Illinois Farm Bureau Ousted by AFBF
November 14, 2024
The Illinois Farm Bureau sued the American Farm Bureau Federation on Wednesday after the national group voted to oust the Illinois chapter and its 70,000 farmer members. The lawsuit seeks to halt the AFBF's decision, which takes effect on Dec. 20, 2024.
The AFBF Board voted to expel the Illinois Farm Bureau after the state chapter's affiliate, Country Financial, decided to eliminate a requirement for non-farm insurance policyholders to become Farm Bureau members.
Illinois Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan said in a statement to DTN on Wednesday that his group believes the AFBF is "choosing to abandon" more than 70,000 Illinois farmer members.
"We believe AFBF is choosing to put our farms, our families and our communities at risk at a time when we need support through federal policy," Duncan said. "In short, we believe AFBF has chosen to break its promises to Illinois farmers. We have no desire to leave AFBF, and we will fight to stay. We made good-faith efforts to mediate on Monday, and AFBF walked away from the table. I want to reassure you we are committed to defending the rights of IFB, our county Farm Bureaus and our farmer members throughout the state."
The Illinois Farm Bureau filed its lawsuit against AFBF on Wednesday in McLean County, Illinois, circuit court, asking a judge to step in and prevent AFBF from terminating IFB's membership.
The IFB also asked the court to enforce a previous settlement agreement with AFBF to continue using the Illinois Farm Bureau name, to require AFBF to pay monetary damages and to issue an injunction to maintain the status quo until the issue is resolved.
Zippy Duvall, president of AFBF, spoke to reporters Wednesday in Milwaukee about the Illinois Farm Bureau decision after he addressed members of the American Bankers Association's annual Ag Bankers Conference.
"We feel like they have broken our membership agreement we had with them by not supporting building membership and other factors in there," Duvall said. "I would want to stay out of the legal discussion, but it's about farmer control and a membership agreement."
Duvall said AFBF learned about the membership change in September. There was a mediation, but Duvall said it did not work.
"We just couldn't find any common ground on how we move forward and make sure that farmers stayed in control and support the membership piece," he said.
IFB'S LAWSUIT
The lawsuit stated that members pay their annual dues to the Illinois Farm Bureau and their local county Farm Bureau, then the IFB pays a portion of the dues to the AFBF.
The Illinois Farm Bureau then informed the AFBF of Country Mutual's decision to modify its underwriting rules effective Jan. 1, 2025.
"Weeks after learning about the management decision, AFBF began sending contentious emails to Illinois Farm Bureau accusing Illinois Farm Bureau and/or Country Mutual of taking action 'against AFBF's interest' that AFBF asserted 'threatens immediate, severe and long-lasting harm' with 'devastating financial impact' to AFBF," the lawsuit said.
Duncan was called to talk to the AFBF board on Oct. 2, 2024, according to the lawsuit, and he gave remarks on behalf of IFB and presented a written statement from Country Mutual's CEO Jim Jacobs.
Country Mutual said it made the decision not to require IFB membership for several reasons. Those included that a failure to pay membership dues could leave clients without insurance, the cost of insurance has increased from severe weather, inflation, economic pressures and other factors.
"While farm families remain one of Country Mutual's three core client groups, they are not its only clients," the lawsuit said. "Country Mutual has received decades of feedback from its non-farmer clients expressing dissatisfaction with the membership requirement."
AFBF sent a letter to IFB and county Farm Bureau officials on Oct. 25, 2024, "which again threatened to terminate Illinois Farm Bureau's membership in AFBF," the lawsuit said.
"In these communications, AFBF did not identify any provision of the settlement agreement or any membership agreement that Illinois Farm Bureau purportedly violated," according to the lawsuit. "Similarly, AFBF did not allege any improper use of the 'Farm Bureau' name by Country Mutual or any other Illinois Farm Bureau affiliate. Instead, AFBF's communications exclusively targeted Country Mutual management's decision to modify its underwriting rules."
In a statement to DTN, Duncan said the Illinois Farm Bureau believes the AFBF acted because "our affiliate insurance company does not want to force non-farmers to join."
Duncan said the AFBF's actions "do not align" with its words.
"AFBF touts its representation of American farmers and ranchers," he said. "Yet, it sources much of its stature and perceived power from people who are not farmers, but insurance customers. When membership for these individuals in Illinois becomes voluntary, AFBF's response is to abandon the very people it claims to represent: farmers. AFBF has fundamentally changed what it means to be part of the 'Farm Bureau family,' claiming that we Illinois farmers can only be part of the family if we allow AFBF to exert control over state Farm Bureaus and their affiliates and fall in line."
Duncan said the IFB is proving its commitment to serving its members, defending county Farm Bureaus and protecting the use of the Farm Bureau trademark in Illinois.
"We have been there for our county Farm Bureaus and members for more than 100 years and are as committed to you as ever," Duncan said in a statement. "That's being demonstrated by the IFB board who approved a significant financial mitigation grant program to secure county Farm Bureau financing amidst these changes. Our organization had similar discussions with AFBF on behalf of IFB and country about ways we could strategically partner and support them with additional financial resources, but those offers were repeatedly rebuffed."
ADDRESSING ILLINOIS FARMERS
During the bankers meeting in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Duvall was asked by a reporter what he would like to say to Illinois Farm Bureau members.
"I would tell them everything they are reading here is about farmer control," he said.
"Our organization was started 105 years ago to represent agriculture and farmers with one united voice, and we're going to continue to try to do that as we move forward. But our local, county Farm Bureau members need to understand that they are the power and strength of this organization, and whatever they want this organization to do, and what direction they want it to go in, and how we go in, it is their choice."
Duvall said that just like the American people going to the ballot box to vote, farmers need to vote on Farm Bureau issues.
"And they need to pay attention to what's happening and make sure that their wishes and thoughts are delivered through the process that this organization provides," he said.
An Illinois banker approached Duvall after he spoke to ask about the situation. The banker asked Duvall if farmers could directly become members of AFBF.
"That's something we would have to explore," Duvall said. "Hopefully, we never get to that."
He added, "This is all about farmer control, and it's in your all's hands."
AFBF ANNUAL MEETING
The AFBF annual meeting is set for late January in San Antonio.
A reporter asked how the controversy would affect young farmers and entrepreneurs from Illinois who were planning to compete in the AFBF competitions.
"That will remain to be seen," Duval said. "But this is not about all of the Farm Bureaus across the country against the farmers in Illinois. That's not what this is about. This is about reassuring that this organization stays in farmer control, whether it be policy, whether it be our affiliate companies or member benefits, farmers are supposed to be in control of those things."
Country Financial had more than 300,000 members who paid dues to the Illinois Farm Bureau, and $5 of those dues went to AFBF as well. That's roughly $1.5 million in annual revenue for the national organization affected.
Source: DTN
