January 13

Watch for information coming as we kick off 2021 and work to stay relevant during these times. We are working to team up with Stephenson County Farm Bureau and COUNTRY Financial to offer different programs via Zoom that would normally be held in person. You saw last week the winter crop insurance updates will be held online. If you need more information on those, please let us know. We plan to also offer Estate Tax Planning and Retirement Planning as well here before spring field work begins.

The Young Leaders will be once again doing the Harvest for All. Proceeds from the Harvest for All go to support the food pantries that serve Carroll County. The Young Leaders began the Harvest for All in 2005. The end of the month they will begin making calls. The harvest for all relies on the generous donations of corn or cash by the farmers. Over the years, over $365,000 has been donated. How incredible is that.

Did you know that Case IH offers discounts to Farm Bureau members? As a member you can save $200 on select tractors and hay equipment and $500 on Vestrum and Maxxum series tractors and large square balers and self-propelled windrowers.

Ford changed its membership discount beginning in 2021. Members received $500 bonus cash on a new Ranger, F-150 or Super Duty.  The bonus cash is exclusively for active Farm Bureau members and does not include the Ford Raptor. Visit for fordfarmbureauadvantage.com for offer details. You do need to be a member for 30 days prior to purchase.

We are now two weeks in two the New Year. Did you make a resolution? I honestly prefer goals over resolutions. Oxford languages defines goal as: the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result. It defines resolution as a firm decision to do or not to do something. To me it is easier to set an attainable goal versus saying you are or are not going to do something.  Look how many vow to exercise every day or to lose 15 pounds. Why not start smaller with vowing to get healthier which encompasses so much more. Now that is just one example as there are many things people say they are going to do or stop doing. One other comes to wasting money or saving money. Do you set a goal or a resolution?

We set goals as an organization and it is that time of year again where we need to get them. Last year we set them and while we failed to reach all of them, circumstances came in the way that we were not able to control, we still felt good about what we were able to accomplish during the pandemic. The inability to have in person meetings was a large factor in that. Even right now unknowing when normal will return again is making it a challenge to move forward on a number of things. We will be focused on meeting the needs of our members remotely and through other various avenues.