Emotion was high as farmers gathered in Chicago over the weekend for the 110th Annual Meeting of the Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB). President Brian Duncan and Vice President Evan Hultine expressed frustration with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) over the ongoing membership dispute.

Unraveling the Turmoil at the Illinois Farm Bureau Annual Meeting

Leadership Replacement Attempt

During Monday's business meeting, some members' distrust of state leadership became evident. Ben Hugenberg from Adams County moved to amend the agenda, seeking to add new business for the removal and replacement of Duncan and Hultine. However, outside counsel Paul Winters and parliamentarian Nancy Sylvester determined the motion was "out of order" as 20 days' written notice to the membership is required. A motion to appeal the decision led to over two hours of tense procedural discussion and a secret paper ballot vote. After the ballots were tallied, it was announced that the prevailing side agreed with the chair's ruling that the vote on removing the president was out of order and would not be placed on the agenda. The delegate body decided that the president and vice president would remain in their roles for the second year of their two-year terms, and the rest of the meeting continued shortly before lunch. In other action, four of the nine district directors up for reelection did not win their races. New district directors were elected in Districts 6, 8, 12, and 14. District directors also sit on Country Financial's board of directors.

Vice President as IFB Employee

Later in the meeting, two bylaw changes were proposed. The first was a proposal from the IFB board to reclassify the vice president as a part-time employee, allowing IFB to compensate the vice president via a salary instead of a per diem. Jennifer Vance, IFB general counsel, explained that Iowa Farm Bureau was under audit by the Internal Revenue Service and there was a provision indicating that anyone who is an officer of the organization and doesn't provide minimal services or is only paid for expense reimbursement must be classified as an employee. The IFB board had already voted to reclassify the position starting January 1, 2025. A delegate questioned why the board was putting the cart before the horse and not allowing delegates to vote. Vance responded that they had to follow the law regardless of the bylaws. The proposal was defeated with just 38% support. In a press conference immediately following the annual meeting, Duncan expressed confidence in "other options." He said they would analyze what options they had the next day, as they are an organization that follows the law and would look for a way to comply with both the law and the bylaws. He had smart people working on the issue.

Shorter Officer Terms

Secondly, a proposal from Kane County to reduce the terms of the president and vice president to one year effective in 2025 was presented. A Kane County delegate explained that IFB leaders were elected annually before 1994, and the terms were extended to two years due to the time elections consume. However, there have only been five contested elections over the last 30 years, making the argument for the two-year term moot. Most counties elect their leaders annually, added the Kane County delegate. A Tazewell County delegate spoke against the proposal, saying a lot of time would be spent on campaigning and it would change how one could do their job. Another delegate echoed that a person with two years to work could get things started and be more likely to complete them and that they were pushing for betterment for the Illinois Farm Bureau. They all needed to come together and do what was best for the organization. A Clark County delegate responded that the issue was accountability, as many felt left out and ignored. They needed to listen more when up for election every year. The proposal to shorten the terms of the top IFB leadership positions was defeated with just 34% support.