If you drive just a few miles outside of the city at this time of year (and maybe not even that far), you can’t help but notice that the landscape in Greater Peoria is changing. It’s harvest time, and for a city-kid like me, it never ceases to amaze me to see combines and other farm machinery working the fields in the dark, guided by headlamps and decades of experience. It is so easy in my profession to focus on “job producers” like manufacturing and healthcare, but overlook the importance of agriculture. When monthly job statistics are released, they always note that the numbers are for “nonfarm jobs.” However, regardless of how it appears in the statistics, agriculture is definitely the third leg of the stool that is our regional economy. Actually, it’s the first.
Let’s face it – farming came to Greater Peoria long before the manufacturing industry and certainly predates our dominant healthcare profile. Native tribes were drawn to this area for the same reason other settlers were: the amazing Illinois River and the intensely rich and fertile soil of Central Illinois. Agricultural abundance led to the region’s first nonfarm industry: alcohol production. Whiskey and beer need two things: grain and water. Greater Peoria had both of those! From those raw ingredients emerged an industry that helped shape the future of our country. As is often noted, the Union army in the Civil War was funded largely by excise taxes stemming from alcohol sales generated in Peoria. When Prohibition suppressed this industry in the early 20th century, Caterpillar was born by developing tractors to help farmers increase the productivity of their land. As a community, we would not be where we are today without farmers.
A few weeks ago, I hosted a small delegation of professionals from the Government of Quebec who wanted to learn more about the Greater Peoria area. We saw a lot over the course of two days, but a good deal of it was connected to our agricultural roots. They were very interested in manufacturing, but two of the four places we visited only exist because of farming. We visited the Case New Holland plant in Goodfield and Precision Planting’s operation center in Morton. Both companies are designing and manufacturing machinery and other solutions to improve agriculture – not just in Greater Peoria, but across the country and the world. They were impressed by this tie between manufacturing and agriculture. And it isn’t just the farm implement industry: As we drove from Goodfield back to Peoria, I was able to point out the fields of pumpkin along I-74 and the Libby’s canning plant. (Sadly, they just missed the amazing Morton Pumpkin festival.) If we had more time, I could have taken them to the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (the “Ag Lab”), Beck’s seed development center in El Paso or even the farm implement display at Wheels O’ Time museum. Much of our history and future here in Greater Peoria is tied to the productive use of our land.
Economic developers and community leaders should never take our farmers for granted. Beyond the work in the fields, thousands of jobs are supported by agriculture, even if they are tough to spot in the “numbers.” The entire farm supply chain is all about jobs: the development, sale, and delivery of inputs like seed, herbicides, and fuel; the manufacturing of machinery used to plant and harvest crops; the collection, storage, and transport of grains to market; and the conversion of agricultural products into other items that make our lives better. There was an ad campaign years ago that suggested that when you ate your dinner, you should “thank a farmer.” That is good advice. But in Greater Peoria, we have more than just our meals as a reason for gratitude.