History of the Livingston County Farm Bureau

The period from 1909 through 1914 was called the "Golden Age of Agriculture in America". With the better methods of farming and the advances in agriculture, the need for "farm experts" was acknowledged. These experts would be able to bring all the available knowledge about agriculture to farmers. This is how Farm Bureau began.

A mass meeting was held on September 27, 1912, and a committee was appointed to look into the possibility of forming an organization of farmers in Livingston County.
The group met again on October 1, 1912. The meeting was called by P.A. Balbach with W.H. Bentley to act as chairman and George Brunskill as secretary. Mr. Brunskill reported that the committee had named the organization the Livingston County Soil and Crop Improvement Association. They proceeded to organize by electing W.H. Bentley as the first president of the organization. C.A. Rollins was elected Secretary, and Omar P. Wagner was elected Treasurer. Livingston County was the fourth county in the state to form this type of organization. Their objective was stated as "The Betterment of Agricultural, Horticultural, and General Farming Conditions."

A meeting was later held at the Armory in Pontiac to discuss the advantages available to farmers in the united effort of this organization. Many present at that meeting subscribed for membership in the association. At another meeting held at Pontiac City Hall, nine directors were elected. They were: John Mies - Avoca Township, J.W. Porter - Owego Township, F.N. Hossock - Odell Township, Harvey Hull -Saunemin Township, Robert Brunskill - Esmen Township, George L. Potter - Rooks Creek Township, George Brunskill - Pontiac Township, W.A. Bentley - Pontiac Township, and Frank C. Barton - Amity Township.

On February 10, 1913, Roy C. Bishop was hired as a full time farm advisor by the Livingston County Soil and Crop Improvement Association. He was a graduate of the University of Illinois and was familiar with the Hopkin's System of soil building. Under the guidance of Mr. Bishop, the Association began to buy fertilizer, seed, etc. in large quantities, to provide good quality products to its members. Livingston County saw the benefits of cooperative activities and was among the original 11 counties to form the Illinois Agricultural Association in Peoria in 1916.

In 1920, the board of directors of the Livingston County Farm and Crop Improvement Association voted to change their name to Livingston County Farm Bureau. The Livingston County Farm Bureau's home office has been located in seven different locations in Pontiac since its beginning. These locations are: Pontiac City Hall (1912-1915), Livingston County Courthouse (1915-1932), Pontiac YMCA (1932-1933), Plum Street Office (1933-1937), Madison Street Office (1937-1978), 115 West Howard Street (1978 - 1991), and 901 West Howard Street (1991 - present).

Illinois Farm Bureau

The Illinois Farm Bureau was started January 26, 1916, when representatives of a loosely-knit group of county agricultural organizations got together. The meeting took place in Davenport Hall on the University of Illinois campus. The decision was made to form the Illinois Agricultural Association. The first office of the Illinois Farm Bureau was located in the Edison Building at 72 West Adams Street in Chicago. In 1961, the Illinois Farm Bureau moved its offices to Bloomington.

Within months of organizing, a resolution was passed by the statewide group to support legislation regarding grain trade, and plans were made for securing a pure-seed law and for repealing the method of collecting personal and real estate taxes. The organization also resolved to seek appointments to the State Livestock Commission that would include farmers and a veterinarian. Within one year, cooperative-buying efforts had begun. Purchases included such items as tires and seeds.

"To put it briefly, the story of Farm Bureau is simply the account of people who believe the most effective action on a given problem can be achieved through concerted cooperative effort. With faith in this principle and loyalty to the organization, there has always been a nucleus of dedicated men and women who have been the moving force of the organization," Grant-Quick said.

The 2001 mission statement of the Illinois Farm Bureau is to "improve the economic well-being of agriculture and enrich the quality of farm family life." This has always been the vision of the Farm Bureau organization.