County Officials To Congress: Make Farm Credit Invest in Local Food

Will County, Illinois Board Members Carry Their Cause to National Convention

Will County (IL) Board Member Julie Berkowicz attended the recent National Association of Counties conference in New Orleans and advocated for national adoption of her county's "Good Food for All" policy.

This article was written by Bob Heuer, a frequent contributor to Local Food Forum. His bio is at the end of the article.

Last month, Will County Board member Julie Berkowicz went to New Orleans on a mission.

The Naperville Republican attended the annual meeting of the National Association of Counties (NACo). She sought to convince fellow elected officials to approve a proposal, which urged county-led regional initiatives to collaborate on funding plans to increase the supply, availability and affordability of locally produced/processed foods.

NACo did approve the Will County “Good Food For All” policy... but without its provision calling for Congress to mandate funding requirements for the Farm Credit System.

Modernizing Farm Finance

The Farm Credit system is a century-old creature of Congress and the largest agricultural lender in the U.S. In recent years, Farm Credit’s profits have soared in no small part due to federal bailouts that enable large-scale commodity farmers to repay loans. In 2025, its profits totaled $8 billion.

As I reported in an August 5 analysis for Local Food Forum, Farm Credit reform in the federal Farm Bill could unleash the billions of dollars in private investment to scale regional food systems nationwide.

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Will County Board Member Dan Butler

Will County Board member Dan Butler said he learned at a 2025 NACo meeting why some county officials oppose Farm Credit reform. The Frankfort Republican said they were Farm Credit borrowers fearful of any change that could lead to reductions in their annual dividend checks.

Seeking Local Action

On September 1, Berkowicz and Will County Board member Judy Ogalla will take up “Good Food For All” with their fellow Legislative Committee members. The proposed resolution urges the full Board to press Will County’s congressional delegation to demand the Farm Credit reform.

Richard J. Durbin, Illinois' retiring senior U.S. senator, is in a position to make a difference. He’s a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee that in coming weeks will continue consideration of a new Farm Bill proposal. (Durbin and the four U.S. House members Will County are all Democrats.)

Will County Board Member Judy Ogalla.

“Good Food For All” should be a bipartisan issue, Ogalla says. The Monee Republican initiated this policy discussion as a lesson from COVID-19. The only farmer on the 22-member Will County Board, Ogalla remembers April 2020 when widespread worker illness led large national food processors to briefly shut down.

In the first weeks of the pandemic, farmers had to plow under crops and slaughter livestock because of supply chain interruptions. Grocery shoppers were startled to see empty produce bins and meat displays.

Ogalla says emergency preparedness is the first reason why counties should work together to build local food networks that complement global supply chains. There is consumer demand to shorten the geographic distance between farm and fork. The challenge is how to stimulate this market growth.

Leveraging the Power of NACo

Last month in New Orleans, Berkowicz encountered both Republican and Democratic county officials from throughout the U.S. All see pressures to pave over farmland and other natural resources. There’s lots of interest to collaborate with counties throughout the country to preserve and grow our agricultural resources while creating stronger local food and farming networks.

Berkowicz grew up on a Michigan farm and is in her third term on the Will County Board. She came home from the NACo meeting with a new resolve to help build a regional model to assist people experiencing natural disasters or food shortages.

She envisions “Good Food For All’ as a starting point for a discussion about making both Will County and Chicagoland more resilient through well-resourced local food and farming networks. “As we make our communities stronger, we make our country stronger," she says.

Bob Heuer is director of HNA Networks, an Evanston, Illinois based consultancy that supports the growth and development of regional farm and food economies.  HNA Networks authored the “Good Food For All” policy for Will County, Illinois board members.  From 2004 to 2011, Bob consulted for Farm Credit’s Washington lobbyist, the Farm Credit Council. He can be reached at bob@hnanetworks.net

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