The Illinois Livestock Development Group (ILDG) recently welcomed Annie Hadden as its new Director of Livestock Development. As one of several commodity partners supporting ILDG alongside the Illinois Beef Association , Illinois Farm Bureau , Illinois Milk Producers Association , Illinois Pork Producers Association and Illinois Soybean Association , IL Corn has a vested interest in seeing livestock production thrive across the state. A strong livestock industry means a stronger market for Illinois corn, and a stronger Illinois agriculture overall. Get to Know Annie: Where It All Began For Hadden, the livestock industry isn't a career she stumbled into but one she was born into. Growing up in Southeastern Indiana, she spent every Sunday on her grandfather's farm, where her love for agriculture first took root. "My passion for the livestock industry started at a young age, right there on my grandpa's farm every Sunday afternoon," Hadden said. "Though at a small scale comparatively, there is livestock on both sides of my family lineage tracing back as far as the eye can see." When her family eventually moved to the farm after her grandfather's passing, Hadden threw herself into 4-H, showing dairy feeder steers, beef steers, and eventually sheep adding fuel to a fire that still burns brightly today. "My passion for the livestock industry grew and developed over time, and today, it burns as bright as ever," she said.
Illinois agriculture is once again stepping up to fight hunger.
U.S. cattle farmers are pushing back against a new plan to import more beef from Argentina, warning it threatens American livelihoods while doing little to help consumers.
