title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CELEBRATING THE IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, Illinois is home to more than 71,000 farms, 96 percent of which are family-owned; and
WHEREAS, Illinois agriculture and related industries support nearly 482,000 jobs and generates nearly $51 billion; and
WHEREAS, Agriculture includes the growing, raising, and harvesting of crops for both human and animal consumption as well as the raising of livestock; and
WHEREAS, Cook County is home to more than 12,000 acres of farmland; and
WHEREAS, Agriculture contributes nearly $20 million to Cook County economy; and
WHEREAS, Over four percent of Cook County's total workforce is employed in an agricultural-related job including food handling and processing; and
WHEREAS, Cook County agriculture includes vegetable, floriculture, grain, nursery, and row crop production as well as livestock; and
WHEREAS, Cook County's agricultural landscape includes horses, ponies, mules, burros, and donkeys; and
WHEREAS, According to the United States Department of Agriculture 2017 Census of Agriculture, Cook County is ranked second in the state for equine production with a sales volume of over $1.5 million; and
WHEREAS, Cook County ranks twelfth in the state for nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod production; and
WHEREAS, Cook County is home to numerous examples of urban agriculture including the raising, cultivation, processing, marketing, and distribution of food in urban and suburban settings; and
WHEREAS, Urban agriculture generally involves outdoor and indoor vertical production, indoor warehouse farms, greenhouses, rooftop farms, hydroponic and aquaponic facilities; and
WHEREAS, Over two percent of Cook County farms are certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture; and
WHEREAS, Over 15 percent of Cook County farmers sell directly to consumers at farmstands, roadside markets, farmers markets and through community support agriculture; and
WHEREAS, Cook...
Click here for full text