BY HANNAH SPANGLER
The Farm Family Preservation Act (FFPA) is heading into fall veto session with additional support following a summer of connections made through Illinois Farm Bureau’s Adopt-A-Legislator program.
After State Sen. Mike Porfirio’s first visit with Edgar County Farm Bureau members, which included stops at Bridgeview’s SeatGeek Stadium, a visit to Brookfield Zoo and lunchtime conversations on key legislative issues, Porfirio decided to co-sponsor FFPA.
“Having farmers share their perspective and explain it to us helps us be better informed,” Porfirio, D-Bridgeview, said of the importance of hearing about the issues from the people and communities impacted.
The urban district may look different than the farms of Edgar County, but there are ways the two groups can work together. He added having these conversations gave both groups a chance to learn how to improve and grow in support of one another.
“To me, one of the greatest things that came from this is that he has a resource and somebody to call to learn more about issues impacting agriculture,” Edgar County Farm Bureau Manager Wyatt Williamson said about his county’s relationship with Porfirio.
Edgar County is one of many counties involved in Adopt-A-Legislator, where county Farm Bureaus and Chicago-area state legislators connect to learn about key issues from both groups. As of this year, county Farm Bureaus have adopted 75 urban legislators.
“We must educate our legislators about agriculture, but before you can do that, you need to build a relationship first,” said Christina Nourie, IFB’s northeast legislative coordinator, adding that the Adopt-A-Legislator program is a way to build those relationships.
Around 13 adopted legislators participated in visits this summer with their adopted counties. Many of these visits were the first opportunities for counties and legislators to meet and start building relationships. Nourie provided a few highlights as visits wrapped up in September.
Cass-Morgan County Farm Bureau
State Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Glen Elly, and her husband attended the Morgan County Fair with county Farm Bureau members, watching the cattle show and visiting with a farm family.
The group then attended an evening concert and dinner together. The lawmaker was also able to visit Springfield colleagues, including state Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Murrayville, and IDOA Director Jerry Costello.
Christian County Farm Bureau
The Christian County Farm Bureau partnered on an important event with their longtime adopted legislator, atate Rep. and Illinois House Ag Chair Sonya Harper, D-Chicago.
Together, the Christian County farmers and Harper co-hosted a special farm tour in Chicago focused on urban agriculture. The tour celebrated the three urban farms featured in Illinois Farm Bureau’s docuseries Fields Apart: Rooted Together, including Natasha Nichols, We Sow, We Grow; Michael and Amelia Howard, Eden Place Farms; and Alicia Nesbary-Moore, Herban Produce.
Over 40 people attended this daylong urban “farm crawl,” including several Christian County Farm Bureau farmers and Young Leaders and members of Harper’s Food, Agriculture and Environment Advisory Committee.
Clinton-Marion County Farm Bureau
The Clinton-Marion County Farm Bureau made the trek north to tour the district of their adopted legislator, state Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, D-Chicago.
Delgado spent the day taking her adopted farmers around to various sites of importance to her constituents. The visit kicked off with a meet and greet over coffee and tamales at her district office.
Afterward, they walked to nearby Steinmetz High School to tour its indoor and outdoor gardens. They continued an urban farming theme by visiting Prosser High School’s garden, learning about the horticulture and urban ag programs available to city students.
The visit concluded with a tour of Pipeworks Brewery, followed by lunch where the farmers were able to touch on several important legislative topics.
Edwards County Farm Bureau
Earlier this month, the Edwards County Farm Bureau traveled to state Rep. Angie Guerrero-Cuellar’s district on the southwest side of Chicago to visit with her and learn more about her urban district.
Edwards County has a special interest in education, so they partnered with Guerrero-Cuellar, D-Chicago, on a book donation to an elementary school in the representative’s district.
Farmers and Edwards County AITC coordinators presented an interactive AITC activity and presentation to the fourth grade. Guerrero-Cuellar emphasized how important farmers are because of the work they do to grow food and feed the world.
Effingham County Farm Bureau
Rep. Nicolle Grasse, D-Arlington Heights, has a unique connection to agriculture not often seen among “adopted,” urban legislators.
She grew up around dairy farms in rural northern Wisconsin and spent time on them with her school friends as a child. So, she was excited for the opportunity to be matched with the Effingham County Farm Bureau as part of the Adopt-A-Legislator program.
Several Effingham County Farm Bureau members welcomed Grasse to the program with a visit to her suburban district.
Together, they toured an historic museum in downtown Arlington Heights, shared conversation over lunch at a new Mexican restaurant, and visited Harper College in Palatine to learn more about their manufacturing and jobs training programs.
Having grown up around family farmers, Grasse asked for more information about the FFPA and plans to learn more about the estate tax and other critical ag issues during a future visit to Effingham County farms.
Ford-Iroquois County Farm Bureau
Several members of the Ford-Iroquois County Farm Bureau spent a day with their suburban adopted legislator, state Sen. Meg Loughren Cappel, D-Shorewood, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a co-sponsor of FFPA.
This was their second visit to the senator’s district, and the senator spent a day touring their farms last fall. The county Farm Bureau made it a priority to visit her district once again to continue to strengthen their connection with her and keep her up to date on ag issues.
Among their stops were a visit to the Illinois Aviation Museum, a walking tour of historic downtown Plainfield and a tour of Ready, Set, Ride Therapeutic Horse Farm. Lunch and conversation took place at Merichka’s.
Fulton County Farm Bureau
When state Rep. Kimberly du Buclet, D-Chicago, was appointed to her Chicago district House seat last year, she returned to the Illinois General Assembly as an alumna of the Statehouse, having served as a state representative from 2011-13.
She also returned as an alumna of the Adopt-A-Legislator program, having been matched with a southern Illinois County Farm Bureau during that time.
She reached out shortly after rejoining the General Assembly with a request to become an adopted legislator once again. This time around, the lawmaker is matched with the Fulton County Farm Bureau.
A group of Fulton County farmers traveled to the lawmaker's Chicago district to meet her an learn more about urban issues.
The visit kicked off with an introductory meet and greet at the Representative’s office. An outdoor lunch and discussion followed at The Cliff Dweller restaurant, located on Michigan Avenue, featuring a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. Several legislative topics were discussed including the estate tax and livestock issues.
LaSalle County Farm Bureau
LaSalle County Farm Bureau hosted its adopted legislator, state Sen. Lakesia Collins, D-Chicago, her son, district staff and interns for a summer farm visit.
Over 15 Chicago guests spent the day touring farms and visiting Farm Bureau members. The day kicked off with a meet and greet and apple cider donuts from Kane Family Farms.
They visited Milla Market, where farmer Erica Miller talked about their poultry and produce operation as well as the family’s participation in local farmers’ markets.
The day concluded with a tour of CFB President David Isermann’s grain farm to learn about corn, soybeans and conservation. Collins was able to drive the tractor once again.
Livingston County Farm Bureau
Newly-adopted state Sen. Javier Cervantes, D-Chicago, welcomed the Livingston County Farm Bureau to his district for a day of tours and discussions.
After introductions at his district office, Cervantes took the Livingston County farmers to the Chicago Food Depository to better understand food access and distribution efforts throughout his district and the Chicago area.
They also visited the Brookfield Zoo, a well-known tourist attraction in the district that brings millions two million visitors through his district each year.
The visit concluded with lunch at a popular restaurant where the farmers were able to discuss legislative topics impacting urban and rural areas.
Menard County Farm Bureau
Members of the Menard County Farm Bureau traveled to the west side of Chicago to co-host “Beef Up the Block,” a block party, with their adopted legislator, state Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, and her local state Sen. President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park.
The farmers brought up hamburgers and beef hot dogs, chips and condiments, while the Representative provided drinks, ice cream, tables, tents and a DJ. Cook County Farm Bureau also attended and provided fun give-a-ways to guests. The farmers grilled the meat and provided lunch for over 60 neighborhood residents.
Lilly and Harmon introduced the Menard County Farm Bureau members to the crowd, allowing several farmers to speak to the guests and answer questions. Farmers were asked about their challenges with weather, what they feed their animals and how the livestock are housed, especially in winter.
Winnebago-Boone County Farm Bureau
State Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl, D-Northbrook, was appointed to her suburban House seat earlier this year and added as a member to the Illinois House Agriculture Committee. She attended IFB's Governmental Affairs Leadership Conference in February and was introduced to the Winnebago Boone Farm Bureau, which quickly “adopted” her.
Farm Bureau members toured her district in August, starting with a meet and greet at her district office so everyone to get to know each other better.
The day focused on “ag in the suburbs,” with a tour of Historic Wagner Farms in Glenview, a farm-to-fork lunch featuring Wagner Farms produce and a visit to Horcher’s Greenhouse, owned by Cook County Farm Bureau Board Member Pat Horcher.
Woodford County Farm Bureau
Woodford County Farm Bureau hosted its adopted legislator, state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, and her district staff for a day in the country.
Joined by several county Farm Bureau members, Hernandez toured Farm Bureau park, the site of the county’s 4H fair, to learn more about the fair, 4H program and the many projects students participate in, including showing livestock.
Lunch and discussion took place at the county Farm Bureau office where Nowell Moore, CFB president, brought corn and soybean plants to talk about raising crops. Afternoon tours included a stop at Farm Family Foods, a family produce farm running an online food hub and renovating a former grocery store in rural Benson, an area considered a food desert.
The day concluded with a visit to the Noe family’s hog farm, where family members also run a roadside produce stand. Hernandez was able to pick sweet corn and tour the produce fields.
The Randolph County Farm Bureau visited the district of state Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, in the summer of 2023. In May, Rashid also became a co-sponsor of FFPA.
“It was so helpful to hear why reforming this is so important to family farmers,” he wrote in a letter to the county, referring to conversations had over dinner during the visit last summer. “I wanted to let you know it was the information you shared with me that helped me make this decision.”
Toward the end of summer, Rashid returned to Randolph County with his wife and kids to visit livestock farms.
“The letter from Rep. Rashid is a testament to the relationships we build through Adopt-A-Legislator,” Nourie shared with FarmWeek. “The most impactful thing you can do is share your story and tell legislators how these issues impact your family farm.”
Nourie encouraged CFB managers to contact their legislators’ district offices to set up farm visits or other future Adopt-A-Legislator opportunities. For questions or assistance in setting up visits, CFBs can contact Nourie at cnourie@ilfb.org.
Content for this story was provided by FarmWeekNow.com.