Tuesday, July 21, 2009 10:53 PM CDT
The Farm Bureau and its origin
By Amy Rochkes, Shelby County Farm Bureau Manager
Farming requires great skill and dedication for success, and there is no high-sounding name to describe those who practice agriculture as a profession. We simply call them farmers.
The roots of the Illinois Agricultural Association go farther back than a meeting held in 1916, as do the roots of farming. The profession of farming has roots that go so deep they are lost in history. Farming, as a profession, is the backbone of all civilizations.
Farm Bureau, which has become the largest general farm organization in Illinois, has clear beginnings. The motivation of early farm leaders laid the path for agriculture to prosper in Illinois.
The beginnings of the county associations were to take scientific principles from the University of Illinois and employ those principles on farms throughout the state. Employing those agriculture principles led to the hiring of county soil scientists to spread the research, educate farmers and encourage farmers to implement the principles.
In 1912, the first countywide organization of farmers was formed to hire a “farm expert” eventually renamed to “farm adviser” in DeKalb County. Other county associations were also hiring “farm advisers,” including Kankakee, Adams, Bureau, Champaign, Iroquois. LaSalle, Livingston, Macon, Mason, McLean, Tazewell, Will and Woodford counties.
Tazewell County was the first county association formed in Illinois that used the name “Farm Bureau.” In 1913, the Tazewell County Farm Bureau was chartered by the State of Illinois as a corporation. In December 1913, there were four farm advisers in the state and these four men formed the Illinois Association of County Agriculturalists.
In January 1916, farm leaders were invited to a meeting at the University of Illinois of the Illinois Association of County Agriculturalists. From the outgrowth of this meeting, a state federation of county agricultural associations known today as the Illinois Agricultural Association was born. At the time, dues for each county association accepted as a member were set at $100 per year.
Herman Danforth was elected the first president of the Illinois Agricultural Association and his vision would help shape the association for the next 80 years.
Shelby County Farm Bureau was organized and incorporated with the State of Illinois on Dec. 23, 1923, although records and minutes go back to 1922. Like today, Shelby County Farm Bureau sent delegates to the Illinois Agricultural Association annual meeting to represent its farmer members.
Farm Bureau has changed as agriculture has changed, but the principles upon which the association was founded have remained the same. Yes, we still collect dues, although each member pays dues instead of the county association paying the dues. Farm Bureau still is working for the best interests of agriculture and I hope it continues for the next 80 years.
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