Our 2025 legislative priorities are set

I am starting my second year as IFB’s President, and the last time a long-term farm bill was signed, I was wrapping up my first year as IFB’s vice president. Six years. Yes, it’s been that long ago. It’s time for a new, five-year farm bill, and that is at the very top of our national legislative priorities for 2025.

While we appreciate the latest extension of the 2018 farm bill, we’re overdue for a bipartisan bill that addresses the realities of 2025. Inflation has raised input costs but not commodity prices, the farm safety net needs strengthening, and trade opportunities must be addressed. All of which can be answered in a farm bill.

Another board priority was to defend trade deals for Illinois farmers and ensure blanket tariffs are not the trade policy of the United States. In the most recent episode of my podcast, Taking Stalk, we go in depth on tariffs with Director of National Legislation Ryan Whitehouse. Click here for our insightful conversation about our concerns, and what we’re doing about it in Washington.

But it’s not only the farm bill and trade. In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act included tax provisions that benefit our members, but many of those provisions are set to expire, including important national estate tax levels.

On the state level, it’s important that we continue to build on our momentum with the Family Farm Preservation Act. The 12-year-old Illinois estate tax levels make our antiquated farm bill look young and fresh.

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy, and we are proud of the voluntary work of Illinois farmers to reduce nutrient loss. We look forward to continuing our partnerships for decades to come.

We are also focusing our work in Springfield on private property protections, expanding markets for biofuels, preventing burdensome regulations in wetlands, key Illinois Department of Agriculture funding and more.

Our relationships are the best tool we have. Please, take a moment to familiarize yourself with these priorities, and reach out to your local, state and national legislators sooner rather than later. I would encourage everyone to register by Feb. 11 for our Governmental Affairs Leadership Conference, a deep dive into the issues that affect members at the local, state and national levels. Former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus highlights an incredible lineup of speakers.

We have a new president and new faces in Congress and in Springfield, and we look forward to working with county Farm Bureaus and IFB’s Governmental Affairs and Commodities Division to accomplish our goals. Together, we will make a difference for agriculture in 2025.