[Skip to Content]

Welcome to the Illinois Farm Bureau County Activities of Excellence
If you have any questions, please contact Training & Development at 309-557-2038 or awards@ilfb.org

SUBMIT AWARDS - Due by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 12, 2025

SUBMIT GOALS - Due by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 1, 2025  for September 1, 2025-August 31, 2026 Fiscal Year

Goals
The goals of the County Activities of Excellence program are to:

  1. Recognize county Farm Bureaus for program excellence.
  2. Encourage & assist county Farm Bureaus in setting goals and priorities.
  3. Inspire and promote innovative programming to meet member needs.
  4. Promote programming in key areas.
  5. Provide a resource to counties for the purpose of developing new programs.

Awards
Excellence Awards will be given in the following program areas. All program descriptions submitted for an Excellence Award will be limited to 500 words each.

  1. Ag Literacy
  2. Farm Income & Development
  3. Health & Safety
  4. Advocacy
  5. Local Affairs
  6. Engagement & Outreach
  7. Membership Value
  8. CFB Foundation & Fundraising

Three additional awards will be given to recognize outstanding efforts by CFBs:

  1. New Horizon Award – to encourage new and innovative programs
  2. Liberty Bell Award – to recognize outstanding efforts on issues of public policy impacting state and local Farm Bureau organizational priorities
  3. Pinnacle Award – highest-level award given to the most outstanding county in each membership group to recognize overall program excellence as it relates to the County Farm Bureau's goals and priorities

Membership Groups

Click HERE to view your membership group. YOU are responsible for selecting the right membership group in each application.  If the wrong one is selected by the applicant and the program wins, the application will be thrown out and the second-place application will win that category. 

Award Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for any award, counties must submit their goals and priorities set by the CFB Board by the specified date (to be determined by IAA Staff). Attainment of membership quota is not required to apply for any award.

However, bonus points may be awarded to counties applying for the Pinnacle Award. To be eligible for bonus points, a county must have a submission in all 8 CAE categories (either as an individual or as part of a multi county submission) and obtain the following: 

  • Achievement of 2 membership quota categories = 3 bonus pts.
  • Achievement of 3 membership quota categories (Triple Honor) = 5 bonus pts.

 

What a Great Idea Program Showcase

Each winning CAE (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) and New Horizon program will be included in the What A Great Idea Showcase. The PDF will be made available to county Farm Bureaus following IFB’s Annual Meeting via the Leaders’ Portal, allowing counties to learn more about programs across the state.