 5 ―A‖ members the recruiter received a $25.00 gas card from our
local FS station. For every ―MM‖ member signed, the recruiter received a $25.00 gas card from our local FS
station. This program helped to sign 56 ―MM‖ members and 42 ―A‖ members. This program was very well
received by the MC, agents, and Board of Directors. In fact, this program is already being asked about for next
year.
Mercer, “Festive Food & Flowers Program” – For their annual special program for women, our Women‘s
Committee selected the theme ―Festive Food & Flowers‖. Held in November 2005, this event was promoted by
various ways throughout our county. The program began with the keynote speaker JoAnna Lund, a nationally
known author of numerous cookbooks, booklets and producer of several cooking shows on television. She
spoke about her background and prepared several dishes using her recipes. The next speaker was a
professional floral design artist with a distinctive design. He made five unique floral arrangements, three of
which were given to farm women in the audience who were being recognized and thanked for participating in a
special salute to farm women during this program. The program concluded with a soup and salad lunch
prepared by the Women‘s Committee, using various recipes authored by the keynote speaker. This special
program for ladies was a great success with over 110 women attending.
* Montgomery, “Drinks for Drivers” – September 2005. The board again held its Drink for Drivers program to
help ease the tension and strain that harvest can put on farmers. Each voting member was sent a sheet that
contained eight coupons for a free can of soda, bottle of water, or candy bar from participating grain elevators
and equipment dealerships within the county. The farmer would turn in a coupon whenever he or she would
bring in a load of grain or make a parts run. The County Farm Bureau picked up the coupons and reimbursed
each location for the number of coupons they received. The board saw this as another way for the County
Farm Bureau to say thanks to our members and to help ease the stress of the harvest season. A total of 1963
coupons were collected from the different elevators and dealers. It became a contest by a couple of elevators
in the same town to see who would collect the most coupons.
Bureau, “Task Force Brainstorming” – The board decided to change from the current Committee Structure
(5 Committees) to a Task Force Structure (4 Task Forces). As this decision may sound like a drastic
adjustment, it was merely an effort to streamline ideas from active members. Every member of the county was
asked to volunteer their time on one of these newly formed Task Forces. They are: Education, Member
Relations, Government & Policy and Farm Business. The main purpose of this modification was to make the
best use of the member‘s time. As a task force member, they were asked only to attend two meetings a year.
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These two meetings would identify and set ideas in motion which will make a positive impact on the County.
30 people returned their slips. This is still a work in progress to get more involved.
* Sangamon, “Tornado Cleanup Efforts” – After tornadoes wrecked rural areas in the county, the FB enacted
volunteers for cleanup efforts less than three days after the event. FB requests for volunteers to aid rural areas
went out over the radio, tv, e-mail, personal calls and the FB‘s website. A caterer made the food at cost and a
local bank provided funding for the caterer. Because of these efforts, over 35 volunteers gathered to clean up
debris at 6 farms in the county. Volunteers carried on for weeks after the storm hit and from these efforts, the
FB has formed an ongoing database of volunteers that can be contacted immediately following a natural
disaster, fire, efforts to help a fallen farmer or any other cause to which volunteers are needed. This database
is hooked into the membership database so when membership information is updated the volunteer database
is automatically updated as well.
Champaign, “Barn Documentation Project” – Purpose: To help members preserve their barns through
photographic documentation because they are a historical part of the agricultural landscape that is slowly
disappearing. Implementation/ Volunteers: WC members photographed the barns in their township and
documented their history to preserve it for future generations. Twenty nine (29) members documented 977
barns in 28 townships. Needs met/Impact: Three committee members are now working with a printer to make
a book of the barns that will be available for sale. Response from owners of the barns has been extremely
positive. They are looking forward to publication of the book.
Cook, “Strategic Planning, Restructure of Committees and Leadership Opportunities” – Annually, the
Board of Directors holds a strategic evaluation of the organization to evaluate effectiveness and renew focus.
An eight-hour session focused on revising the strategic objectives of the Farm Bureau and to review areas of
weakness. Considerable time was spent evaluating weaknesses of our current committee structure. A
recommendation resulted to restructure the organization more closely to our strategic objectives. Our Executive
Committee developed an Alternative Structure which encompasses our current programming into 4 major
teams of leadership, the Public Policy Team, the Commodities/ Marketing Team, the Member Relations Team
and the Ag Literacy/Public Relations Team. Each Team met 6 times. 30 new volunteers were recruited to fill
the 4 Teams (few of these individuals had ever been involved previously). We had outstanding attendance
great new ideas, and momentum built by regular meetings. The new structure reduced Board member burn-out
and created a board member training ground.
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800. VIEWPOINT
* Pulaski-Alexander, “Policy Development Meeting” – The CFB Board of 9 along with the Legislative
Committee volunteers worked together to promote Policy Development. The group planned a program of work
and applied for a PD Grant. The grant was awarded. The first step was to develop a survey of local and state
questions to get local comments. The survey was placed in the local FB paper. The following week IFB
Policies were placed in the newsprint to all 450+ MM Members. A fish fry was held to bring everyone together
to discuss policies and local issues. 57 people attended the fish fry to express their concerns and comments
about IFB policy and local issues surfaced from the survey.
Edwards, “M” Member Surveys” – February 2006 ~ 143 returned surveys; 42% of our voting membership.
During the month, a 34 question survey was mailed to 420 ―M‖ members. This survey was divided into three
parts. Part one contained eight questions related to county road district consolidation, six questions related to
eminent domain, seven questions related to tax code section 1031, and six questions related to natural gas
prices. Part two contained three personal opinions questions. Part three contained four background
information questions. All questions in section one asked members to circle the corresponding number with 1-
―Strongly Disagree,‖ 2- ―Moderately Disagree,‖ 3- ―Slightly Disagree,‖ 4- ―Slightly Agree,‖ 5- ―Moderately
Agree,‖, and 6- ―Strongly Agree.‖ Detailed below are more specific details on each question series and the
answers.
County Road District Consolidation – These eight questions asked members if they believed the roads
in the county would be better maintained if there were only 3 to 5 road districts; if a road commissioner‘s
job should be full time; if they favored fewer, larger road districts; if road commissioners and their clerks
should be from the same household; if they would sign a petition to consolidated county road districts; if
they would attend a meeting about consolidating road districts; if they knew what road district they lived in;
and if the current road district set-up was adequate. Responses were used to further our local affairs
effort on consolidation of the county‘s road districts.
Eminent Domain- These six questions were related to the recent United States Supreme Court ruling on
eminent domain. These questions asked the opinions about this ruling, what they thought needed to be
done, and if this was only an issue in urban areas. Members were greatly concerned about this ruling,
and thought that the statue needed to be narrowed, and units of government needed to show need before
taking land through eminent domain.
Tax Code Section 1031 - These seven questions were related the Illinois Farm Bureau‘s newly enacted
policy about tax code section 1031. The majority of respondents felt the new policy was adequate and
that the tax code section was having a negative impact on farmers. These results made the board feel
more comfortable with the policy they past in St. Louis at the Illinois Farm Bureau annual meeting. In
addition, they showed that the Farm Bureau needed to continue to follow the issue very closely.
Natural Gas Prices – These six questions were designed to gain opinions about how the price was
affecting the farmers in the county. The results showed that Farm Bureau should be doing everything it
can to find a solution to the high price of natural gas. They also showed that Congress needed to allow
drilling on the outer continental shelf. This lead the board to write a letter to the congressman showing
how adversely the farmer was being impacted by the high price of natural gas.
In the personal opinion section, members were asked: ‗What is the biggest issue facing the county?‖, ―What is
the biggest issue facing agriculture today?‖, and ―What issue(s) should the county Farm Bureau become
involved with?‖ In regards to the biggest issue facing Illinois agriculture, over 90% of the respondents said high
input costs and market prices. The biggest issue facing the county was a five way split between drugs, roads,
financing county government, lack of jobs, and high input costs. The issues the respondents thought the Farm
Bureau should become involved with were a three way tie for number one. These issues were road district
consolidation, the ethanol plant, and lower taxes. All three of these issues the farm bureau was currently
working on.
Results were sent to any county, state, and national elected officials that the results pertained to. They were
also published in both county newspapers and the county publication.
To bring in a greater response, the survey indicated that when they were returned a coupon for $5 off their
dues would be returned to them. To still keep the surveys anonymous, each survey had the membership
number written on it. When the survey was returned, this number was cut off and the coupon mailed to them.
This kept the results anonymous, but increased the response from previous years. This coupon expired on the
day dues were due. With there being a five month time frame between the survey and dues notices, only
about 100 coupons were returned. However, the cost was worth it to make sure the direction the Farm Bureau
was headed is where the general membership wanted us to head.
Hamilton, “Viewpoint Year-Round” – 9 Board Members, 2 Office Staff, and 1350 Members. During the year
board members and office staff encourage members to bring up issues on the local, state, and national level
that directly ties with our policy as an organization. At least a total of 35 issues were brought to the board‘s
attention. Although these issues were addressed, it did not create any new policies, but reaffirmed our present
policies. By offering this service to our members it gives them the chance to have input to the policy making of
the organization.
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Scott, “County Policy Development” – The FB board sought to identify policy issues affecting agriculture that
were not covered in IFB policy. The Board of Directors dedicated their July meeting to identifying new policy.
They identified 10 topics of interest for consideration for local, IFB, or AFBF action. Several comprehensive
action items were identified for local action by FB committees in the coming year. Two resolutions on distinct
topics were submitted and approved by the Board at the August meeting. The discussions identified policy
development actions, items for local FB action, background for future policy discussions, and a sense of
empowerment by those participating.
Stark, “Top 3 in 3” – As part of the ongoing efforts to continually analyze current and potential policy areas,
12 board members had a quick, idea sharing idea during a monthly board meeting. Each director was given a
note card and was asked to write down his/her top three ideas for priority areas of policy that farm bureau
should be working on. The catch was that directors had three minutes to complete this task, thus yielding the
first policy areas that came to their minds, which are usually the ideas a person feels the strongest about. This
included strengthening existing policies and surfacing new areas of priority. Following the session, cards were
collected and the results were tabulated and presented at the next board meeting for further discussion. Many
directors prioritized the same areas; however, many new areas were looked into as a result of this session.
Wabash, “Farm Bureau Wants to Know” – 150 participants, 100% county
The CFB Board was responsible for producing a survey in conjunction with the CFB Annual Meeting.
Questions were addressed about issues producers faced in the upcoming months and how they should be
handled. Answers were based on five levels favorable or unfavorable opinions, and given a point for each
response. Averages were taken from the responses and presented to the board. This helped the Board
decide on county action requests, based on the membership requests and the number of participants in this
particular survey. Questions about next years program were discussed and taken in to consideration for
planning by the committee and the county Farm Bureau board.
* Pike, “Township Scoping Sessions” – The FB board sought a project to involve greater member input on
policy issues. In June and July, township directors worked together to conduct five area meetings throughout
the county covering 19 townships. Forty-six members participated. They identified 92 topics of interest for
consideration for local, IFB, or AFBF action. Eight resolutions were approved by the county for consideration by the
IFB Resolutions Committee. Thirteen comprehensive action items were identified for local action by FB
committees in the coming year. FB staff prepared white papers on issues on which the committee wanted
member input pulled from AFBF and IFB sources. The committee established five items for specific member
input but did not limit discussion on any subject. The directors invited two members from their township and
were responsible for set-up and conduct of the meeting. The manager compiled reports for each meeting,
developed a comprehensive report, and reviewed the items for current policy, consistency with FB policy, and
potential for local, state, or national action. This list was presented to the Board and members who participated
in the scoping sessions at the July Board dinner meeting. Eight resolutions on distinct topics were submitted and
approved by the Board at the August meeting. The project exceeded the established goal of the committee.
The discussions identified policy development actions, items for local FB action, background for future policy
discussions, and a sense of empowerment by those participating.
Edgar, “Policy Development Luncheon” – For the second phase of our policy development process we
wanted to get an additional group of Farm Bureau members involved with the program. Our Prime Timer group
and Policy Development committee met and had lunch at a local restaurant. Chuck Spencer was our guest
speaker and encouraged this group to be involved with developing policy and to continue to be active in their
County Farm Bureau. As a result of this meeting, there were many ideas that were shared and there will be a
resolution submittal from this County Farm Bureau in October 2006.
Hancock, “CFB Hosts Animal ID Meeting” – Two meetings were planned for this topic, but due to a family
emergency, then spring planting, another meeting was scheduled for June. 40 farmers and producers
expressed their concerns over the proposed USDA‘s Animal Identification Program, where by 2009 all livestock
producers will have to have their livestock properly ID. This meeting was open to all livestock producers in the
region. Jim Fraley, Livestock Program Director with Illinois Farm Bureau, Maralee Johnson, Executive Vice-
President with Illinois Beef Association, and Jim Niewald with National Pork Producers, and Ray Cunio with
Private Property Rights Organization were the featured panelist. CFB President explained to the audience,
how the Viewpoint process works. Materials such as ―How your idea becomes FB policy,‖ IFB #56 Animal ID
Policy, Ignite County Policy Development; it Starts with You, and IFB Policy Development 101; know the
process, were all passed out at the meeting. Members were encouraged to read over the Animal ID policy and
notify their FB Director about their position. The CFB did not feel comfortable submitting a new resolution on
Animal ID at that time, with over 1000 farming members, 40 was not the majority on the issue.
Mercer, “Developing Policy” – To participate in the development of policy for our organization. At the March
2006 meeting of the Board of Directors, our County President stressed the importance of becoming involved in
the Farm Bureau policy development process and asked the 12 members on the board to help in this process
by listing three issues with which they have a concern. The list of issues were then referenced against the
2006 Illinois Farm Bureau Policy book to see what issues are already in the policy book. Those already in the
policy book were noted as to what the current policy is on those issues. Other issues that are of concern and
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that may or may not be covered in the policy book are still being discussed for possible development of resolu-
tions for consideration at the upcoming Resolutions Committee meeting in November or at the Illinois Farm
Bureau Annual Meeting in December. This process has been very effective in getting our Board of Directors
more knowledgeable about and more involved in the policy devleopment process.
Piatt, “Policy Development Meeting” – In an effort to gather more ideas on policy development and create
and improve resolution submittals the CFB hosted a free dinner and a policy development meeting, with the
help of a Policy Development Grant from the ILFB. After the meeting Chuck Spencer gave an update on what
had happened legislatively in the past year on the state and federal level. Next there was an update give by a
CFB member on the local activities that the CFB has been involved in. Finally Liz Horbart gave a presentation
on how policy development works and how an idea gets turned into a submittal and how that idea can become
a new resolution.
Washington, “Focus Groups” – The board wanted to gather input from members this year before holding a
Strategic Planning meeting. The collect this information the board asked Steve Simms, IFB Promotion and
Graphic Arts director, to come to the CFB and conduct three focus groups. Two of the groups consisted of 8-10
voting members, while the other had nine associates. Each participating individual was given $40 for their time
and contribution. Steve asked the three groups a series of questions concerning how the viewed the CFB, how
it is seen in the community, what they thought the CFB does and what is should be doing. This input proved
incredibly helpful when putting together the Strategic Plan.
* Christian, “Pulse on Agriculture”, Policy Radio Show” – May 2006. 100% Policy Development Committee
with assistane funding from the IFB Policy Development Grant: Upon the announcement that IFB made of the
grant money available for Policy Development, our PD committee submitted a grant which awarded us $402 to
use on buying air time and commercials to sponsor our first Policy Development Radio Show, titled ―Pulse of
Agriculture, an Open Line for Farmers.‖ Our PD committee sent post cards to more than 900 MM members the
week of the event to inform them of the open line radio show that would be hosted to hear their views on local
farm issues. We wanted to host the show during planting season as many farmers listen to the radio while they
are in their tractor. Our PD Committee hosted a radio panel of our CFB President, Manager, IAA Director and
the Director of National Legislation and Policy Development. During the hour-long show we received 7 calls on
different issues such as pesticide drift, ATV Vandalism, our foundation plans, along with issues such as
ACTIVATOR and renewable fuels. The 7 caller topics covered the entire hour sufficiently and our panel was
able to explain FB efforts, policy language and offer our assistance to the callers. From this meeting, our CFB
Policy Development Committee has been able to form two new CFB policies and submit two of these to our
county governmental board as well. Our CFB Policy Development will be conducting a follow-up show to revisit
these topics in November and December to summarize the delegate sessions and policy language from the
upcoming annual meeting. This event was extremely productive. Our committee plans to increase our PD
policy shows to 3 in the upcoming program year.
Fulton, “Winter Survey” – During February, March, and April of 2006 the Winter Survey was presented at 8
meetings of our Township Farm Bureaus. Our Viewpoint Committee prepared a question survey. The Committee
included several prepared questions from IFB's "What's Your View" survey and issues surfaced by the Viewpoint
Committee. A member of our Viewpoint Committee presented the survey at each meeting, discussing the issues
with members, and clarifying why the issue was included in some cases. There were 189 responses to the survey,
which were collected the evening of each meeting and returned to the office by the Viewpoint Committee member
for tabulation. Members were also encouraged to write comments and suggest issues of involvement for Farm
Bureau. Presenting the survey at our winter meetings allows for in-depth discussions of current issues within the
county and state, and discussion of Illinois Farm Bureau action and policy. In a smaller group among their
neighbors and friends, the members are able to say how they truly feel about an issue and are not intimidated like
they may be in a larger meeting.
Jefferson, “Spring Viewpoint Meetings” – There was growing need to generate some new ideas from a
variety of sources in order to put some vitality into the County Farm Bureau. We wanted to have members,
who have never attended a viewpoint meeting, attend and actively participate. The meetings were advertised
through the County Farm Bureau publication and by invitations that were sent to all voting members (720
Voting Members). The viewpoint committee planned three meetings throughout the county. These locations
were the Northwest District (16 attended), Northeast District (26 attended), and the Southeast District in our
county (25 attended). Each meeting began at 7 a.m. with open discussion and was followed with a
complimentary breakfast. Our President of the Board of Directors was the emcee and led the discussion.
Material that was to be used during the meetings included I.A.A. and A.F.B.F policy books and flip charts for
notes. There were several existing policies that were reaffirmed. A few of those in attendance had never
actually attended a Farm Bureau meeting previously. Their participation was encouraged, well received and
greatly appreciated. Each year our spring program continues to grow. Even though we ended up with only
reaffirmations the members were still given the opportunity to voice their concern. The sixty-seven that
attended said they appreciated being asked of their opinion.
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Marshall-Putnam, “Coffee Shop Meetings” – To help us better communicate with our voting membership we
held a series of three ―Coffee Shop Meetings‖. Each meeting was held at a different location within our area.
Since our Farm Bureau covers two counties, the locations chosen were spread out over a wide area. By doing
this, we hope to encourage our voting membership that is not very active to attend. We did have quite a better
response than we would have had by having one meeting on policy development at the Farm Bureau Building.
The meetings began with a meal paid for by the CFB. A farmer that lives in each different location was the
moderator for the event. Suggested subject topics were reviewed with the moderators prior to the event. The
members appreciate the fact that the meeting is informal. These meetings work because the members have
the opportunity to let their views be known in a casual atmosphere. The meetings do not last more than two
hours. This is clearly publicized before the meetings. That way the member knows that they won‘t lose a lot of
time at the event. This year we did change our format to include one dinner meeting. The other tow meetings
were breakfast meetings. We decided to have a dinner meeting for those of our voting membership who work
during the day. The dinner meeting had the most members attend. All of our voting members receive
notification in the mail and in our local CFB paper of the events. All they need to do to attend, is call in and
reserve a place. Coffee Shop Meetings have allowed our CFB Board to reach voting members that would not
usually participate.
Monroe, “Express Your Views” – The Policy Development Committee hosted two opportunities for our
members to express their opinions on current policy and local issues affecting agriculture. The breakfast
meetings were held at local restaurants in different parts of the county. The Policy Development Committee
developed a list of discussion topics which were mailed to M members along with their invitation to the
meetings. Our members were encouraged to bring additional discussion topics. A referendum for one of our
school districts was on the spring ballot. The superintendent and a steering committee member provided
information about the issue at the meeting held in that school district. Two employees of the County
Assessor‘s office attended the meetings to provide information on the Woodland Tax issue. A total of 62
members participated in the meetings. These programs provided M members an opportunity to learn about
current policy, express their views on local issues, and surfaced new ideas for policy resolution submittals. An
issue affecting some members is a proposed AmerenIP Transmission Line through the county; those members
in attendance asked our County Farm Bureau to continue providing information to the affected members.
* Adams, “Coffee Shop Viewpoint Mtgs” – Viewpoint Committee had struggled in the past several years to get
the general membership‘s opinion on Farm Bureau policy. It was the Committee‘s decision to make an all out
effort to surface viewpoint information from all sectors of our membership. We organized 2 separate coffee-
shop viewpoint meetings, out in the county. Our county was divided into 2 areas and the directors from those
areas invited their neighbors to attend the breakfast meetings and distributed copies of our current policy prior
to the meetings. As an added attraction we invited local elected officials to attend the meetings: State
Representative and the local Sheriff. The Viewpoint Committee was able to reach 70 people total with both
meetings. Our membership praised us for the opportunity to listen to their concerns and have input on Farm
Bureau policy. We have taken several suggestions from those meetings and developed into our plan of work
for various committees this upcoming program year. The success of this program has inspired our Viewpoint
Committee to begin making plans to hold similar coffee-shop meetings throughout the county in different
locations Again next year. It also has given the idea to other committees to go out into the county to hold
meetings instead of expecting everyone to come into the Farm Bureau office. We have also developed an
email database from those who attended, which gives us the ability to quickly survey them again on various
issues and for action requests.
Cook, “Direct Mail Viewpoint Survey” – After 3 hours of brainstorming on issues, the Team drafted a 23
question survey which was sent to each of our 1,100 voting members. The survey focused on the topics of
1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges, illegal immigration, FSA office closures, Farm Bill payment limitations, Ag
research in space, public research on renewable energy, Illinois Renewable Fuels Standard, increased bio-fuel
usage, education funding, banning of junk foods in schools, eminent domain, Home Rule Authority, truth in-
marketing related to organics, and serving the organization. In two weeks, 150 surveys had been completed
and returned for summarization.
Kane, “Organizational Priorities Survey and Establishment” – December 2005-January 2006 Working the
above list of 14 actions into manageable priorities for the year was a task assigned to our GAPP. The
committee surveyed members representing different types of agricultural production and pared the list down to
3 priorities for the organization to focus on in 2005-06. Those priorities were voted on by the Board of Directors
in January 2006 and became our association‘s focus for the year. Those priorities were: 1) building local
government demand for biofuels; 2) supporting efforts to grow agritourism in our County and 3) increasing
efforts to promote locally grown farm products of specialty growers and direct marketers. These actions have
helped our CFB attract and retain new voting members and added a score of new volunteers. They have also
expanded our programming efforts beyond ―traditional‖ farms and helped us develop relationships with
members who have become much more involved in all sapects of the organization because of our attention to
their ―niche‖ and intereset.
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Kankakee, “Coffee Shop Survey Card Program” – As a way to gain input from the farming community and
Farm Bureau members, the Policy Development Committee decided to institute a survey card program by
taking cards with short survey questions to coffee shops and restaurants in the county that are frequented by
farmers. 10 restaurants were identified and 20 survey cards were delivered in person to each establishment.
To entice the restaurant patrons to take the time to complete the survey, a free cup of coffee was given for
each card completed. Following the program, the Farm Bureau Policy Development Committee reimbursed
each of the 10 restaurants for the amount of coffee given. The cards included a question on property taxes
and a general question asking if the Farm Bureau speaks effectively for the farmer. Check boxes were also
included asking those to indicate their age category, if they were a member of the Farm Bureau, if they were a
producer or landowner, and an optional line was included for their name. 184 cards were completed and a total
of $150 was paid to the restaurants reimbursing the cost of the free coffee given to their patrons. Articles and
pictures about the survey program and thanking the participating restaurants were carried in the County Farm
Bureau news publication reaching all 5,200 members. This was an inexpensive way to gather valuable input
and feedback from those in our agriculture community.
LaSalle, “Farm Bureau Town Hall meeting” – With the structure of our policy development process, the
Viewpoint Committee felt that we needed input from members on issues that will be voted on at the IAA Annual
meeting. However, the window of opportunity to get member feedback between the time the resolutions are
sent out and the time that the meeting takes place is very short. However, we felt that sponsoring a meeting
the week before the IAA Annual meeting to discuss these issues this would be an excellent opportunity for
member input. We called our gathering a Town Hall meeting and structured the meeting similarly that our
congressman does when he hosts his town hall meeting. President Philip Nelson was the featured speaker
while the Viewpoint Chairman was the moderator for the evening. We also invited our district representative on
the resolutions committee to offer some insight to the resolutions that were being proposed. In addition, the
chairman of our viewpoint committee stressed to each delegate the importance of their attendance at the
meeting to hear of our members concern. President Nelson gave a brief overview of issues on which Illinois
Farm Bureau is working on and fielded questions from the membership. We also had our district rep. who
serves on the Profitability Task Force who gave an update on their committee‘s work. The issues that were
discussed included the farm bill, more livestock in the state, immigration, and other issues such as bio-fuels.
We had thirty five members attend and we felt that or members left the Town Hall meeting a lot more informed
on issues while the delegates who were in attendance heard how members feel about these issues prior to
them taking the delegate floor in December.
Sangamon, “Policy Development Breakfast” – To get a clear perspective of what our FB members feel is
important, the committee held a Viewpoint Breakfast. Each board member was asked to bring one guest. The
30 participants were fed a full buffet breakfast, held at a local conference center. After breakfast, the group was
split into smaller groups to discuss issues and potential solutions. There was no charge for attendees, but an
RSVP was required. ILFB representative Mark Gebhards provided an overview of the PD process and then
presented a legislative update to help the group understand how policy transforms into action by FB. From this
breakfast, the FB gained a clearer understanding of what the members are concerned about and expect from
the FB. This also provides an opportune time for agricultural leaders to gather in one spot discussing problems,
finding solutions and simply allowing the FB to be a part of that process to let our members know that we want
them to be involved and are listening to them.
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