PARTNERS
Our largest budget items as pertain to livestock are the Illinois Corn Marketing Board’s annual sponsorship of the U.S. Meat Export Federation and the U.S.A. Poultry and Egg Export Council. Both these groups seek to increase exports of US beef, pork, poultry and eggs to other countries through education and promotion. ICMB feels this is an excellent avenue to increase corn consumption through livestock in the US.
Within Illinois, Illinois Corn Marketing Board is active in the Illinois Livestock Development Group. The ILDG is a coalition of several Illinois associations (Illinois Corn, Illinois Beef, Illinois Pork, Illinois Soybeans, Illinois Milk) whose goal is to increase the number of animal units within the state. ILDG primarily accomplishes this through work to create a better business climate for livestock, and their main activity is supporting Nic Anderson, the ILDG Business Developer.
Through ILDG, Illinois Corn provides grant monies for smaller farmers seeking to site or expand new buildings. The Illinois Department of Agriculture now prefers professional engineering plans when approving new construction; having a professionally drawn plan speeds up the approval process and streamlines the work of IDOA. However, for expansions of 300 animal units or less, the cost of a professional engineer is extremely cost prohibitive. Illinois Corn provides extra money for these small producers, helping them get new buildings built with animals in them sooner rather than later.