From the President:
Farm Bureau Partners serves as a major touchpoint with Associate members and others among the Illinois general public. In recent months, the Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) Board of Directors received an update on the different components of Partners franchise:
- 15-20 county Farm Bureaus quarterly take advantage of the opportunity to include custom pages in the print edition of Partners. Ten county Farm Bureaus have decided to pay to send Partners to farm owner/farm operator members in their counties;
- Visits to the Partners website have increased 23% in the last year, with most coming from Chicago, Springfield, Bloomington, Naperville and Peoria. Approximately 45% of the visits come from Illinois, with visitors from California, Texas, Missouri and Michigan rounding out the top five. It has been several years since the Partners website has been updated, which is taking place now and is on target to be completed by the end of the calendar year;
- Downloads of the Partners podcast this year have already exceeded all of 2021. Monthly downloads of this podcast, aimed at Associate members and others among the Illinois general public, nearly tripled in August.
IFB created Partners, in part, to demonstrate shared values and partnerships that exist between rural, suburban and urban Illinois. We welcome suggestions on farm, family and food-related issues, places and events to feature in the magazine, on the website and for the weekly podcast. Let us know how we can put all components of the Partners franchise to work for you.