Commodity Groups and Policy Influence

Commodity Groups and Policy Influence

By Corey Lacey, Ph.d. Public Policy Manager – Regulatory

One of the main goals of the Illinois Soybean Association is to help farmers reduce costs and increase profitability.

ISA’s team of agronomists plays a key role in this process, in part by working with farmers around the state to conduct on-farm trials looking into new management techniques. ISA’s Director of Agronomy, Abigail Peterson, helps coordinate this work.

Illinois, like many Midwest states, has a history of farmer participation in commodity checkoff programs; one of the biggest being the Illinois Soybean Board (ISB).

Unlike other farmer organizations, checkoffs are established in state and federal statute and funded by remittance payments from farmers. Checkoff funds are used to grow agriculture-based markets, fund production and utilization research, and improve the sustainable profitability of Illinois farms, through outreach and education to farmers, consumers, and the public.

However, farmer success means shaping local, state, and national public policy. Since this work cannot be done with checkoff dollars, sister organizations such as Illinois Soybean Growers (ISG), funded through farmer memberships, are used to represent Illinois farmers in Washington and Springfield. Often these sister organizations are housed under a single commodity group; for example, the Illinois Soybean Association collectively refers to both ISB and ISG organizations.

Across Illinois, commodity groups work on several policy issues that are important to Illinois farmers. At the state level, groups work on issues like adjusting the estate tax in Illinois to help ease the burden on farmers. This is an important issue to help keep multi-generational family farms from being broken up and stay within families.

Additionally, organizations work to expand markets for our producers by promoting plant-based biofuels, such as biodiesel made from Illinois soybeans. This means working to promote farmer-friendly, sustainable fuel policies.

One example is the work Illinois Soybean Growers did to create a $1.50 purchasers’ credit in the State of Illinois for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in airplanes fueling up in Illinois.

Commodity groups work hard to convey to the Illinois General Assembly that sustainability is a priority for Illinois farmers and encouraging legislators to support science-based state policy that ensures access to needed agrochemicals but also funds voluntary conservation programs.

On the federal level, commodity groups work to influence things like transportation infrastructure. For example, multiple groups are collaborating to ensure federal funding is made available to improve infrastructure on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers to promote barge traffic – also known as the Navigation Ecosystem Program (NESP).

Efforts from this led to the groundbreaking upgrades to Lock and Dam 25 on the Mississippi this year with an additional 1200foot chamber, allowing for more efficient barge traffic on the river.

Future work is focused on ensuring that other lock and dam operations on both the Mississippi and Illinois are upgraded. More efficient transport means Illinois commodities are less expensive to transport, making our farmers more competitive in both domestic and international markets.

Commodity groups work to influence federal policy to minimize supply-line disruption by developing federal legislation that would ensure the EPA continues to provide science-based, uniform pesticide labeling nationally; ensuring current and future access by our farmers which is critical to farm profitability.

Commodity groups work hard on Farm Bill issues such as protecting crop insurance, farm safety net programs, and securing funding for voluntary conservation programs.

Membership in commodity groups allows farmers to work together to ensure our legislators understand and support important agricultural issues that influence farm operations.

Commodity membership organizations, like the Illinois Soybean Growers, lobby the Illinois General Assembly and the U.S. Congress on behalf of Illinois producers. Farmers can support these efforts by giving both time and money, through membership dues to the organizations.

In addition to attending meetings, giving time means sharing the agricultural perspective on issues with their state and federal legislators.

One advantage farmers have, as family-owned businesses, is being able to tell a compelling personal story about how their family is working to feed the world.

Commodity organizations create opportunities for farmer members to share their stories through on-farm visits or in the halls of government in both Washington and Springfield.

If you are not already a member of organizations, like Illinois Soybean Growers, we encourage you to join today.

To learn more about ISG membership or information about area events, contact Ashley Barry, ISA's Engagement Manager at ashley.barry@ilsoy.org or call 309-660-5492.