UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP A BRIDGE BETWEEN FARMERS AND COMMUNITIES

Perhaps you’ve seen it in previous news outlets, or perhaps you haven’t. Either way, the gist of the message is that the Illinois Corn Marketing Board believes in our own version of “If you build it, they will come.”

In October of last year, ICMB and the Normal CornBelters entered into a partnership – a partnership that is actually quite rare as far as sports teams and not-for-profit associations go.

The thing is, Illinois corn farmers know that what they do is confusing for everyone outside the agricultural industry. They understand that others just don’t get the dynamics of tillage, huge machinery, chemical applications, and export markets. They realize that everyone wants to know more about our nation’s food production systems, but doesn’t personally know a farmer to ask. And Illinois corn farmers want to change that.

There are parents, teachers, ministers, and policemen in Bloomington-Normal that live five minutes from a corn field, and even right in the middle of the largest corn producing county in the nation, that believe myths about corn production and the safety or efficiency of corn products. Farmers want to encourage the one-on-one dialogue that will improve understanding and build trust between farmers and consumers, even in their own communities.

A partnership with the CornBelters will help us do this. A partnership with the CornBelters makes us more visible and provides us the opportunity to stand in front of you and explain who we are, what we do, what’s important to us, and that we love our jobs.

So please consider joining us for a game at the Corn Crib and don’t be surprised to see us rooting for the home team with our families while we enjoy a cold beer and a ballpark hot dog. We are your neighbors and we are proud to be doing a job that we love while serving your needs and the needs of folks all over the world.

Lindsay Mitchell
ICGA/ICMB Project Coordinator