Grassroots Effort
Illinois Farm Bureau’s success over the last 100-plus years has been rooted in its grassroots foundation. As the Organizational Member Strategy (OMS) is setting up the organization to be successful for another 100 years, that foundation will never change. Our members, leaders, and county managers stepped up and met the challenge. Here's how:
Grassroots Survey: By The Numbers
15.9% - That’s the overwhelming response rate we received from voting and professional members on our OMS member survey.
102 – Every single one of Illinois’ counties was represented in the member survey.
3,739 – IFB members made their voices heard in huge numbers. Because of the thousands of members who completed the survey, we have representative samples of members by region, county Farm Bureau membership group, IFB district and age. Because of that feedback and buy-in, members can have a high level of confidence in these results from every angle.
Everyone, Everywhere, Every Way
While the survey data is incredibly valuable, we recognize that it’s just one-way members can communicate with the OMS teams. Illinois is a big, diverse state, and our membership reflects that. To push for additional feedback, the OMS team gave every member, in every part of the state, a voice in the future of IFB.
Everyone – Our membership is diverse, and it was critical to have representation from every size and type of farm in the state. From Young Leaders to county board members. From big counties and the Largest Livestock and row crop farmers to the small counties and the smallest specialty crop farmers in the state. From the most engaged members to the least. We made sure we heard from as many members as possible.
Everywhere – In-person feedback often provides the best, most well-rounded feedback, and the OMS team traveled more than 4,500 miles and conducted 34 focus groups in an effort to talk to as many members as possible. We had conversations at IFB conferences, county Farm Bureau meetings, one-on-one meetings, commodity group meetings and more – all over the state. As we move forward in this process, every region of the state will be represented by members of the OMS subcommittees.
(Graphic of towns in Illinois visited: Winnebago, Sycamore, Taylorville, Peoria, Springfield, Gifford, Mount Vernon, Freeport, Woodstock, Macomb, St. Louis, Mason City, Cambridge, Ottawa, Bunker Hill, Quad Cities, Galesburg, Ashkum)
Every Way – Beyond the member survey, we earned member feedback by using every communication method to hear the voice of Illinois members. In-person, email, phone, focus groups, events, webinars, and more.
Every Step of the Way
IFB’s grassroots culture will guide the OMS through every step of the process. After the data collection, at-large members, leaders, staff, and county managers came together to bring additional member voices into the process and to form three subcommittees. Each is developing an action plan in one of three major areas: membership, program and engagement, and county Farm Bureaus.
The success of the OMS data-collection process is a testament to the engagement of our members and the recognition of the importance of Farm Bureau as the voice of Illinois agriculture in the years ahead. On behalf of the volunteer leaders who are part of OMS process, thank you to everyone who has engaged with us as we, together, develop the road map for a vibrant Farm Bureau in the years ahead. As always, we encourage your continued feedback and investment as the OMS unfolds in the months and years ahead by emailing us at OMS@ilfb.org.