Public Outreach

Who are Illinois corn farmers?

One of our priorities is to help non-farmers understand who you are and what you do. We’ve focused quite a few our efforts in Chicago, knowing from research that consumers in Chicago are particularly disengaged from the agriculture going on downstate and that their votes impact your farms and families.

For a general overview of the outreach that we’re involved in, check out the following programs:

Illinois Farm Families: IL Corn provides this program in coalition with IL Beef, IL Milk, IL Pork, IL Soybean Associations, and the IL Farm Bureau to talk with Chicago moms and give them on-farm experiences.

Illinois Runs on HomeGrown Corn: This program gives non-farmers the opportunity to “visit” a farm using the newest technology!  We’re using virtual reality viewers and 360-degree filming technology to produce on-farm videos throughout the growing season.

CornBelters: IL Corn tests messages locally and attempts to change opinions in our own college town of Normal, IL by working with the Normal CornBelters.

U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Association: Through the National Corn Growers Association, IL Corn participates in this national collaborative, bringing factual information about agriculture to anyone who wants to know more.  This partnership also brought you the documentary, Farmland.