CCFB News» March 2022

Explore biodiversity with Cook County Farm Bureau at Lincoln Park Zoo's Nature Boardwalk. As the county’s largest general farm organization, Cook County Farm Bureau is committed to bridging the gap between urban consumers and their agricultural neighbors. In celebration of the City Nature Challenge, community scientists and zoo goers will discover common pollinators and explore natural water filtration before picking up take home craft bags filled with family friendly activities and materials as well as Midwest pollinator seed packets.

Together with partners, Cook County Farm Bureau® donated much needed food staples and essential non-food items to six Cook County food pantries. Donations were raised in celebration of Food Checkout Day. Food Checkout Day celebrates the healthy and nutritious food local farmers grow and raise by providing food or cash donations to people in need.

Are you a registered nurse in Illinois enrolled in a University Nurse Practitioner Program? If so, you may be eligible for a $4,000 scholarship towards educational expenses, in return for an agreement to practice primary care as a nurse practitioner in an approved rural community in Illinois for two years.

Cook County Farm Bureau Member Appreciation Week...

Farm Bureau members and Cook County residents have the opportunity to utilize EQ biosolids and EQ compost available during the growing season at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD).

Flies For Breakfast? Insects Are About to Be Pet Food, And the Effort Will Aim for Human Plates as Well – Black soldier flies for breakfast, lunch or dinner? Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. is partnering with Paris-based biotech company Innova Feed to invest in a future where this could be an everyday possibility. (MarketWatch)

On an annual basis, the Cook County Farm Bureau® pays special tribute to the COUNTRY Financial Managers and Financial Representatives that earn All American honors and those that are named in the Top 10 Recruiters of Membership.

USDA reports foreign persons and entities held an interest in 35.2 million acres of U.S. agricultural land in 2019, accounting for 2.7% of all privately owned agricultural land. USDA reports that foreign holdings of U.S. agricultural land have increased by an average of 2.3 million acres per year since 2015. Most acreage increases were in forestland, cropland, and pasture.

Our school outreach program is looking to add a Contract Presenter to our AITC Program. The educator will provide both virtual (Zoom and Google Meets) and in-person programming to students in fourth grade classes.

As I left the cold behind for a short vacation, I’ve followed with intrigue the heart transplant of Mr. David Bennett this past month. How amazing it’s been to learn yet another unique fact about the importance of pigs and not just to our food system. When we teach students about the many uses of agriculture, they enjoy learning some of the newer uses of corn, soybeans, and livestock.

Truck drivers are critical for transporting farm commodities, inputs and food throughout Illinois and the nation. The IAA Foundation is pleased to administer the Driving Agriculture Forward Scholarship to help offset the cost of needed commercial truck driver training and ensure more well-trained, safe drivers are available.   

Spring in Springfield is an exciting time. Birds return. Grass and trees awaken from a long winter nap usually punctuated by an ice storm. And legislators, staff, and lobbyists spring (pun intended) into action. In several quick months members of the third branch research. Draft. Introduce. Present at committee. Move to Third Reading. And pass legislation. All in the hopes of improving the State of Illinois in some manner or another.

Congratulations to Farm Bureau members Ross and Roberta Vondrak of Countryside for completing all 12 months of Ag Adventure crossword puzzles featured in the Co-Operator in 2021.

A third of the food and drink individuals consume depends on pollination. As a keystone group, the survival of many other plant and animal species depends on pollinators for their survival. Pollinators include bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, birds, and bats.

Some families gather only for the major holidays. I work every day with the people who raised me. Dad and I pair as a combine-and-cart duo for 14-hour days during harvest. In the off-season, Mom and I work from facing desks, handling bills and agency reporting requirements as a team. I communicate with my brother daily, together managing the details of running our crop and livestock farm, one of 71,000 such farms in Illinois.

Recipe printed with permission from member, Donna Nykaza-Jones Ray's Quality Greenhouse

About one year ago, the headline read, “The Grape-Nuts® Shortage is Over”! Back in 2020 and early 2021, when the pandemic was in full blown panic, I could no longer find Grape-Nuts in my local grocery stores. I joked with my wife that there has been a “run” on Grape-Nuts. It turns out, shockingly, that I was correct!