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Illinois corn growers meet new lawmakers in DC

Illinois Corn Gowers met with newly elected lawmakers in DC last week.

President Matt Rush tells Brownfield after redistricting, Illinois has four new members of Congress and establishing relationships with them is important for ag policy this year.

“They are going to look for people they can rely on for information and we as Illinois corn growers want to be one of those first phone calls when it comes to ag policy, conservation and sustainability. We want to be that contact.”

He says while ICGA was focused on introductions, it did give the freshman lawmakers a chance to ask about items like the 2023 Farm Bill and Next Generation Fuels Act.

“We lost a big champion in Cheri Bustos when she decided not to run, so we are looking for someone to take that bill and run with it in the new congress. We had a lot of high-level conversations.”

He says ICGA plans to return to DC in March to dive deeper into policy discussions with all members of Congress representing Illinois.