Budget wins, losses in agriculture space

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — It was a mixed bag of victories and losses for locally produced food and conservationist efforts when the Illinois General Assembly passed its $55.2 billion fiscal year 2026 budget.

The budget for next fiscal year includes over $394 million in tax increases, $237 million in fund sweeps and $216 million in delaying funds.

The budget expanded sales taxes on foreign and out-of-state income for businesses and raised tax rates on tobacco, vapes and sports gambling.

Liz Rupel, Illinois Stewardship Alliance deputy director, gave a rundown of food and conservation related matters in the budget.

Local Food Infrastructure

Lawmakers approved a third round of $2 million funding in support of the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Act.

With funding provided through the Illinois Department of Agriculture, 19 local food projects received funds last year that strengthened the local food system and increased access to agricultural products grown and raised in the Prairie State.

The Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program provides farms, food business, institutions, cooperatives and more help with investment in local food infrastructure and equipment necessary to scale up the processing, aggregation and distribution of local food raised or grown in Illinois.

“In a year where over $1 billion was cut from federal local food programs, the state of Illinois is investing and prioritizing local food systems again this year,” Rupel said.

Processing Exemptions

A bill lifting longstanding restrictions on small poultry farmers in Illinois was unanimously approved in both legislative chambers and awaits the governor’s signature.

Under the Illinois Processing Exemptions bill, farmers who process fewer than 7,500 birds annually would be exempt from state and federal inspections of their poultry operations or from having to send birds to U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved processing facilities. The previous threshold was 5,000.

The change, part of an update to the Illinois Meat and Poultry Inspection Act, also allows farmers to sell their poultry beyond their own farms, including at farmers markets, roadside stands and through delivery.

In addition, the bill eliminates the requirement that a person own an animal — not just poultry — for 30 days prior to processing for their own household use.

Food Deserts

A bipartisan bill was passed creating a Commission on Eliminating Food Deserts.

The commission will review the effectiveness of current state-led efforts to eliminate food deserts in Illinois and advise the General Assembly on policy, funding, initiatives and best practices for the elimination of food deserts.

Food Task Force

Lawmakers passed the Good Food Task Force Join Resolution. The task force will study how Illinois spends taxpayer dollars on food for state institutions and explore how to shift purchasing toward local and sustainable sources.

“Its findings and recommendations will help move Illinois closer to adopting a statewide food purchasing policy,” Rupel said.

Fall Covers

The cover crop rewards program that’s typically filled up for its allotted acres quickly after signup begins had $300,000 restored into it that was to have been cut.

The result was for the $960,000 Fall Covers for Spring Savings program that’s led by IDOA and supported by the state’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Funding restoration will cover roughly 150,000 acres of cover crops.

Eligible applicants receive a premium discount up to $5 per acre on the following year’s crop insurance, depending on individual crop insurance policies, for every cover crop acre enrolled and verified in the program.

SWCD Funding

The General Assembly’s budget did not restore the Soil and Water Conservation District’s funding to its $8.5 million of two years ago and it remains at $4.5 million.

The continued reduction of nearly half of SWCD budget will impact the 97 county offices and keep SWCDs at pre-2000 funding levels.

Sustainable SWCD Funding

Senate Bill 2387, the Ag Impact Bill, was designed to create a sustainable funding mechanism for SWCDs to offset the state’s budget cuts to the program. The bill did not make it to the floor for a vote.

SB 2387 would create the Agricultural Land Conservation Act.

A farmland conversion fee would be paid “by the buyer or lessee in a transaction for agricultural land that will be removed from production for the specific purpose to develop solar farms, wind farms, industrial parks, commercial areas, single and multiple family dwellings, or any other use that removes agricultural land from production, with certain requirements, of between $700 and $900 per acre, according to the amount of acres.”

The first $10 million would support county SWCD operations, with additional funds benefiting soil health and water quality programs.