AMBOY – Lee County Farm Bureau members recently participated in Illinois Farm Bureau’s traditional grassroots process during the organization’s 109th annual meeting, bringing forth new policies on farmland preservation and addressing rural healthcare. Lee County Farm Bureau was also recognized for its outstanding programming.

Members gathered at the Palmer House in Chicago, Dec. 2-4, to conduct annual business, introduce new policy and celebrate the year’s successes. In total, IFB’s 329 voting delegates adopted more than 20 new policies on a variety of topics, including farmland preservation, rural healthcare, energy and pipelines. 

“Lee County Farm Bureau members remain engaged in our statewide agricultural policy development process and were pleased to see all four of our submitted proposals adopted by the voting delegates,” said Adam Henkel, Lee County Farm Bureau president.

“This grassroots process allows our members to have a voice on issues that matter. We are thankful to our members who take time from their busy schedules to discuss and vote on policies that will ultimately guide our organization.”

Delegates advanced a proposal made by Lee County, which supports reducing the required acreage to be enrolled in an agricultural area. Current state statute requires at least 350 acres of contiguous land for populations under 600,000 and 100 acres for denser populations over 600,000. The policy adds language to existing Illinois Farm Bureau policy supporting farmland preservation. Delegates emphasized enrollment in ag areas is a voluntary commitment and would still need to be approved by a local county board.

Additionally, delegates approved two other Lee County submittals addressing rural healthcare, changing IFB policy to support all specialties, not just family physicians, as well as supporting capital investment into rural and “tweener” hospitals. These are hospitals with more than 25 beds, making them too large to be considered a Critical Access Hospital but with fewer than 275 beds, the threshold for being considered a rural referral center.

Other policy highlights include: 

A new policy to support the use of Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) model for carbon intensity scoring for agricultural biofuel feedstocks.

Delegates supported policy that safety regulations include adding a distinctive odor to carbon dioxide, utilize enhanced leak detection and automatic shutoffs, provide notification of emergency services if leaks are detected, and training and equipment donations for first responders in pipeline areas.

IFB delegates also expressed their concern regarding eminent domain and decided to support legislation that would prohibit its use for carbon dioxide pipelines.

Delegates also adopted a new policy on food waste and resource recovery, focusing on composting, compost facilities and food scraps. The policy supports tax deductions or credits for food donors to offset the costs associated with food donation, incentives for farmers to donate surplus crops, clarification from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on food safety donation regulations for pre-cooked and pre-packaged food items, updating U.S. Department of Agriculture’s definition of composting to entice more purchasers of compost, streamlining the permitting process for compost facilities, and support for minimizing regulatory constraints for on-farm composted materials, urban food scrap collections, and processing facilities. 

The language of these approved policies will be forwarded to American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) for consideration during its upcoming annual meeting.

“The grassroots policy development process is fundamental to Illinois Farm Bureau,” said Illinois Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan. “This unique process allows members to discuss and debate issues, then vote on what policy they feel is best for the organization. The actions taken show that our organization’s process continues to work and reflects the opinions of a majority of Illinois Farm Bureau members.”

Lee County Farm Bureau was also honored during the annual meeting with three County Awards of Excellence (CAE): the New Horizon Award, the New Horizon Award Multi-County and the Liberty Bell Award. 

The New Horizon Award is awarded to county Farm Bureaus that encourage new and innovative programs. The Liberty Bell Award recognizes outstanding efforts on issues of public policy impacting state and local Farm Bureau organizational priorities.