Illinois Corn Farmers Recognize Illinois Senator Joyce

Nov 22, 2023

By Lindsay Mitchell

Illinois State Senator Patrick Joyce received the ethanol award from the IL Corn Growers Association (ICGA) at the group’s annual meeting on November 21, 2023, in Bloomington.

Senator Joyce sponsored a bill including ICGA’s top state priority: passage of an E15 tax incentive. The bill was signed into law on June 7, 2023.

The ethanol incentives established in SB 1963 (Public Act 103-0009) reduce the percentage of retail sales tax on E15 blends by 10 percent, reduce mid-range blends by 20 percent, and reauthorize the 100 percent reduction of sales tax for majority blended ethanol fuels (E-85). The tax incentives will sunset on December 31, 2028.

“Senator Joyce is one of the only members of the Illinois General Assembly with firsthand knowledge of the agriculture industry,” said ICGA President and Fairfield, IL farmer Matt Rush. “We are so grateful for his leadership on ag issues, and for his leadership specifically on this tax incentive that will support markets for Illinois family farmers for years to come.”

Sen. Joyce represents Illinois’s 40^th Senate district including a majority of Kankakee County, some of Will County and some of Grundy County.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.