WHO WE ARE

The Whiteside County Farm Bureau® Foundation provides educational opportunities that impact the future of the food and agricultural industry in Whiteside County, and around the world. This is accomplished through our Agricultural Literacy programs which provide educational materials, classroom presentations and other resources in an effort to educate our community from Kindergarten to Consumer. Meanwhile, our scholarship program allows students to attend the college of their choice as they pursue their dreams of an agricultural degree.

We’re able to make this impact through the generous support of individual sponsorships and corporate friends who share our mission of impacting the future of Agriculture.

OUR HISTORY

Since our start in 1988, the Whiteside County Farm Bureau® Foundation has awarded over $183,000 in scholarship funds. From just one scholarship awarded in 1992, the Foundation has dramatically increased the amount of scholarships and the number of recipients impacted each year.

The addition of our agricultural literacy program followed in 2000. Initially created to bring Agriculture in the Classroom programming to Whiteside County classrooms, the program has grown two education coordinators reaching nearly 12,000 students annually. This impact expands even further when you add in the teachers, parents and family members who learn about our programming, and the importance of Agriculture second hand.

In recent years, the agricultural literacy program has expanded outside the traditional elementary school classroom to include working with local FFA programs and summer programs like Farm Camp, Pollinator Celebration and Summer Agriculture Institute.

Working at the direction of a volunteer board of directors, the Foundation holds several fundraising events throughout the year. Without the support of our individual and corporate donors, our mission simply would not be realized. We share our donors energy and enthusiasm for agriculture and strive to represent their passion for the future of our industry.

Farm to Table Dinner 2026

Fundraising event showcasing local and regional foods while impacting agriculture education and FFA members across Whiteside County,