Carroll County Farm Bureau

By Chastity Welch, Farm Bureau Manager

Farmers, there is still time to register for the America’s Farmers Grow Communities. America’s Farmers Grow Communities is sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, to support farming communities by offering farmers the opportunity to enter to win a $2,500 donation for their favorite community charity. Recipients

could include FFA, 4-H, schools or other civic organizations. It takes only 5 minutes to apply. A form needs to be filled out with the farmer’s name and contact information along with who the designated recipient is. There is no purchase necessary, but you do have to be actively engaged in farming a minimum of 250 acres of corn, soybeans, and/or cotton. May I suggest as the recipient you designate the Carroll County Farm Bureau Foundation? The CCFB Foundation provides scholarship to students pursuing degrees in agriculture, agri-business, or ag-related fields of study. They also provide support for Agriculture in the Classroom, which is a program that continues to grow.

You can fill out an application at www.growcommunities.com or we have forms that can be mailed in here at the office. The deadline to apply is November 30, 2012. So if I convinced you to put the Foundation or not, doesn’t matter as much as your applying as $2500 will come back to Carroll County. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Are you traveling this holiday season? Does the thought of staying with relatives deter you from wanting to travel? If so, remember as a Farm Bureau member you can save up to 20% on hotels. You can save 20% through Choice Hotels and up to 20% off the best available rate with Wyndham Hotel Group. So think twice before you decide to stay over at some second cousin twice-removed’s house or that great aunt’s. Advance reservations are needed however they can even be made 5 minutes in advance. So it can even be a last minute decision. If you have lost your value card with the discount code, just give our office a call.

Did you forget to pay your 2012-2013 Carroll County Farm Bureau membership dues? If so, don’t worry, you can still pay them. We are also now set up to take Mastercard, Visa, and Discover as payment. We are not able to accept it at this time for purchases of fruit and nuts nor candles, it is strictly limited to membership dues. We hope to be able to accept them for over the counter sales in the future.

A recent study came out on the economic impact of livestock in each county in Illinois. Here in Carroll County, livestock has a tax impact of $4,289,000. This includes beef, dairy, hogs, and sheep. Just the livestock account for over 5% of the direct employment in the county. Carroll County ranks fifth in the rank for livestock output. We rank number one in beef and sixth in dairy. As you can see Carroll County is a great livestock producing area in Illinois. Statewide livestock has an economic impact of $3.5 billion.

Next week our office will be closed on Thursday, November 22 and Friday, November 23 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We hope you all enjoy the day with your families. If you need to reach us about your picture appointment, you can leave a message on our voicemail and we will get back to you when we come in for pictures on Saturday.

Farm Bureau Classifieds

Carroll County Farm Bureau members can place up to two (2) free classified ads per week, with a limit of 250 characters per ad (not including spaces). Ads are limited to personal or farm items for sale/wanted to buy, or farm labor or services available or wanted. No ads for the sale or rental of real estate, garage sales, or commercial businesses will be accepted. To place an ad, call the Farm Bureau office at 815- 244-3001 by noon Friday to get your ad in the following week’s paper.

FS: HP 4300 series printer/fax/scanner/copier for $5.  Full size computer keyboard for $5.  Nokia mini speakers with a set of Magnovox earbuds for $5. Staples computer hub $5. Lanark cell 815-238-2158

FS: Happy Hens Healthy Eggs, chicken and duck eggs. 815-275-2806

FS: Baby crib with mattress. 815-273-2426

FS: LP gas heater for shop or garage $250. 815-493-2778 or 815-297-5370