Education ACTION TEAM Takes Their Message to the Streets

Illinois Farm Bureau's Education ACTION TEAM wants to spread the word that one in four jobs in Illinois are in agriculture… so much that they're taking it to the streets --- literally! From January 15 through April 15, the message will be seen on city buses in Champaign-Urbana, with routes running primarily on the University of Illinois campus and the nearby Market Place Shopping Mall.

The signs are on the "tail" of two of the buses and on the 'curbside' of ten buses, leaving our mark on 12 buses in all. The 66" x 21" moving billboard has bright photos of young career professionals in agriculture-related fields and says, "AGRICULTURE: Explore the Possibilities." Inside an outline of the state of Illinois is the message, "1 in 4 Jobs." The Illinois Farm Bureau logo is also on the sign, as is the IFB website address linking to all-new webpages about jobs in agriculture - ilfb.org/JOBSINAG. Passers-by can also use their smart phones to scan a QR code on the sign that takes them to the career webpages.

IFB's Steve Gannaway, who heads up the Education ACTION TEAM, talks about how the concept of the bus signs came about. "The goal of this group is to teach non-farm adults about agriculture. Their thoughts were what better group to target than college kids who are making decisions about their careers and their futures."  

The IFB ACTION TEAMs meet twice a year for one day. During this time, they brainstorm and develop statewide projects. If you would like to be part of this innovative group of teams and help see great things for agriculture, contact your county Farm Bureau. New applicants are accepted each year and are due by December 10 each year.