Partners

USDA figures show women make up almost 25% of those who qualify as “farmers” in Illinois. Flower, fruit and vegetable farmer Jenny Kinney counts as one, and she, along with spouse Aaron and their nine children have made their growing business, like many Illinois farms, a family affair. Hear about what they grow, where they sell, and how they do it.

In the second part of our two-part series, what you might expect when you visit Illinois farms to pick fresh fruits and vegetables this year. Raghela Scavuzzo with Illinois Farm Bureau explains what’s available now. Illinois farmers Greg McLaughlin, Chris Eckert along with Amy and Michael Harris share you-pick protocols and why you and your family should come out to their farms.

Picking season in some parts of Illinois has begun as some perennial and so-called cold-season crops have matured enough for us to enjoy. In the first of a two-part series, hear from Amy and Michael Harris of Rising Sun Family Farm, Chris Eckert of Eckert’s, about the fruit and vegetable growing season thus far, along with Raghela Scavuzzo, associate director of food systems development for the Illinois Farm Bureau, on what you might expect when visiting you-pick farms and farmers markets this year.

There’s nothing quite like the taste of real butter. What’s it like producing the milk that’s turned into butter – and some of the science behind this dairy food? Come with us to Don and Rita Mackinson’s Illinois dairy farm and hear from the so-called, “fat guy,” Adam Lock, Ph.D., of Michigan State University, for a taste of dairy farming and butter.

Additional learning programs to help meet demand for locally-grown food and places to experience the farming sector continue to increase in Illinois. Find out how and why with Sheri Doyel, director of the Center for Agrarian Learning at McHenry County College (MCC), Jenny Kinney, a local farmer among a group helping to advise the program, and MCC students Israel Sandoval, Amanda Story, and Kitt Garmisch.

Illinois farmers Jenny Mennenga and David Wessel share why they plant what they do, what goes into how they decide what to plant, how it impacts our environment, and other variables and adventures taking place on many farms each spring across Illinois.

In addition to humans, Renold Bleem added animals to his chiropractic practice. Hear why, what results, how it changed him, his wife Melanie, their family and his practice.

A national forest, multitude of state parks, wine trail, world’s largest attractions, fire breathing dragon, and best of all, warmer climes and closer by, consider exploring southern Illinois. Illinois South Tourism’s Andy Waterman and Southernmost Illinois Tourism’s Carol Hoffman share what’s especially unique at this time of year.

Many of us reconnected with or increased our appetites for fresh, locally-grown fruits, vegetables and other home-grown products last year, which, along with public health measures, required many farmers, farmers markets and you to adjust. With a preview of what we might expect in 2021, hear from Jenny Kinney, president of the Illinois Vegetable Growers Association, who farms with her family on Piscasaw Gardens Farms, and Janie Maxwell, executive director of the Illinois Farmers Market Association.

Come with us to an Illinois maple farm to explore sap harvest for syrup along with exploring the craze for this special kind of yogurt made with milk from Illinois dairy farms. Mike Funk with Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup, along with Jodie Shield, R.D., and Partners food writer explore these two home-grown, tasty ingredients.