BLOOMINGTON — The Illinois Farm Bureau will be allowed to remain a member of the American Farm Bureau Federation until pending litigation between the two entities is resolved, the national organization announced this week.
In November, AFBF voted to eliminate IFB's membership effective Dec. 20 after a decision by Country Financial, an IFB affiliate, to no longer require its policyholders to have an active IFB membership, whether they are farmers or not.
Initially, non-agricultural policyholders with Country Financial would be signed up for an associate membership with IFB for an annual fee of $20. This gave clients access to more than 300,000 discounts on a wide range of services.
But after hearing from non-farming clients for decades about their dissatisfaction with the IFB membership, as well as the rising costs of insurance, Country Financial made the decision to eliminate the membership requirement.
This decision, which goes into effect Jan. 1, has the potential to reduce the number of Illinois Farm Bureau members from 400,000 to around 78,000. However, representatives of Country Financial were confident that many of its non-agricultural clients would maintain their memberships.
IFB President Brian Duncan said AFBF's decision is a positive step forward in the bureau's pursuit of retaining its membership and continuing to work together for the common good of farmer members.
"It is important to note that AFBF only delayed its decision until the outcome of our court case," Duncan said. "While the timeline of this pending litigation is uncertain, we remain optimistic and look forward to having our rights affirmed in court."
The bureau's expulsion would also prevent IFB from operating under the name "Illinois Farm Bureau." In response, IFB filed a motion for preliminary injunction to allow the bureau and its county Farm Bureaus to continue using the Farm Bureau name in Illinois.
AFBF Executive Vice President Joby Young said although the board is confident IFB's termination will be upheld in court, postponing the termination date is a reasonable way to minimize harm. It also allows Illinois Farm Bureau members to participate in the AFBF 2025 Convention and annual delegate meeting in January.
“The AFBF board has not changed in its determination that the changes in Illinois harm Illinois farmers, Illinois county Farm Bureaus, and the entire Federation or that the actions violate the obligations of Illinois Farm Bureau under the AFBF membership agreement and bylaws," Young said.
According to the lawsuit, expelling IFB from the national organization could violate an existing settlement agreement between the two parties.
After attempting to register the "Farm Bureau" designation with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, AFBF agreed in 1990 not to seek to limit or terminate IFB's membership rights by reason of business activities of bureau affiliates.
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Contact Drew Zimmerman at 309-820-3276. Follow Drew on Twitter: @DZimmermanLee