​Each year, the Franklin County Young Leaders Committee have an end of year trip to celebrate another successful year.  They usually try to center the event around agriculture.  This year’s trip was trip to Columbia, IL to tour Old Monroe Distilling Company.  The group was able to tour the facility and learn about the history of the distillery and how it’s owner, Adam Stumpf, came up with the idea.  The Stumpfs are Monroe county farmers and use their own corn in their products.  Adam is also a Monroe County Farm Bureau board member.  It was a great tour!
 
Pictured are left to right: Parker Hutchcraft, Manager, Ike Hutchcraft, Vice Chairman and Michael Browning, Chairman.

​Franklin County Farm Bureau’s 105th County Annual Meeting was called to order by President Leon McClerren on Monday, December 2, 2024. This year the meeting was held at Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton. We had a crowd of 94 in attendance.
The Benton and West Frankfort FFAs were represented and led the Pledge of Allegiance as well as reciting the FFA Creed. Larry Miller gave the Invocation.
Trudee was recognized for signing the most new Farm Bureau members in the 2024 membership year.  Leon McClerren was recognized for his retirement from the board after 20 years.  Kelly Robertson was also recognized for his retirement from the board after 11 years.
Larry Miller presented a slate to serve on the Board for a two-year term. They were Scott Kistner – District I, Joe Heard – District II, Jerry Miller – District III, Chuck Mitroka – District IV and Michael Browning - At-Large.
We were pleased to have Congresswoman Terri Bryant and State Representative Dave Severin at the meeting as well.
Speaker for the evening was Lieutenant Ron Howard who spoke about his experience as a Resource Officer in Franklin County Schools.
Gift bags were given to those in attendance that included items donated by the Franklin County Farm Bureau. Franklin County Farm Bureau also had door prizes that were drawn throughout the night along with the Hog Raffle AITC fundraiser.
Thank you to Fallon Summers, Ike Hutchcraft, Leon McClerren, Rhea Hutchcraft and Joey Hutchcraft for all their help in getting everything set up and cleaned up. Thank you also to Debra K’s Catering for catering a wonderful meal.

​BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Adam Loker, of Wayne City, took first place in Illinois Farm Bureau’s Collegiate Discussion Meet, held on Friday, Nov. 1.
Loker, a Junior at Southern Illinois University, is a member of the Wayne County Farm Bureau and Southern Illinois University Collegiate Farm Bureau chapter. He will go on to represent Illinois in the national Collegiate Discussion Meet at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s FUSION Conference March 7-10 in Denver, Colorado.
In addition to a $200 cash prize, Loker will receive an expense-paid trip to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s FUSION Conference and the IAA Annual Meeting in December, and a $1,500 scholarship courtesy of GROWMARK, Inc.
The IFB Collegiate Discussion Meet judges contestants’ ability to manage small group discussions. It is an opportunity for students to exhibit open-mindedness and knowledge while retaining a flexible position. Participants exchange facts and insights on a pre-determined topic while practicing teamwork and brainstorming logical solutions for difficult problems in the agriculture industry.
The event consists of three parts: opening statements, open discussion and closing statements. Participants are scored by judges based on their problem solving and implementation, analysis of the topic, cooperative attitude and delivery.
In total, 20 students competed in the meet at IFB’s home office in Bloomington. Final four participants included:
·       Second place: Derek Sample, Southern Illinois University, Franklin County
·       Third place: Gracie Murphy, Southern Illinois University, McDonough County
·       Fourth place: Benjamin Bremmer, University of Illinois, Stephenson County
About Illinois Farm Bureau
Illinois Farm Bureau is a member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, a national organization of farmers and ranchers. Founded in 1916, IFB is a non-profit, membership organization directed by farmers who join through their county Farm Bureau. IFB has a total membership of more than 365,535 and a farmer membership of 74,937. IFB represents three out of four Illinois farmers.
Learn more about Illinois agriculture at www.ilfb.org. Connect with Illinois Farm Bureau on Facebook: Illinois Farm Bureau | Facebook. Follow IFB on Instagram @ilfarmbureau or on X @ILFarmBureau.
 
For  picture: Final Four Round competitors pictured from left to right: Benjamin Bremmer, University of Illinois, Gracie Murphy, Southern Illinois University, Adam Loker, Southern Illinois University, Derek Sample, Southern Illinois University.

​Illinois Farm Bureau takes Managers to the capital every year to get a better understanding of IFB’s lobbying efforts in Washington. They visited news organizations, industry, and Congressional offices while in the capital.
The trip was led by Ryan Whitehouse, Director of National Legislation and Allie Speer, Associate Director of National Legislation. Twenty county Farm Bureau managers from diverse counties around the state attended the trip. Managers visited with staff from American Farm Bureau Federation to learn about the process of setting policy for AFBF from state organizations. They heard a panel discussion of agriculture policy journalists from Politico and how they create and deliver stories about ag policy.
They were fortunate to have meetings with staff from both Illinois Senators offices, including meeting with the Chief of Staff for Senator Duckworth. They took a tour of the Capital Building and visited with staff from Representative Darin LaHood’s office. LaHood (IL-16) is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which handles all matters relating to revenue for the country.
The trip concluded with a visit to ADM Headquarters to discuss their global and domestic policies. 
Major topics of discussion during the trip were trade relations, the need and desire for the passage of a new Farm Bill, and potential impacts of changes to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which is slated to be discussed next year. They also discussed the best ways to communicate with our national legislators, and what is the most effective and important way that we as CFB managers can tell our members’ stories to Congress.
Overall, this conference showed managers an in-depth look at the advocacy work that Illinois Farm Bureau does on behalf of our members. These meetings and connections attended are a testament to the work that Ryan and his team do on behalf of our members. They got a small snapshot of the wide range of issues that IFB lobbies for on Capitol Hill.
Counties that attended were Wayne/White, Kane, Bond/Fayette, Randolph, Mason/Menard, Knox, Franklin, Coles, Madison, St. Clair, Hamilton/Jefferson, Edwards, Clark, Jasper, Cumberland, Greene, Montgomery and McLean.
Illinois Farm Bureau also offers this trip to leaders in the county.  Contact your Manager for more information!

​            October 12, 2024 was National Farmer Day. To show appreciation to the local farmers, Parker (Manager) and Fallon (AITC Coordinator) delivered trail mix and drinks to farmers in the field. They also were able to visit some Franklin County board members to see their operations.
 
During harvest, it is easy to get into a hurry and forget to eat or pack a snack so to show appreciation, we decided trail mix would be a great snack and it could give quick energy. We appreciate the local farmers in all they do and we can’t wait to continue doing something like this again next year!

​OFFICE NOTICE
FRANKLIN COUNTY FARM BUREAU
105th ANNUAL MEETING
 
  Notice is hereby given that the Franklin County Farm Bureau will hold its 105th Annual Meeting on Monday, December 2, 2024 at Immanuel Baptist Church located at 516 N Main Street in Benton.
 
  A meal will be served at 6:15 p.m. followed by election of Directors, annual reports and other business as necessary.
 
  RESERVATIONS FOR THE MEAL ARE NECESSARY.  Members are asked to RSVP to the Franklin County Farm Bureau Office at (618) 435-3616 no later than November 18th.
Hope to see you there.
KELLY ROBERTSON, SECRETARY
FRANKLIN COUNTY FARM BUREAU

​Southern Illinois counties handed out over 500 t-shirts at the DuQuoin State Fair to exhibitors on Saturday, August 24th and 31st.  We thank everyone who stopped by!

​More than 125 concerned farmers, hunters and conservationists voiced concerns Thursday about deer damaging crops and farmland, particularly in south-central Illinois.
 
The event in Mount Vernon was hosted by Illinois Farm Bureau, state Sen. Terri Bryant, state Rep. Dave Severin and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
 
Some solutions proposed by attendees included extending hunting hours and the shotgun hunting season, expanding nuisance permits, ending the practice of prioritizing out-of-state applicants for deer tags in the annual lottery and changing how IDNR calculates the deer population.
 
Illinois Farm Bureau District 17 Director John Howard noted the large crowd provides a window into just how large the problem of crop destruction by deer herds has become.
 
“You can tell by the crowd that this is an issue that is of great concern, and one that unfortunately is not going away unless IDNR, the legislature and agencies involved in rulemaking regarding land management and wildlife population management get going on solutions,” Howard said. “I was encouraged by some of the ideas brought forward by local residents who turned out in a big way to drive home the point that the status quo simply cannot remain. Our farmers are losing millions because we have laws and regulations that don’t allow landowners to take care of these problems on their own. Southern Illinois farmers are conservationists and have no desire to wipe out deer or pest populations altogether. We are all for the responsible thinning of these herds of deer that are causing serious harm to our agricultural economy.”
 
Sen. Bryant said she appreciates the concerns of those in attendance, noting she has been working to bring IDNR’s attention to the destruction of crops by deer herds for several years.
 
“This is not a new problem. It is a growing problem,” Bryant said. “Rep. Severin and I have brought the IDNR and Farm Bureau together to hear your concerns and to entertain good ideas to manage a growing deer population that continues to destroy crops and cost the average farmer a lot of money that they frankly don’t have to lose.”
 
Rep. Severin has also been heavily involved in helping to identify solutions for concerned farmers after a visit to Frey Farms in rural Wayne County, where he was made aware of the increasing damage to cash crops throughout the region.
 
“Frey Farms is a No. 1 pumpkin producer in our country, and they are experiencing crop loss that costs them hundreds of thousands of dollars every year,” Severin said. “A doe will poke its hoof into a pumpkin, take one bite of it, and then move on to another pumpkin and ruin it. Take that times thousands of deer, thousands of times per year, and you have a serious economic problem. If we take that example and apply it to the story of every farmer in the room for today’s town hall meeting, we’re talking millions of dollars of damage in economic impact to our agricultural community. Senator Bryant and I wanted to hear directly from our farmers and conservation leaders, and provide IDNR and the Farm Bureau with the opportunity to hear first-hand the damage that’s being done.”

​On Thursday, July 18, 2024, three members of the Franklin County Young Leaders Committee competed in the District 17 Discussion Meet in Albion, IL.  There were eight total competitors.
Topics of discussion included ways young farmers can utilize diversification to explore new revenue sources in order to diversify their farm portfolio and how Farm Bureau can work with energy companies, local governments and rural communities to increase domestic energy production, minimize loss of agricultural land and protect private property rights.
Michaela Greathouse, Edwards county, placed first, Derek Sample, Franklin county, placed second, Michael Browning, Franklin county, placed third and Wade Hutchens, Franklin county, is the state alternate.