Manifolds, Manolos, and Manure Harvesting Success in Cook County
As the county’s largest general farm organization, Cook County Farm Bureau® is dedicated to bridging the gap between farmers and urban consumers. Through education programs targeting youth and their parents and programs designed to connect farmers with potential consumers, Farm Bureau members are actively engaging in conversations about food and the shared values between farmers and consumers.
An aspect of this is building opportunities for farmers, especially members, to expand or enhance their farming operations within the county. To that end, Farm Bureau’s role is to advocate for and educate legislative leaders about the diversity of the agricultural industry in Cook County.
Cook County is home to everything from rooftop gardens to massive food manufacturing plants and everything in between. On top of that, the region ranks*:
- First for livestock and poultry employment,
- Second for crop-related jobs, and
- First for all other agriculture-related jobs.
Altogether, agriculture supports over 110,000 jobs in Cook County, the highest of any county in Illinois. That’s a three percent jump in just a few years.
Cook County Farm Bureau is actively advocating and working for enhanced farming opportunities for farmers of all sizes and farm types, including:
- Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Resolution 24-0817 sponsored by Commissioner Cam Davis, which supports urban agriculture and calls on other local units of government to apply for MWRD programs to expand and support urban agriculture opportunities. District programs include the Green Infrastructure Partnership Program, which can be a potential funding source for urban agriculture projects that meet MWRD’s stormwater criteria and the Real Estate program, which makes vacant District real estate available for lease to both commercial and governmental entities, including urban agriculture and community gardens.
- Expansion of farming opportunities on Cook County Forest Preserve property and the elimination of crop restrictions to allow for innovative crops and farming practices.
- Cook County Resolution 25-1792, sponsored by Commissioner Scott Britton, which recognizes and celebrates National Agriculture Day, a day to celebrate the contributions of farmers and the farm products they grow and raise.
- Chicago Ordinance O2025-0018235 which calls for the sale of city property in the Pullman neighborhood and for the property to be repurposed as the We Sow We Grow urban agriculture district. This project would include an education farm, a production farm, a Zen garden, and an orchard near the intersection of 120th Street and Union Avenue. In light of Farm Bureau policy #49 Urban Agriculture, which was developed and proposed by Cook County Farm Bureau in 2021, Farm Bureau supported the ordinance. Policy #49 supports the inclusion of urban agriculture into land developments and encourages the use of land management tools to create urban agriculture areas. The policy also recognizes the economic value and importance of urban agriculture to the economy.
A fundamental aspect of Cook County Farm Bureau is the organization’s commitment to advancing farming opportunities.
*Sources
2022 Census of Agriculture, released on February 13, 2024. The census surveyed changes in land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, and income and expenditures from 2017 to 2022.
2023 Feeding the Economy
2024 Decision Innovation Solutions Economic Contribution Study. The survey was conducted by Decision Innovation Solutions for the Institute for Feed Education and Research and examined categories within agriculture.