Local Food

We are down to the short rows of 2024. Winter is upon us. Christmas is days away. The older I get, the more quickly the days, weeks, months and years pass by.

During a special reception for county leaders at the 2024 Indiana Farm Bureau State Convention, the organization recognized the achievements of county Farm Bureaus in 2024.

Cattle and sheep graze on permanent pasture, cover crops and crop residue on Pasture Grazed Regenerative Farm in northern Illinois.

If you want to enjoy a taste of Indiana goodness, add an Indiana Grown Holiday Box to your Christmas wish list this year.

Just west of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway you can find Freshly Dairy — a small, family-owned farm that prides itself in its mouthwatering milk and long product shelf life.

Americans who think of petrified hot dogs, frozen burritos and salty snacks when they imagine getting food at a gas station or truck stop may be pleasantly surprised during their next road trip.

Cabbages are not exactly the typical big university landscaping, but at Northern Illinois University, cabbages — and other vegetables, fruits and herbs — are the first step in what could be a food revolution.

Chef Bryan Flower hurries toward one of the raised “free-to-pick” vegetable, flower and herb beds that flank Neptune North residence and dining hall on the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb.

Volunteers built a high tunnel with Purdue Extension in Lake County — the first phase of a new demonstration garden for the community in northern Indiana.

Coffee Creek Farmers Market in Chesterton won Indiana’s Ultimate Farmers Market Challenge this year.

The Fort Wayne TinCaps and Indiana Pork are donating nearly 2,300 meals of ground pork to the Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana.

Schools across the country are celebrating National Farm to School Month this October.

An Illinois State University organics class toured a farm and milling facility to see up close the field-to-bag process.

Regenerative farming and soil health are the focus for pastured-raised animals at Terra Vitae Farms.

Illinois Stewardship Alliance representatives took the oft-used phrase “where the rubber meets the road” literally as they traveled across Illinois to host listening sessions as part of the group’s golden anniversary celebration.

Over its 50-year history, the Illinois Stewardship Alliance’s causes may have shifted, but it has never lost its focus on advocating for local farmers and communities.

A team of nine people from Huntington University traveled to serve local communities through sustainable agriculture projects to Momostenango, Guatemala.

Beef production spans generations in the Hanson and Kuipers family in Iroquois County where they operate a forage-based program utilizing a paddock grazing system along with growing corn, soybeans and wheat.

Several tribal nations reported that a federal food distribution program they rely on has not fulfilled orders for months and in some cases has delivered expired food.

Amid all the hoopla surrounding the 2024 elections, the Indiana Bacon Festival has a ticket that most everyone can agree on — “Bacon for President 2024.”

An agricultural production system that integrates crops and livestock into a single interconnected practice in one field was the top yielder in Precision Technology Institute’s trials last year.

Indiana food banks will receive $2 million to support their efforts in feeding Hoosiers, according to an announcement from Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.

Indiana State Fair guests shopped locally made and grown products at the Indiana Grown Marketplace this year. The store featured 407 products representing over 90 Hoosier businesses.

Corteva Agriscience is not only innovating to ensure a safe, nutritious and affordable food supply. Employees are getting their hands dirty in a garden and donating the produce, honey and flowers to others in need.

The DeKalb County History Center is one of five organizations in the United States selected to host the “Food: Gathering Around the Table” exhibit.

The Land Conservancy of McHenry County has received a $135,000 grant from the Chicago Community Trust to support the growth of the local food system in McHenry County.

The earth provides an overabundance of food, but the distribution of that food is the struggle.

Wet and hot conditions in northern Illinois are impacting crop growth, as well as providing an opportunity for increased disease pressure this year.

The Illinois Agri-Women organization has awarded five scholarships for students studying agriculture.

Oregon High School students didn’t just learn framing and roofing in their ag construction class — they also learned about giving back and how hunger might be living right next door.

The Illinois General Assembly approved a record $53.1 billion spending plan that included some good and bad news for agriculture-related programs.

Dakarai Howard focuses on urban agriculture and food systems as the senior policy adviser for the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Food companies are using technology to improve sustainability at every step of the supply chain.

Indiana Farm Bureau awarded scholarships to three young women pursuing careers in agriculture.

Kate Nelson was in Los Angeles pursuing her passion for stand-up comedy and theater when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for grants to support urban agriculture and innovative production.

The announcement of the first Local Food Infrastructure Grant recipients is part of multiple efforts pushed by local food system proponents and the legislators in their corner.

Nineteen local food projects were awarded grants aimed at strengthening the local food system and increase access to agricultural products grown and raised in Illinois.

In a country known for its robust agricultural industry, it is disheartening to know just how many people struggle with hunger.

Bethany Community Gardens is offering several free gardening classes this spring with a free meal included.

A celebration of agriculture that crossed generations kicked off the 54th annual Illinois Agricultural Legislative Day. The event drew nearly 50 diverse agricultural organizations and about 1,000 FFA members together to meet with lawmakers.

The Rahn family operates a centennial farm in northern Illinois that includes row crops, hay production, cattle feeding and a cow-calf herd.

Illinois Ag in the Classroom 2024 Teacher of the Year Amanda Stanko was recently named as a National Excellence in Teaching About Agriculture Award winner.

Indiana State Department of Agriculture is hosting an Indiana pavilion at the 2024 Sweets & Snacks Expo, May 14-16 at the Indianapolis Convention Center.

On the east side of Indianapolis, there was an 8-mile radius void of grocery stores. Now a new store, Indy Fresh Market, provides critical access to food in the area.

This winter, the Northeast Indiana Farm to School Team sourced and distributed over 850 pounds of sweet potato grown by Berry Hill Farm to 20 schools in 11 different school districts across northeast Indiana.

From farm to freezer, the beef from M5 Family Farms is known for being high quality.

Farm stands and stores, online sales and cooperatives are several strategies for producers to reach customers beyond farmers markets. Farmers markets can be an ideal jumping-off point for many producers.

With a look back at successes and a look forward at the changing face of the Illinois Farm Bureau membership and a list of thank-yous “a country mile long,” Richard Guebert Jr. gave his last President’s Address.

Like the phoenix in Greek mythology, University of Illinois Extension has found new life by rising from the symbolic ashes of its recent former self.