The Vermilion County Farm Bureau is holding some special events this month leading up to National Agriculture Day on March 21st. Some area farmers will be bagging groceries for shoppers at the three Danville area County Market Stores on Thursday, March 16th.
Tom Fricke, Director of Information for the Vermilion County Farm Bureau, says the event from 1:30 until 3:30 p.m. gives shoppers a chance to meet some of the people who grow their food. The bagging will occur at County Market Stores at the Village Mall and Towne Centre in Danville and at the Tilton store.
The Vermilion County Farm Bureau will also be distributing around 20,000 place mats to over 25 restaurants around Vermilion County. The place mats give the Farm Bureau a chance to inform patrons about trade, conservation efforts, crop and livestock production, and area employment related to farming and food production. Visitors coming to Vermilion County for the NJCAA Division II Men’s National Basketball Tournament next week will find the place mats on restaurant tables throughout the county.
The place mat project is co-sponsored by several area agribusinesses, including Country Financial, Danville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Farm Credit Illinois, Illini FS, WDAN Radio, Birkey’s Farm Store, First Midwest Bank, Farmers National Company, Learnard Seed Service, Midwest AgriCredit Company, The Parks Companies, Longview Bank and Trust, Full Fill Industries, WITY Radio, and Weston Seed Service. Fricke says the support of these companies is another example of the big impact agriculture has on our local economy.
The Vermilion County Farm Bureau says American farmers are working harder than ever, and it shows. Today, each American farmer feeds more than 144 people. And the need for food produced in the United States is dramatic. Agriculture is the nation’s number one export and is vitally important in sustaining a healthy economy, added Fricke. And he adds farmers across Vermilion County are proud to be a part of the big adventure we call agriculture.
