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Series for Non-Farming Landowners to Help Build Better Food System

  • Writer: Bob Benenson
    Bob Benenson
  • 5 minutes ago
  • 2 min read

Illinois Farm Link Webinars Will Address a Little Discussed but Important Issue



I did not know that my home state of Illinois leads the nation in the percentage of farmland owned by non-farming landholders. I only learned that fact when I received an email from Nathan Aaberg — director of the Illinois Farm Link program at the Champaign-based non-profit The Land Connection — asking Local Food Forum to share info about an upcoming five-part webinar series about that important topic.


Here is how the organization describes the series:


The goal of the series is to inspire and equip landowners to take actions that will improve the farming, habitat health, and family legacy of their land across Illinois. We believe that those kinds of action will also open new farmland access opportunities for local farmers.


As you know, Illinois has a greater percentage of farmland owned by someone who doesn’t farm it themselves than any other state in the country. That means non-farming landowners are actually a big part of Illinois’ food and farming system. But they have been largely overlooked by service providers and non-profits. As a result, landowners often lack confidence in changing farmland management and feel alone in caring deeply about the land. This webinar series is intended to start addressing the gaps in knowledge and confidence these landowners have.


The webinar series is: Do More With Your Farmland! How to Work with Your Farmer for Productive Soil, Conservation, and a Wider Legacy. The  five webinars will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 28, June 4, June 11, June 18, and June 25.


Landowners will hear from experts across the Midwest including Land Stewardship Project, Progressive Agronomy, Full Circle Design, CommonGround, Farm Commons, People's Company, and more! They’ll also hear from three landowner-farmer pairs about their collaborations and lessons learned.


Click the button below for more information and to register for the series.




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