<b>By TIM ALEXANDER<br>
Illinois Correspondent</b> </p><p>

 
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — As 2007 drew to a close, Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) president Philip Nelson said the organization’s desire to “play offense” is compelling a group of agricultural stakeholders to begin work on a strategic plan dubbed the “Vision for Illinois Agriculture.”
A steering committee headed by Nelson, University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Dean Bob Easter and Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) director Chuck Hartke is charged with outlining IFB’s Vision for 2008 and beyond.</p><p>
“We’ve challenged ourselves with where do we want to be in five to 10 years,” Nelson said in December. “What type of an agenda for the food and agriculture business in our state do we want? We want to take advantage of our rich soils, as well as our excellent highways, rails and waterways. We want to use all of these competitive advantages to optimize our commodity production and exports.”</p><p>
The committee’s planning effort includes input from 26 representatives from agribusiness, commodity groups, universities and state agencies and is already making progress toward providing answers to challenges facing Illinois’ ag industry, said Nelson, a grain and livestock farmer from Seneca.</p><p>
In getting Vision started, the steering committee determined that Illinois should be the top state in the nation for production of biofuel and wind energy. It also defined a strategy to attract venture capital for biotechnology research and agribusiness startups, saying the state needs to focus on creating a more business-friendly tax and regulatory climate.</p><p>
Nelson said the seeds for the IFB’s Vision were planted by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who told him at a meeting last year that “agriculture is the backbone of this state” and that if “we let it slip away, shame on us.”</p><p>
The IFB also had an eye on 2008 when approximately 2,500 county leaders and members gathered for its annual meeting Dec. 1-4 at Chicago’s Hyatt Regency Hotel. Former USDA Secretary John Block addressed attendees on what to expect in farm policy and commodity markets in 2008. Acting USDA Secretary Chuck Conner also spoke and Dr. Barry Asmus, a senior economist with the National Center for Policy Analysis, served as keynote speaker.</p><p>
IFB delegates from throughout the state deliberated numerous proposed resolutions in establishing organizational policy for 2008 at the annual meeting.</p><p>
The organization drafted policy language regarding changes in UoI farm lease policies it argues poses “long-term problems at the expense of short-term returns,” according to a press release. The new policy language is a formal response to a decision by UoI’s board of trustees to seek competitive cash bids for thousands of acres of university-owned farmland.</p><p>
Delegates resolved to “encourage public universities to utilize more equitable and risk-sharing adjustable rate leases rather than a competitive bidding cash rent lease process on university-owned farmland.”</p><p>
A second resolution passed at the meeting addressed concerns over escalating cash rents and their long-term impact on land stewardship and the economies of rural communities.</p><p>
The IFB also went on record in support of a comprehensive flood control plan for the Mississippi River, that would allow levees to be raised to 500-year flood frequency protection levels along the river north of St. Louis, Mo.</p><p>
In addition, delegates notified the IDOA of their displeasure concerning the state’s decision to require livestock premise identification for all youngsters showing livestock in county, 4-H, FFA and state fairs. The IFB pointed to logistical problems concerning IDOA’s implementation of its policy on livestock fair entries.</p><p>
Nelson was reelected to a third two-year term as IFB president and Randolph County grain producer Rich Guebert was reelected as vice president.</p><p>
The IFB boasted 419,934 members in 2007.