CCFB News» October 2022

Youth Organization Connects Students to Ag Careers- Ebony Webber, CEO of National Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) discussed the organization and its youth chapters last month with the Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education (ILCAE) in Chicago. The group toured Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS) and also heard from faculty and administrators.

(Urban) Foraging presented by the Plant Chicago on Sat, October 15, 2022, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM at the Plant Chicago, 4459 South Marshfield Ave, Chicago, IL 60609; Tickets: $25 – $45.

The Member Relations Team sponsored the Summer Selfie Contest for June, July, and August submissions. The photos will be featured in various publications, on our website, social media, etc. We thank all members who joined in the fun to participate and congratulations to all the winners!

Engaged with and shared Farm Bureau's policy position with candidates for Cook County Board.

This year’s crawl saw 24 new and returning member Farm/Ag businesses opening their doors to members and public, showcasing Cook County’s agricultural diversity! Crawlers were able to participate in many experiences including farm, animal, and greenhouse tours, Fall Festivals, Fall Planter workshops, Kokedama plant artform workshop, U-Picks, fresh produce, herbs, honey, feed and seed, flowers, perennials, pumpkins, mums, discounts, 2 for 1’s, freebies and more!

Cook County Farm Bureau® routinely engages in action on priority legislative issues.

The National Latino Farmers & Ranchers (NLFR) donated three horses to the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS) on Sept. 2. The donation of the horses was celebrated with a program at CHSAS’ riding arena, which was attended by members of the media and invited dignitaries, including State Sen. William Cunningham, State Reps. Fran Hurley and Kelly Burke, 19th Ward Alderman Matthew O’Shea, and Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture Kristi Jones.

In November, voters will be asked to approve or deny a property tax increase of 0.025% or less than $1.66 per month for the majority of property owners.

Sim Sandhu has advice for students thinking about their future career field: “Whatever you want to do professionally, you can find it in ag.” Sim Sandhu is the manager of business analytics and innovation with the Illinois Farm Bureau. Although he was born in Bloomington and lived there for most of his life, Sandhu is not a farmer – and he doesn’t have a farming background.

On September 13, I traveled to Bloomington to the Illinois Farm Bureau to meet with other new county ag literacy coordinators from throughout the state. The new coordinators hold the same job title as me, but our jobs couldn’t be more different.

The Cook County Farm Bureau Board of Directors welcomes the following Cook County Farm Bureau members who joined the organization or reclassified their membership recently to Regular* or Professional Status**:

Numerous Cook County Commissioners were named ‘Friend of the Farm Bureau’ in recognition of their voting records on issues related to Farm Bureau policy including revisions to the county’s ethic ordinance, public facing rules, tax district debt disclosure ordinance, Independent Revenue Forecasting Commission, and a resolution naming Monarch Month.

Article three, Section three of the Illinois Constitution provides that all elections shall be free and equal. Although this provision has varied slightly in versions of the Constitution, it generally means that qualified voters may freely express their vote and that each person’s vote has the same influence as their neighbor’s.

Cook County Farm Bureau® supports Ordinance 22-5345 to create a Class 7d property tax incentive to spur and support the establishment or expansion of grocery stores in food deserts.

Earlier this year, Farm Bureau advanced a policy position to increase food access in Cook County and Illinois. A copy of the policy is provided below.

We encourage you to support Ordinance 22-5345 to incentive the development of grocery stores located in food deserts.

Farmers understand the importance of pollinators to our food system and ecosystem. They also realize that conversations about pollinators are easy and fun to have with urban consumers.

Farm Bureau leaders designed the ‘Party for the Pollinators’ project to communicate farmers’ efforts to preserve and increase pollinator habitat as well as to illustrate the connection between pollinators and our food system to urban consumers.

Our work in the food space continues to achieve organizational goals. We are developing new market opportunities for farmers, and building deeper partnerships with organizations like Feeding Illinois, which allow us to be a solution to the food insecurity and food waste challenges right here in our communities.

Farmers share profound commitment to the land

Grandpa expressed concern about three things when he left the hospital: Getting home to the farm. Making sure the yard was mowed. And checking that the crops were planted.

The Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development (CRHSSD) is leading the effort to build a network of support and resources for Illinois farm families. The purpose of the initiative is to provide a range of resources including a helpline to assist with farmer and farm-related issues that include mental and physical health needs.

Young Leaders from throughout Cook County met in August for a late summer cookout and tour of historic Wagner Farm in Glenview.

Recipe printed with permission from member, Dorothy Kuzelka.

Farm Bureau is at its best when it is an in-person, person-to-person, interactive organization. Sure, during the last two years, we managed to Zoom. We got by with Microsoft Teams. Conference calls worked. Email sufficed.

BUT it is so very nice to be in-person in the office, in-person at programs, in-person at events, and in-person during meetings. I have a new appreciation for in-person meetings (not that meetings are necessarily great) which are so much better than sitting in front of the computer.