CCFB News» November 2021

The Cook County Farm Bureau would like to congratulate board member Roger Freeman and the Freeman Family. The Illinois Department of Agriculture recently designated Freeman Family Farm located in Boone County, in the Cherry Valley area, as a Sesquicentennial Farm!

Is Your National Coffee Day Cup Filled With US-Grown Coffee? Not Likely, But That Could Change – The U.S. consumes and imports more coffee than any other country in the world. But could a nation full of coffee drinkers ever grow a significant portion of its own here? Maybe. (USA Today)

Genetic engineering in agriculture was developed by scientists in the 1970s and from those modifications came changes to some of the foods we eat today. The process of creating a crop with genetically modified organisms (GMO) traditionally involves four steps.

Cook County Farm Bureau has learned that Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Commissioner Debra Shore will be appointed to head the Environmental Protection Agency Region 5, one of the country’s largest offices overseeing air, water, and land pollution issues in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

This summer, the Illinois Farm Bureau began hearing from farmer members and staff about videos circulating on social media that appeared to show farmers destroying their crops. They were dubbed as the “crop destruction videos”. The Illinois Farm Bureau social media and public relations staff worked with the Illinois State University’s Social Media Analytics Command Center to investigate and gain insights into these videos.

County Farm bureaus and other Ag literacy coalitions in the state of Illinois are the local delivery system of agricultural information to students and teachers. The IAA Foundation recently distributed $630,000 to these organizations to further their mission.

Ag in the Classroom program is offering a summer internship to a college student majoring in Agriculture Education or Ag Communications.

“Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.” This quote by Theodore Isaac Rubin is one of many quotes from a favorite cookbook of mine, the Cossitt Family Cookbook, with a Pinch of Kindness.

In November 2022 Cook County voters may have an opportunity to ensure that the Forest Preserves can continue to protect water and air quality and provide opportunities for children with summer jobs and scholarships and exploration places, nature education, and outdoor programs.

Since 2010, Cook County Farm Bureau® has operated a Political Action Committee (PAC) designed to support candidates who are supportive of the policies, priorities, and mission of the Farm Bureau while promoting the economic and social well-being of farmers and farm-related interests in Cook County.

During their October meeting, Cook County Commissioners approved a resolution calling for the creation of a compensation and market survey. The compensation and market survey will be used to determine if the current compensation received by Cook County elected officials is appropriate or if an increase is warranted in December of 2022.

My kids quickly mastered the abbreviations N, P and K during study sessions on the periodic table for middle school science. I couldn’t explain why K stood for potassium other than phosphorous already used the letter P. Regardless, the kids memorized the elements knowing they impacted their lives as much as course grade.

2021-22 Winter Workshops, Monthly Business Development Series October to February. Shop Local, Live Local is an Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) program that connects local food and farm businesses with Illinois communities.

As visits to local food pantries skyrocketed during the pandemic, Cook County Farm Bureau stepped up to ensure food-insecure families would have a place to turn for help.

Recipe printed with permission from member, Brenda Calvert

I have been writing about the Pillars of Agricultural Literacy – Understanding the intersection between agriculture and society. The last two months, I have reviewed pillars 1 and 2 (available on the Cook County Farm Bureau website, www.cookcfb.org). Now on to Pillar 3: The Relationship between Agriculture and Animals.