The Place We Call Home

The Place We Call Home

BRAD DAUGHERTY | ISA GOVERNMENT RELATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN

Illinois is woven together by communities of unique character and quality, carried by the people and traditions that give voice to the generations of tomorrow. As human beings, we’re born with a need to belong, which is why community is so important: it helps us feel that we’re connected to one another and adds meaning to our lives. Community creates a sense of purpose, builds social connections, and offers a support network.

Getting involved at the local level with community boards is an important value of the Illinois Soybean Association Board of Directors. Just as farmers are the experts on their own operations, citizens understand their community’s exclusive challenges and opportunities. Community boards work on the principle that everyone should take equal responsibility, and that every individual is integral to the success of the community.

For farmers, community boards are excellent places to learn the art of advocacy, promoting the issues that impact our farms, and making our voices heard on topics that are important to us and our neighbors. Community leadership promotes professional development. Acquiring new skills, and building knowledge and experience can help prepare individuals for leadership roles at the state, and even national level.

Being involved with a community board also provides excellent networking opportunities. You might be surprised at just how many contacts you can gain through a community-based board. Serving on a board allows farmers the opportunity to network within their communities. Networking is a key aspect of serving on the board, but the decisions made at the local level are integral for Illinois farmers' success.

This issue of Illinois Field & Bean , “Go Local: Returning Soybean Checkoff Investments to Illinois Communities,” explores the ways your checkoff investments are advancing wide-ranging, high-value regional programs across the state. We’ll provide a birds-eye view of different community fixtures from across Illinois, including bridges and critical infrastructure points, agribusiness companies and organizations, historical monuments, and hometown heroes who are making waves across the agricultural landscape. You’ll read about ISA’s checkoff-funded community efforts around the state that build demand for and raise the profile of soybean production and its importance to every Illinoisan.

North, south, east, and west, our initiatives can be found on the road, in rural communities, metropolitan areas, at the statehouse, and beyond. We’re using our community relationships to build demand for soybeans and create new opportunities for Illinois farmers. And you’ll read about them from community members themselves.

As soybean farmers, we make a living by the crop we give to the world. But we make a life by what we give to the friends, families, and neighbors in the place we call home.