A Year in the Life of a Farmer: Helping facilitate Illinois livestock expansion

Follow the Haag family throughout the entire year. Each month, look for updates about the family members and the decisions they make on their farm.

EMINGTON, Ill. — The Illinois Livestock Development Group is the go-to organization for anyone needing assistance in siting an animal facility.

One of the many hats Mike Haag wears is as ILDG chair. He has served on the board for five years representing the Illinois Pork Producers Association.

The Haag family, featured throughout the year in AgriNews’ “Year in the Life of a Farmer” series, operates a 17,000-head, wean-to-finish hog operation and grows corn and soybeans.

Haag talked about livestock advocacy and the ILDG in a recent interview.

How did you get involved with the group?

“The Illinois Livestock Development Group is made up of one representative each from the Illinois Beef Association, Illinois Pork Producers, Illinois Corn Growers Association, Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Milk Producers Association.

“Most often those representatives are on one of those boards. I was on the Illinois Pork Producers board, and they asked me to step up and be on that board.”

What is the role of ILDG?

“The idea behind it is to promote Illinois as a great option for livestock as opposed to other states and trying to facilitate people to choose Illinois. ILDG helps people through the process of establishing a site and going through the Livestock Management Facilities Act, following the rules, working their way through the paperwork and helping them understand how to go about that process.

“It’s also about telling of the strength of Illinois livestock and what it does for the state’s economy. The organization promotes livestock, not necessarily hogs, cattle or chickens. We have the corn, we have the soybeans, we would like to be raising livestock near those here in Illinois.”

What some of the organization’s strengths?

“We’ve done a good job helping communities understand livestock maybe a little better. When we have public hearings we’re hopefully able to help producers tell their side of the story and explain to people why livestock is good for their area and why it’s good for their economy.

“Nic Anderson (Illinois Livestock Development Group lead) has just been real key to our organization over the years of being able to tell our story. Nic knows the LMFA inside and out.

“He knows how to help people talk to their county boards, talk to their neighbors, work with road commissions and others and find options to be able to put these types of operations in an area.

“A lot of times it’s just talking to grain farmers and helping them understand why having livestock is good in their area, why it’s good to improve their basis and find new ways of using corn in an area.

“There are a lot of family farms where livestock has provided a great opportunity to bring back another family member to the farm and provides an opportunity to bring that extra income in to maybe allow that.”

It takes a strong team to promote and expand Illinois’ livestock industry.

“Tasha Bunting (Illinois Farm Bureau associate director of commodities and livestock programs) is the Farm Bureau point person. We also try to work with a lot of the county Farm Bureaus, too, in the areas where these are being built. Mark Gebhards (IFB executive director) has also been a part of that, too, but Nic is the main person.

“Tim Maiers (IPPA’s public relations director) also does a lot of work. The last couple of years we’ve tried to do more and more open houses with new buildings and Tim has kind of overseen that process. He does a great job going out to the communities and having open houses in those facilities.

“These open houses enable people to see inside these white buildings they see when their going down the road and show they’re really a great place for these animals to be raised and we really provide the optimum environment for them to grow and thrive.”