Five local projects carried out by county Farm Bureaus in Illinois received honors by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) in 2023 for excellence and involvement in their communities. Here’s some of what they do and why you might want to be involved.
1. Bureau, Marshall-Putnam, Stark County Farm Bureaus
A project known as “Cultivating Healthy Minds” focuses on addressing mental health. The three organizations, with members in four counties, partnered with Arukah Institute and created portals in county Farm Bureau offices for telehealth.
“We call it the farmer mental health initiative, but we’re not here just for the farmers,” says Jill Frueh, Bureau County Farm Bureau manager. “We’re here for rural Illinois as well.”
2. Champaign County Farm Bureau
The organization’s “FarmDocs” program provides an educational experience for first-year medical students to visit a farm and, among other things, learn about why farming ranks among the most dangerous jobs.
“We want to bridge the gap,” says Bailey Conrady, assistant manager of the organization. “We show them grain bins, augers and PTO [power take-off] shafts. We talk about antibiotic use in livestock and how we humanely raise livestock for food production.”
3. Cook County Farm Bureau
The group held a “Party for the Pollinators,” which included an event, community pollinator garden, and presentation to inform Farm Bureau associate members and others about the connection between pollinators and the food system.
“We partnered with the Lincoln Park Zoo, and we came together in the parking lot of the Cook County Farm Bureau and invited people of all ages to come and hear about the benefits of pollinators,” says Ruth Zeldenrust of Chicago Heights. “Pollination is very important to vegetable farmers such as myself to increase production.”
4. DeKalb County Farm Bureau
The organization, just west of Chicago’s collar counties, created a farm and food-related memory game for kindergartners and early childhood experts.
“We provide the game to every family who registers a child for kindergarten,” says Rhodora Collins, the organization’s agriculture literacy coordinator. She believes much early childhood information about food and farming is “cartoonish or inaccurate.”
5. McLean County Farm Bureau
New drivers, such as high school students in the county can see farm machinery up close and find out how to share the road safely. The organization brings modern tractors, harvesters and other equipment to schools.
“We communicate with these students, not in the classroom, but actually out in the parking lot where the equipment is,” says Mike Swartz, McLean County Farm Bureau manager. “Most accidents happen probably when the farmer is turning left. Probably the second most obvious is the driver, young or old, is distracted by something in their vehicle, and they run directly into the backend of a piece of equipment.”
Learn More
Interested in these programs or others created by county Farm Bureaus? You can find a listing of county organizations and more information about each to start here.
Check out this Partners podcast to learn more about the efforts of these county Farm Bureaus:
Listen to “5 Reasons to Know Your County Farm Bureau Better” on Spreaker.
See more: Top 5 Partners Podcasts of 2022
