The national organization recently expelled the state group
The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) has filed a lawsuit against the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) over its expulsion from the national organization.
As of Dec. 20, IFB will no longer be a member of the AFBF.
As a result of its removal the national organization, IFB will lose its influence on national lobbying activities and would lose the right to use the name “Illinois Farm Bureau.”
But removing naming privileges would violate a previous 1990 agreement, the lawsuit says.
“This termination violates a previous settlement agreement entered into between the parties, which secured Illinois Farm Bureau’s right to be known as “Illinois Farm Bureau,” the lawsuit reads.
IFB also claims letters the AFBF sent to other state presidents will cause reputational harm, and they make false and misleading statements.
The expulsion comes because of incoming insurance policy changes.
In September, Country Financial, an IFB-created insurance company, announced that as of Jan. 1, 2025, it would “still require an active IFB membership for farm-related policies but will no longer require and IFB membership for Personal Lines and Commercial policies.”
An IFB membership costs about $20 per year, with AFBF receiving $5 from each membership that it uses for various activities.
With IFB having about 400,000 total members, that equates to roughly $2 million in lost membership dues for the AFBF.
The decision to remove this requirement will be felt at multiple levels, AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a letter.
IFB believes AFBF is turning its back on Illinois farmers.
“We believe AFBF is choosing to abandon our more than 70,000 Illinois farmer members because our affiliate insurance company does not want to force non-farmers to join,” IFB President Brian Duncan said in a statement. “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.”