Illinois ag advocates say ‘lawmakers showed up for farmers’

Jun 08, 2023

For the most part, Illinois agricultural leaders are pleased with the $50.5 billion Illinois budget with its 550 pieces of legislation that landed on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk after the end of the spring session on May 27.

Lawmakers left out some legislation livestock farmers wanted left out. They agreed on legislation local food advocates wanted. But with a last-minute amendment, they may see a bill on landowner property rights get vetoed by the governor.

The Illinois Farm Bureau advocated for landowners’ rights when it comes to renewable energy projects on farmland. The goal is for farmers to be fairly compensated for impacts to drainage and their operations caused by solar and wind energy projects, says Mark Gebhards, IFB’s director of government affairs and commodities.

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Video: Plot Day

Border View Farms is a mid-sized family farm that sits on the Ohio-Michigan border. My name is Nathan. I make and edit all of the videos posted here. I farm with my dad, Mark and uncle, Phil. We also have a part-time employee, Brock. My dad started the farm in 1980. Since then we have grown the operation from just a couple hundred acres to over 3,000. Watch my 500th video for a history of our farm I filmed with my dad.

I started making these videos in the fall of 2019 as a way to help show what I do on a daily basis as a farmer. Agriculture is different from any other industry and I believe the more people that are showing their small piece of agriculture, helps to build our story. We face unique challenges and stressful situations but have some of the most rewarding payoffs in the end. I get to spend everyday doing what I love, raising my kids on the farm, and trying to push our farm to be better every year. I hope that I can address questions or concerns that you might have about farms and agriculture.

I hope you enjoy my content and ask questions as you have them. I do my best to answer anything I can. Thanks for watching!

I appreciate you subscribing to my channel and liking my videos. You can also find me on Facebook facebook.com/borderviewfarms and on Instagram @borderviewfarms