Most Recent Talking Points

Note: For IFB’s full comprehensive talking points, please contact your local county Farm Bureau or visit the Leaders’ Portal.

Agriculture Labor Reform & Immigration

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation, AFBF Farm Labor Study: AFBF_LaborStudy_Feb2014.pdf

Headline Messages:

Farmers need a reliable, skilled workforce. Farm work is challenging, often seasonal and transitory, and with fewer and fewer Americans growing up on the farm, it’s increasingly difficult to find American workers attracted to these kinds of jobs.
Farm labor can’t all be replaced by machines. There are certain farm jobs, like tending livestock and pruning or picking fresh produce, that require a human touch.
Where American workers are unwilling or unavailable, workers from other countries have provided crucial support to American agriculture.
Congress needs to pass responsible immigration reform that addresses agriculture’s current experienced workforce and creates a new flexible guest worker program.
Instability in the agriculture workforce places domestic food production at risk – increasing immigration enforcement without also reforming our worker visa program could cost America $70 billion in agriculture production.

Economic Impact of Immigration

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation, AFBF Farm Labor Study: AFBF_LaborStudy_Feb2014.pdf

Why is labor important to farmers?

Agriculture needs anywhere from 1.5-2 million hired workers.
Labor cost account for 48% of the variable production cost for fresh fruits and 35% of variable costs for fresh vegetables.
The current labor situation is most acute for delicate berries and easily bruised produce. Harvesting costs for strawberries, blackberries and cherries account for about 60% to 66% of total production costs, making labor the primary harvest expense. People are needed to judge which fruit are ready to be picked and which need t be left to ripen.
Many migrants who begin their careers as farm laborers move onto other sectors of the economy or less demanding positions after several years. This progression leads farms often being the first to bear the negative economic impacts of decreased border crossings and migrant labor shortages.
At least 50-70% of farm laborers in the country today are unauthorized. Few U.S. workers are willing to fill available farm labor jobs.

EPA Tail Pipe Emissions

Background: The Biden Administration is making its position on renewable fuels clear. In April, President Biden set a goal of having 50% of all vehicle sales be electric by 2030. With their actions Biden and his EPA are telling us they want to pull back from clean burning renewable fuels like corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel while corn-based ethanol blends and low carbon fuels provide GHG emission reductions. The EPA’s proposal is essentially forcing 67% of all cars and almost 50% of all pickup truck sales to be electric by 2032, in less than 10 years.

Headline messages:

Tell the EPA not to allow this administration to break its commitment to America’s farmers and domestically produced, clean-burning renewable fuels.
There is just one lithium mine in the U.S., but there are nearly 11 million acres of corn grown each year in places like Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
American farmers produce the corn – one out of every three bushels -- that goes into clean-burning ethanol. America’s farms are a sustainable solution -- not a finite supply of rare earth metals -- for our nation’s motorists and economy.
The proposal will also tie the hands of American automakers flexibility to develop and implement innovative strategies for decarbonizing vehicles.
Of additional concern is the infrastructure for electric vehicles does not yet exist in rural America. This is further discrimination against rural communities, family farms and agribusiness as they do not have the ability to efficiently utilize BEVs.

Weather & Drought Monitoring

Headline Messages:

Drought conditions persist across Illinois. Recent rains have certainly helped a few areas, but we’re not out of the woods yet. We’re a long way from the bin.
Every situation is different. How the drought affects farmers can depend on what they produce and where they are located, among several other variables.
At the end of the day, farmers want to produce a good crop. Drought is very discouraging for farmers.
Farmers are able to purchase crop insurance, which helps them remain afloat during times such as drought. However, it will never fully replace the loss of a good crop.
Drought is a complex physical and social phenomenon, usually with no clear beginning or end. It is often the result of many complex factors acting on and interacting with the environment.
Farmers are at the forefront of climate-smart farming, putting scientific solutions, technology, and innovation to work to protect our land, air, and water.

SCOTUS Ruling in Sackett v. EPA & WOTUS

California’s Prop 12 Law & SCOTUS Ruling

Background:

A May 5-4 decision by U.S. Supreme Court upheld California’s Prop 12. Prop 12 prohibits sales in California of pork, veal and eggs from livestock whose confinement do not meet certain minimum space rules.
Those rules mandate hog spaces be large enough for an animal to turn around, lie down, stand up and extend its limbs.
They specifically set sow confinement dimensions at 24 square feet, which is 7 square feet larger than the industry standard.
The law’s mandates are estimated to increase production costs at the farm level by 9.2%, with producers expected to spend between $290 million and $348 million to update sow housing to comply with the law, according to National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and AFBF.
NPPC and AFBF argued the proposition violated the Commerce Clause.
Illinois ranks number four in pork production.

Headline Messages:

Illinois Farm Bureau is frustrated by the recent SCOTUS decision regarding California’s Proposition 12 law, which ultimately creates a concerning precedent.
At the heart of this argument is whether one state can set the rules for the entire country. The arbitrary standards take away flexibility to ensure hogs are raised in a safe environment.
Prop 12 will cause further consolidation in agriculture nationwide and lead to higher pork prices at the grocery store for America’s families. This law will ultimately harm consumers, farmers and animals.
Illinois Farm Bureau continues to work with AFBF on possible solutions to address California’s Proposition 12 law.
California has an estimated 40 million pork consumers, representing 15% of the U.S. market.
Less than 1% of pork consumed in California is produced in-state.

Renewable Energy and Utility Projects & Landowner Protections

Headline Messages:

Illinois Farm Bureau routinely hosts landowner meetings for members potentially impacted by carbon capture and storage pipeline projects, as well as other renewable energy and utility projects proposed across the state.
These educational meetings for our members help them understand basic details about proposed projects, how to work through the approval process, and the easement negotiation process.
It is our mission to provide our members with quality information and resources. We continue to provide educational outreach as additional project details emerge.
Also, we often participate in the regulatory approval process to ensure they follow legal requirements and to protect landowner rights.
Always remember to take the time to have all documents reviewed by and seek advice from an attorney.

2023 Farm Bill Update and Talking Points

Farm Bill Update:

Illinois Farm Bureau recently participated in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s advocacy fly-in.
Through discussions with lawmakers, representatives on both the Senate and House Agriculture Committees stated that they are committed to getting a farm bill done by Sept. 30.
It’s still going to be a challenge to get the farm bill finished and voted on by the September deadline, but we are optimistic that we could see it completed by the end of the calendar year. That is not unusual in respect to previous farm bills.

Headline Messages:

Managing risk on the farm is critical to keeping food on our tables. We all depend on the success of American agriculture, so it’s important for America’s farmers to be supported by strong farm programs as they face weather disasters, high supply costs and inflationary pressures.
America’s public investment in agriculture through farm bill programs helps secure our food supply and keep our country strong with sustainable food, fiber and renewable fuel.
The farm bill impact extends beyond the farm by protecting our nation’s food supply, providing access to nutrition for families facing hunger, advancing conservation efforts and spurring innovation through agricultural research.

IFB Priorities:

Illinois Farm Bureau members believe the farm bill must be WTO-compliant, provide price and revenue protection for farmers, and link nutrition and commodity programs.
Maintaining the current crop insurance program remains IFB’s top priority in the upcoming farm bill debate.
Farm Bureau supports maintaining both SNAP and TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) in the farm bill in their current form.
In 2013, USDA calculated that roughly eight cents of every dollar spent on food purchases (including purchases made by SNAP recipients) returns to the farmgate.

I-55 Dust Storm

Headline Messages:

Mother Nature is unpredictable. Unfortunately, the high winds on May 1 hit as many farmers are in various stages of planting season.
Planting naturally disturbs topsoil, but farmers use many best management practices to prevent soil loss and erosion, such as reduced tillage, no-till and cover crops. Farmers also look for places along farm fields for fence rows and tree plantings.
For this time of year, cover crops would have already been eliminated from the field to prep for spring planting.
Certain areas of Illinois are experiencing drier than normal conditions.
These periods of sustained winds typically happen in Central Illinois at least once a year.
This combination of dry weather and high winds contribute to hazardous conditions and low visibility on roads.
No field activity was occurring in the field at the time of the dust storm and accident. There is no indication of when the fields along I-55 were prepped for planting.
Farmer involvement in state and federal conservation programs are currently at an all-time high