CCFB News» March 2024

Prep & Planting is happening! Visit Cook County Farm Bureau® member Greenhouses, Garden Centers, and Farms for all your outdoor needs this spring! Their vegetable and flower plantings, trees, shrubs, lawn, landscape materials, grills, and garden décor await you! 

I’ve always loved spring: warmer weather after months of freezing temperatures, flowers blooming, Easter celebrations with my family, bunnies, and the end of the school year. My favorite flowers are snapdragons, daffodils, and tulips, and I love cherry blossom trees after attending undergrad in Washington, D.C.

The Cook County Farm Bureau® and the University of Illinois Extension continue to partner on a project that benefits local Farm Bureau members and the general public. Master Gardeners are available to answer questions from members and the general public related to gardening and horticulture.

Engaged with numerous Cook County state legislators in Springfield. Key issues discussed included the agritourism state tax credit and the estate tax.

The Cook County Farm Bureau Political Action Committee officially came to be in 2009 with the first election in 2010. Since the 2010 election, the PAC has endorsed over 60 candidates. Some Democrats. Some Republicans. Some independents. Not all were incumbents.

All of Illinois Farm Bureau’s (IFB) policy submittals, including Cook County Farm Bureau’s food waste policy submittal, was approved at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) delegate session – a testament to the time and effort put into the proposals at the county and state levels.

Please join us on Friday, July 19th and support the CCFB Foundation with an evening of dining, drinks, fellowship, and fun!

Do you have a favorite recipe using fresh, local ingredients to share?

New bipartisan measures aimed at ensuring the preservation of family farms in the event of a family member’s death were announced after years of attempting to reform the Illinois Estate and Generation Transfer Tax Act.

Supported by Illinois Farm Bureau, Senate Bill 2921, introduced by State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, and House Bill 4600, introduced by State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, are identical bills that if passed would change the state’s estate tax, specific to farms.

I work every day with the people who raised me. Four desks in the farm office provide space for mom, dad, brother, and sister. It’s the same crew I sat with at the dinner table in the 1980s. The ones I made memories with on family vacations at theme parks with the fastest roller coasters. The quartet that spent weekend afternoons cleaning field edges and dining on pizza at sundown on Sunday nights.

Farm Bill Focus on gaining the passage of a five-year Farm Bill before the current temporary Farm Bill expires in September 2024. A concerted effort will be to seek its passage in the first quarter of the year.

Creamy Zucchini & Spinach Rigatoni
Joyce Holste, Midlothian

A U.S. new bill, referred to as the Consistent Egg Labels Act, could soon prevent the practice of mislabeling imitation or plant-based egg products using the term “egg.”

The bill states that food can only be labeled as an egg or egg product if the food is, contains as a primary ingredient, or is derived from the reproductive output of avian poultry species, including an albumen or yolk, that was enclosed in a calcium-based shell.

When I was growing up on the farm, money seemed to be scarce. Okay – it was scarce. Mom and Dad confirmed that fact with me just the other day. We did not farm money trees. Yet, somehow, Mom and Dad still clothed five kids, kept shoes on our feet (sure I used duct tape to keep the sole on the boot occasionally), and we were well fed from the milk cow, garden, and livestock.

The farm somehow provided the essentials despite periodic cashflow difficulties. We weren’t alone but neighbors bartered, shared resources, and helped one another.