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Herman Brockman, Pioneer in Illinois' Better Food Movement, Gone at 90
- Bob Benenson
- Apr 24
- 4 min read
Paying Tribute to a Quiet Leader Whose Values Inspired Family and Other Farmers
Farmers don't tend to be household names to most people. But Herman Brockman, whose life of achievement ended on April 8 at age 90, is legendary to the community pursuing a better food system in central Illinois and well beyond.
As you will see in his obituary linked below, Herman Brockman was, quite simply, brilliant. A farm boy who grew up in the east-central Illinois town of Danforth, he earned a Ph.D. and taught General and Molecular Genetics for 35 years at Illinois State University.
In his later years he returned to his farming roots, which clearly had an influence on his family. He died just five months short of what would have been his 69th anniversary with wife Marlene. Of their six children, three emerged as leaders in the better-for-people, better-for-the-planet food movement:
Henry Brockman is owner of Henry's Farm in Congerville, Illinois and is a beloved longtime vendor at the Evanston Farmers Market outside Chicago.
Terra Brockman is founder of The Land Connection, a non-profit based in Champaign that since 2001 has trained farmers in resilient, restorative farming techniques; informed the public about the sources of our food and why that matters; and worked to protect and enhance farmland. She also is author of the book The Seasons at Henry's Farm, which spawned a documentary film titled Seasons of Change on Henry's Farm.
Jill Brockman-Cummings manages Janie's Mill, which produces top-grade flours from a variety of organically produced grains.
That facility exists because of Herman Brockman's influence on Harold Wilken, owner of Janie's Mill and the nearby Janie's Farm in Herman's boyhood hometown of Danforth. Harold — whose success as an organic farmer and sustainable agriculture advocate has persuaded many farmers to transition from conventional growing practices — shared the following in the Janie's Mill newsletter.
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In my teenage years of growing up Lutheran, there was a particular song that we sang around a campfire called “Pass it On.” The opening line was, ”It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around will warm up in its glowing.”
Herman was that spark for me and organic farming... A brilliant, but humble man. He had his priorities in order. Family and relationships first, the land and nature second. I will leave it to his family to round out the last 3 of his top five priorities. One of those had to be converting farmland to organic.
Herman was born on his family farm approximately 2 miles northwest of Danforth, IL. He spoke many times about his appreciation for his ancestors who worked the farm and their hardships with drought and the Great Depression. While Herman's personal path took him to college and a life of research and teaching at Illinois State University, his roots stayed in the rich soil of his boyhood farm.
In July of 2001, our daughter Janie passed as the result of a car accident. Herman wrote us a condolence letter, and in that letter he mentioned that he had heard I was interested in organic farming. He added that if or when I wanted to talk about it, to please let him know.
About a year later I did, and that's when Herman asked if we would be interested in transitioning 30 acres of his family farm to organic. I had been farming conventionally for 23 years, but had been considering organic. Herman gave me the spark to actually do it.
After transitioning Herman's farm for 2 years, I converted the whole 700 acres I was renting at the time to organic. And from that time on, Herman was my mentor. He introduced me to his neighbors who farmed organically, and to his relative David Miller, who was the driving force behind Iroquois Valley Farms [a company that invests in farmland that it converts to organic and regenerative growing practices].
Herman and his wife Marlene have 6 children, all of whom share his agrarian spirit and have deep ties to raising good food in a way that is also good for our Earth. Jill, his youngest daughter, is our Mill Manager at Janie's Mill, and Terra, his oldest daughter, is our Communications Consultant and newsletter writer.
It has now been almost 24 years since Janie passed and Herman reached out to us. We have credited Janie with being our angel on the other side who is guiding us. I can only imagine the conversation between Janie and Herman when he passed over.
Peace to you Herman! Thank you for lighting the fire!
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The Brockman family has scheduled a Herman Brockman Memorial Tree Walk for August 30. If you care to make a donation in his memory, the family suggests a contribution to the Herman E. Brockman Fund at Illinois State University (contact the ISU Foundation at 309-438-3135), the Aldo Leopold Foundation or the Arbor Day Foundation.