Western Illinois University Collegiate Farm Bureau Shows Appreciation for Farmers

Fall harvest is arguably the busiest time of year for row crop farmers in the Midwest. Farmers work long hours harvesting their crops, starting early in the morning and running late into the evening. Many farmers rarely take the time to rest, relax or eat.

In hopes of relieving some stress for farmers in the area, Western Illinois University Collegiate Farm Bureau put together over 400 harvest snack bags. These bags contained water, snacks and a note from Collegiate Farm Bureau members expressing their appreciation for the long hours and hard work farmers put in during harvest.

Collegiate Farm Bureau members worked together to assemble the bags before returning home for fall break with the bags in hand. Students then delivered the bags at their local grain elevators while interacting with farmers and increasing the project's geographical reach.

To help fund the project, the Collegiate Farm Bureau applied for a mini-grant coordinated by the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers & Ranchers program. The grant awards $500 to Collegiate Farm Bureau chapters to aid in chapter recruitment, leadership development, community service outreach, officer development, purchase of educational materials and/or registration costs for conferences.

“The AFBF mini-grant was a huge help in making our chapter’s annual Farmer Snack Bag donation happen,” said Western Illinois Collegiate Farm Bureau Adviser Lori Jackson. “Giving back to our community is something our chapter loves to do, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the AFBF mini-grant.”

Collegiate Farm Bureau Mini-Grant Program

The 2023-2024 AFBF Collegiate Farm Bureau Mini-Grant program is open for applications through Sept. 21. For more information about the program, including how to apply, visit fb.org/cfbgrants or email yfr@fb.org.

Since the program’s launch in fall 2017, AFBF has awarded over 60 mini-grants.

Collegiate Farm Bureau

There are over 120 Collegiate Farm Bureau chapters across the U.S., focused on empowering students to be united voices for agriculture, while building skills in leadership and communications, facilitating networking opportunities and offering scholarships.

Sydney Garrett is the communications assistant for the American Farm Bureau Federation.