These days with all the new pronouns, changing definitions of things I’ve known for decades and misinformation peddled by “social influencers” it’s hard for anyone to define anything anymore. The only social influencer I ever knew in my life were called mom and dad, and dependent on their mood at the time or their answer truly influenced your social life.
A resounding “NO” from pop when I asked to borrow the car usually signaled that my social life in the moment was going to be restricted.
Believe it or not it’s even becoming difficult to define what a “farm” is these days. I always thought it was any place that someone grew food and fiber. Now we have solar farms, wind farms, technology farms and the list goes on.
But let’s look at farms in Illinois and see what the picture looks like. It might be familiar.
96% of Illinois’ 70,900 farms are family owned.
Illinois has 27 million acres of farmland – 24 million cropland acres, 824,100 pastureland acres, and 1.4 million forestland acres.
In 2021, Illinois ranked:
#1 in the nation in soybean and pumpkin production.
#2 in the nation in corn production.
#4 in the nation in pork production.
#2 in the nation for farmers markets.
Renewable Fuels in Illinois:
Illinois ranks third nationwide in ethanol production and fourth in the nation in biodiesel production.
$1 out of every $10 generated in Illinois comes from agriculture.
More than $137 billion in Illinois’ economic activity stems from production-agriculture-related industries.
Illinois food and agriculture businesses account for more than $359 billion in economic output in the state.
Cook County derives $17.8 million in economic activity from agriculture and related industries.
One in 17 Illinois jobs are related to agriculture; agriculture and related industries account for more than 482,000 jobs in Illinois.
Illinois agriculture contributes $25.1 billion in gross receipts from sales of crops & livestock.
Pretty impressive numbers. For those of us who live in rural Illinois that economic activity derived from farms is usually the number one economic engine that drives our counties.
So what the heck let’s take a look at Ogle County shall we!
Total jobs created from agriculture – 5,079
Added jobs from livestock production – 3,036
Total value added from agriculture - $428 million
Value added from livestock - $237 million
Added household income - $208 million
Market value of crops - $208 million
Market Value of livestock - $68 million
Total farms – 1,618
Farmland as a percentage of the property tax base – 15 percent
Ogle County also ranks in production in the State of Illinois as
Sixth in cattle and calves, seventh in nursery, greenhouse and floriculture, ninth in other crops and hay, 14th in corn, eighth in total number of farms, 16th in beef cows, and eighth out of 102 counties for total number of farms.
One definition I know hasn’t changed is “rural” and here in Ogle County we fit that definition to a tee.
So while you are trying to figure out if it’s he or she, it or that, him or her, man or woman, mother or birthing parent as you drive through Ogle County look around. You just might see a farm, just like the old days.
“Opportunity is missed by most people, because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” -Thomas Edison
Ron Kern is the manager of the Ogle County Farm Bureau.
