Carbondale Reporter

In an April 7 Facebook post, Rep. Paul Jacobs cheered for Illinois farmers and their importance to the state's economy.

“$1 out of every $10 generated in Illinois originates from agriculture, impacting every person throughout the state,” he wrote. "Thank you to our farmers for powering Illinois' economy while feeding and fueling the world!”

Jacobs defeated Candidate Van Ikner after garnering 63.6% of the votes during the Nov. 2022 election.

Jacobs was first elected to the Illinois House in 2020. A Republican, their legislative experience includes serving on the Tourism Committee and Higher Education. Jacobs is a state representative who resides in Pomona, according to the Illinois House.

Vote Smart noted Jacobs voted against establishing an agriculture equity commission.

In his Facebook post, Rep. Jacobs shared a link to an AgriNews article. That article noted that 1.3% of the state's population worked on a farm in some capacity, and as Rep. Jacobs said in his Facebook post, "$1 out of every $10 generated in Illinois originates from agriculture, impacting every person throughout the state."

The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability reported the state’s agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industries garnered $10,277.5 in GDP in 2021.

In 2022, Illinois was top in the nation for both corn and soybean production, according to Brownfield Agricultural News. For corn, McClean County produced nearly 71 million bushels. Iroquois, Livingston, LaSalle and Champaign counties ranked 2nd through 5th in corn production nationally. Stark County had the highest average yield in Illinois at 240.6 bushels per acre, followed by Woodford and Ogle counties. When it comes to soybeans, McClean County produced 21.2 million bushels. Iroquois, Champaign, Livingston and LaSalle counties also ranked in the top ten for soybean production. And 11 counties were tops in average yield of soybeans too.

The Illinois Farm Bureau reported approximately Illinois has 482 thousand agriculture and related jobs.

AgriNews also reported that "the latest agricultural census reported more than $137 billion in Illinois’ economic activity is generated from production agriculture-related industries. Additionally, Illinois food and agricultural businesses accounts for more than $356 billion in economic output for the state. Cook County alone derives $17.8 million in economic activity from agriculture and connected industries.