Budgets, nutrient loss reduction, agritourism liability and grants for minority farmers are all bill topics Illinois Farm Bureau is keeping an eye on at the state capitol.
Mark Gebhards tells Brownfield with a condensed legislative session, he’s not sure how many items will get through, but the state budget is top of mind and IFB is asking for an additional $750,000 to the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s budget for animal disease preparedness.
“We need to get some additional field veterinarians on staff at the Department of Agriculture in the event of a catastrophic animal disease outbreak like foot and mouth disease or African Swine Fever.”
Another priority item that IFB initiated are bills in both the house (HB 5487) and senate (SB 3107) addressing agritourism liability.
