Impactful Advocacy in Action

Last year, Illinois State Senator Mike Porfirio hosted farmers in his district as part of our Adopt-A-Legislator^® program, and the very next day he signed on to be a co-sponsor of the Family Farm Preservation Act. A year later, he is co-sponsoring our original nuisance deer legislation, SB 2160, as well.

That’s the power of our people. That’s the power and importance of the relationships they form. That’s impactful advocacy at work – a true advantage for our members.

During this busy time of year, our county Farm Bureaus (CFBs) have been doing some exceptional work forming relationships and advocating for Illinois Farm Bureau members. The stories are endless.

• St. Clair CFB members met with U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth
• Whiteside CFB took FFA students to Springfield, and they met with Rep. Brad Fitts, Rep. Ryan Spain and Sen. Li Arellano, Jr.
• Edgar CFB hosted Illinois Sen. Mike Porfirio, who toured a seed facility and a sheep and show stock operation.
• Henry CFB hosted Illinois Rep. Nabeela Syed, who toured Black Hawk College East Campus and heard about the conservation practices on a farm visit.
• Champaign CFB hosted Rep. Hoan Huynh, who toured Total Grain Marketing and took a tractor ride.
• Macon CFB met with Illinois Sen. Adriane Johnson for dinner in Springfield.
• Mason CFB hosted Illinois Rep. Harry Benton, who toured two diverse farms.

That’s just one month. And that’s only the advocacy side of things. County Farm Bureaus are also consistently doing outstanding work for our members, and for agriculture, like Edwards CFB donating nearly 200 pounds of beef through the “Bring on the Beef” program.

Think about the timing of these meetings. The General Assembly is in session. Important decisions are being made — decisions that will affect farmers statewide for years to come. And these legislators are getting high-quality information about ag issues straight from trustworthy farmers.

We have a lot to talk about:

• Family Farm Preservation Act
• Wetlands
• E15
• Deer nuisance issues (by the way, after meeting with farmers at our legislative reception at GALC, Sen. Porfirio is also co-sponsoring our deer nuisance legislation, as well)

The list goes on. But we are in a better place today because those farmers took time out of their crucial planting windows to serve Illinois agriculture.

Thank you to those farmers and county Farm Bureaus.