Ford-Iroquois Farm Bureau

09/01/2026

Mental health matters, especially in agriculture, where stress and isolation are common. National research shows farmers and ranchers experience su***de rates 2–5 times higher than the general population due to unique pressures like financial uncertainty, weather challenges, and long hours.

During ***dePreventionMonth, we want to remind you that support is available:Farm Family Resource Initiative Helpline: 1-833-FarmSOS or 1-833-327-6767
Serves farm families across the entire state of Illinois
National Su***de Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Crisis Text Line: Text TALK to 741-741
Text with a trained counselor from the Crisis Text Line for free, 24/7
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
Farm Aid Farmer Hotline: 1-800-FARM-AID (1-800-327-6243)
Avera Farm and Rural Stress Hotline: 1-800-691-4336
Illinois Warm Line: 1-866-359-7953 (call) or 1-866-880-4459 (text) More resources here: https://www.ilfb.org/resources/farmer-rural-resources/mental-health-wellness/.

08/27/2026

08/26/2026

We're celebrating our four-legged companions who guard the fields, herd the livestock, ride next to us on tractors, and make life on the farm even better. Show us your doggos in the comments! Happy ! 🐾

08/25/2026

Thank you to Commissioner Miller and Congresswoman Kelly for listening to our agriculture community! It was a great visit!

08/17/2026

Congratulations to Alivia Porter on Reserve Grand Champion in the Master Showmanship contest at Illinois State Fair. You have made Iroquois County proud!

The results are in!

A special congratulations to...

🥇Grand Champion Toby Behrends of Bureau County
🥈Reserve Grand Champion Alivia Porter of Iroquois County
🥉3rd Overall Ryker Beckmier of Christian County
🏅4th Overall Bayli Brown of Lawrence County
🏅5th Overall Taylor Hendel of Fulton County

The competition was tough, and these kids didn’t make it easy on the judges! Congratulations to all the exhibitors on an outstanding evening.

Stay tuned for an announcement of all winners on Monday!

08/10/2026

Hey Junior Livestock Exhibitors, don't forget to go see the Illinois Farm Bureau and get your free t-shirt!

Pickup dates and times listed below for each species:

Livestock Exhibitors - August 12, 13 & 14th from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Look for the IFB tent west of the 4H Food Stand near the Junior Livestock Building.

Dairy Exhibitors - August 18th at 6:00 p.m. in the Livestock Center.

Please direct any questions you may have to the Illinois Farm Bureau social media pages!

08/03/2026

Last week, on Thursday, we held our Silo to Sourdough Instructional Class with Heidi Stone of Stone's Farmhouse!
Those who attended were able try to a few of Stone's Farmhouse signature sourdough treats and received the Sourdough Starter Kit from Janie's Mill that contained everything you'll need for your first few loafs.

During the class, attendees were taught:
-The essential tools you need for a successful sourdough treat🍴
-How to feed a hungry sourdough starter🫙
-The step-by-step instructions for your first loaf🍞
-How to do the stretch-and-fold technique🤲
-Heidi's foolproof sourdough recipe🫓
-Anyone can do sourdough; it's not as daunting as you might think!!🙃

Please join us in thanking Heidi for all of her hard work! She offered up her personal sourdough starter so that everyone would have one ready to use the very next day and led the class for us!

Have you already made your first loaf? I'm already on my third! Feel free to share photos in the comments!

Finally, please fill out our feedback form! This can help us improve any future events and provide exactly what YOU want to see!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebIy8NuEVmgzOGUs1RIautq5AAsXON8hbBmfD8MlCULZAm8A/viewform?usp=dialog

07/31/2026

As a reminder, our office will be closed today, July 31st, as our staff will be out of the office.
Normal business hours will resume on Monday at 8 AM.

07/30/2026

We can’t wait to see everyone in here who registered for our Silo to Sourdough class tonight at 6pm!!🍞🌾

07/29/2026

Our office will be closed on Friday, July 31st, as our staff will be out of office. Normal hours will resume on Monday at 8am.