CCFB News» October 2024

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky joined Cook, Lake, and McHenry County Farm Bureau leaders for a fall visit to Golden Oaks Farm, a dairy farm located in Wauconda. Schakowsky, who was first elected in 1998 now serves on the House Budget and Energy and Commerce Committees.

Congressman Sean Casten (6th district) joined the Biernacki family at their Tinley Park Greenhouse, Ted’s Greenhouse for a tour and discussion about farming and the greenhouse industry in Cook County and Illinois. Congressman Casten’s 6th district includes parts of Downers Grove, Wheaton, Lisle, Orland Park, and Western Springs.

As a researcher, Andrew Margenot is naturally skeptical of anything that seems “too good to be true.” But he told those attending the Nutrient Stewardship Field Day in Cook County that struvite, an alternative to phosphorus fertilizer, may be both good and true.

Struvite could be beneficial on several fronts including for water quality by reducing phosphorus runoff and providing a phosphorus source for crops as an alternative to more commonly used monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizers.

With more research evidence, struvite could eventually be considered a best management practice and be eligible for cost-sharing or nutrient control credits. As a bonus, it can be reclaimed from point sources including Chicago wastewater today and, in the future, other smaller municipalities.

2025 ALOT Program details released

Nominate a student that's "Outstanding in Their Field" for Ag Student of the Month.

While at an event recently, I was asked by a teacher, “Why agriculture?” She asked the question wanting to know why agriculture is relevant in the modern world and how it could pertain to everyday life, especially everyday life in an urban area like Cook County.

Resolution 24-0817 supports urban agriculture and calls on other local units of government to apply for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District programs to expand and support urban agriculture opportunities. 

Engaged specialty growers, researchers, and industry experts in conversations regarding beneficial nutrient reuse and composting at Smits Farms.

In 2021, Cook County Farm Bureau® proposed and Farm Bureau delegates approved the Farm Bureau’s  first urban agriculture policy, which was subsequently incorporated into the American Farm Bureau Federation® policy book and is now nationwide policy. This policy provides that urban agriculture generally refers to the cultivation, processing, and distribution of agricultural products in urban and suburban settings.

The 2024 Cook County Farm Bureau Farm Crawl – Passport to Ag returned with a bigger program offering a cash raffle to crawlers and member ag businesses! Twenty-one new and returning member Farm/Ag businesses opened their doors to members and public, showcasing Cook County’s agricultural diversity!

The farmer’s wife handed my husband a stick-style drawing. “He told me you will know what he needs,” she said of her farmer husband while my husband paused at the brain teaser before him.

The Family Farm Preservation Act (FPPA) n makes the following changes for estates that are ‘eligible’ for the IRS agricultural Special Use Valuation Rule (regardless of if the estate actually claims the federal rule or not):

Pasta with Creamy Blue Oyster Mushroom Sauce
Gibby’s Gourmet Mushrooms LLC, Chicago Ridge

A flag is an important symbol. Flags can be fought for and died for. Saluted. Cried over. Rallied upon. A flag can be used to display national pride.