Maize Matters: Springfield Sparks for Farm Succession

Apr 10, 2024

A farm’s legacy is one of its most important aspects. No matter if you are a seventh-generation farmer or beginning a career in production agriculture, passing on a farm to the next generation is important to the future. In 2023, we highlighted the statistic that 96% of Illinois farms are family owned. Illinois estate tax laws create a burden for many family farms, challenging that statistic annually.

In early February, Senator David Koehler (D-Peoria) and Rep. Sharon Chung (D-Bloomington) introduced the Family Farm Preservation Act, a bill amending the estate tax for farm families.

"Recently, my family’s farm implemented major changes due to the estate tax,” IL Corn Growers Association Vice President and farmer from Waterloo, Garrett Hawkins said. “Anything we can do to make it easier for farmers to pass on their operations to the next generation is good for farmers, rural communities and our state economy.”

The bill makes the current $4 million estate tax threshold an exemption and raises it to $6 million. The legislation changes the law so only dollars over $6 million would be taxed instead of the entire amount.

ICGA is proud to work alongside the Illinois Farm Bureauwho spearheaded this change, to ensure farmers are represented at the Capital and the family farm legacy is protected.

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Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.