Illinois Farm Bureau
Encyclopedia
The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) is a nonprofit U.S. organization
controlled by farmers who join IFB through one of the 96 county farm bureaus in Illinois
. The organization's legal name is the Illinois Agricultural Association. IFB was founded in 1916 by a group of farmers who met at the University of Illinois
to discuss the need for agricultural education
, better information
for farmers, and more effective farming practices. Today, IFB represents two out of three Illinois farmers.
and lobbying
lawmakers about agricultural issues, and county farm bureaus provide a professional
staff in accessible locations around the state. Together, IFB and the county organizations were instrumental in bringing soil
and crop
specialists to each county. These professional farm advisers were the forerunners of today’s cooperative extension service. They help supply farmers with the latest agricultural research
information and make on-the-farm analyses and recommendations about production challenges.
IFB’s stated mission is to improve the economic well-being of agriculture and enrich the quality
of farm family
life. The organization focuses on these areas:
IFB attempts to:
IFB has been criticized as too dominated by large agribusiness
operations and unresponsive to environmental
concerns about pesticide
use, water quality
and other issues. IFB is also known for its historical association with State Farm
, the largest personal lines insurer in the United States. The organization is governed by a twenty-member board of directors
who are elected to two-year terms; the president
and vice-president of IFB are also elected every two years. IFB’s state office is located in Bloomington, Illinois
.
pests
, protection of livestock
from disease
, and the construction of better rural roads. During the Dust Bowl
years of the Great Depression
, IFB worked to aid farmers in economic distress and to modify federal government
farm regulations to favor agricultural interests.
After World War II
IFB began to get involved more directly in governmental issues such as taxation, the federal budget deficit, and agricultural subsidies. IFB worked on water availability issues and helped farmers in other parts of the country facing weather-related problems. IFB has also devoted more effort to public relations
campaigns about agriculture and the realities of farm life.
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
controlled by farmers who join IFB through one of the 96 county farm bureaus in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The organization's legal name is the Illinois Agricultural Association. IFB was founded in 1916 by a group of farmers who met at the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
to discuss the need for agricultural education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, better information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
for farmers, and more effective farming practices. Today, IFB represents two out of three Illinois farmers.
Organization and mission
IFB is involved in passing legislationLegislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
and lobbying
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
lawmakers about agricultural issues, and county farm bureaus provide a professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
staff in accessible locations around the state. Together, IFB and the county organizations were instrumental in bringing soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
and crop
Harvest
Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...
specialists to each county. These professional farm advisers were the forerunners of today’s cooperative extension service. They help supply farmers with the latest agricultural research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
information and make on-the-farm analyses and recommendations about production challenges.
IFB’s stated mission is to improve the economic well-being of agriculture and enrich the quality
Quality of life
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of...
of farm family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
life. The organization focuses on these areas:
- Operating the farm successfully
- Service to members
- GovernmentGovernmentGovernment refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and politicsPoliticsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the... - Education and information
- Professional development
- Operating IFB professionally
IFB attempts to:
- Tell the farmer’s story to the public
- Update members on new technologyTechnologyTechnology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
and information that impacts agriculture - Represent farmers in localLocalism (politics)Localism describes a range of political philosophies which prioritize the local. Generally, localism supports local production and consumption of goods, local control of government, and promotion of local history, local culture and local identity...
, stateU.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
, and nationNationA nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
al legislative and political activities - Provide marketingMarketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and education services to help IFB members improve their net farm incomeIncomeIncome is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
IFB has been criticized as too dominated by large agribusiness
Agribusiness
In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term for the various businesses involved in food production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales....
operations and unresponsive to environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
concerns about pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
use, water quality
Water quality
Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which...
and other issues. IFB is also known for its historical association with State Farm
State farm
State farm can refer to:*Sovkhoz, a type of state-owned farm in the Soviet Union*Volkseigenes Gut, a type of state-owned farm in East Germany*Państwowe Gospodarstwo Rolne, a type of state-owned farm in People's Republic of Poland...
, the largest personal lines insurer in the United States. The organization is governed by a twenty-member board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
who are elected to two-year terms; the president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and vice-president of IFB are also elected every two years. IFB’s state office is located in Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
.
History
After its founding in 1916, IFB was initially concerned with nuts-and-bolts issues like control of insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
pests
Pest (animal)
A pest is an animal which is detrimental to humans or human concerns. It is a loosely defined term, often overlapping with the related terms vermin, weeds, parasites and pathogens...
, protection of livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
from disease
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...
, and the construction of better rural roads. During the Dust Bowl
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
years of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, IFB worked to aid farmers in economic distress and to modify federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
farm regulations to favor agricultural interests.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
IFB began to get involved more directly in governmental issues such as taxation, the federal budget deficit, and agricultural subsidies. IFB worked on water availability issues and helped farmers in other parts of the country facing weather-related problems. IFB has also devoted more effort to public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
campaigns about agriculture and the realities of farm life.