As I settle into my second month at The Land Connection, I have spent a great deal of time reflecting on the immense amount of learning I do each day. I sit through a variety of meetings every week, read expert content generated by our staff, work through hundreds of millions (…maybe it just feels like that many!) of emails daily, and every step of the way, I am learning more and more about agriculture and, more specifically, the work our organization does. I can’t help but wonder how many of our followers are interested in organic and sustainable farming, though may not be as lucky as I am to sit in rooms with experts who are able to share their life’s learning with me. So as I work through some big understandings, I have decided to share the wealth of new information with those of you who are like me, aspiring experts in agriculture. Every month or so, I will be posting a blog in my new series “Grow With Me!” Each blog will consist of some of the brilliant, and possibly not so brilliant, things I have learned. Hopefully you can benefit from the many new understandings I am gaining at The Land Connection!
Today, I officially launch my blog series with an exposition on acronyms. I can’t tell you the number of pages in my notebook that are covered in acronyms I have picked up in conversation over the last two months. There are just too many! I regularly joke that I just need a glossary to work through this, and so I set out to create one. In alphabetical order, here’s the list. And, in the spirit of a good glossary, I have given you an added bonus of a description and links so that you may explore beyond these chunks of letters and discover the world beyond the words… which is something I have needed to do every day. I hope you make it to the end. It will surely be a feat of strength if you do!
- AC&F – Artisan Cup & Fork – An upcoming TLC fundraiser that you won’t want to miss!
- CSA – Community Supported Agriculture – A program where community members purchase “shares” of product from a local farmer.
- ED – Executive Director – This one comes up a lot and, every once in a while, we get a puzzled look.
- FBC – Farm Beginnings Collaborative – Or in TLC speak, CIFB (Central Illinois Farm Beginnings). It’s mind blowing – two more acronyms within an acronym, which furthers my argument of “how many acronyms can one organization have!” FBC and CIFB are beginner farmer training programs working to assist new farmers with learning the information they need to get started in the industry.
- FM – Farmers Market – The Land Connection often internally (and perhaps sometimes accidentally externally!) refers to our Champaign Farmers Market as FM.
- FMC – Farmers Market Coalition – An organization that works to strengthen farmers markets across the United States.
- FT – Famer Training – see above FM description!
- FTE – Full-Time Equivalent – A unit that indicates the workload of an employed person in a way that makes workloads comparable across various contexts.
- FVA – Farmer Veterans Alliance – An alliance of organizations working to connect veterans with farming.
- IDEA Farm Network – Surprise! No acronym here. In the spirit of acronyms, though, feel free to call this one IFN. This is a learning community you should consider checking out, though, if you are a farmer looking to explore regenerative agriculture.
- ILFMA – Illinois Farmers Market Association – An organization that connects the growing number of Illinois farmers markets, as well as provides them resources to be successful!
- IOGA – Illinois Organic Growers Association – A co-host of the ISCAOC (Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, and Organic Conference) and advocates/teachers of organic farming practices. More acronyms within acronyms!
- MMWCFD – Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day – This not a test. We actually use this acronym… alot. This event is the largest field day in the Midwest devoted to vegetable growers and mechanical weed control. Check it out on Sept. 26 in Atlanta, IL.
- MOSES – Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service – An organization that promotes organic and sustainable agriculture by providing the education, resources, and expertise farmers need to succeed.
- OATS – Organic Agronomy Training Series – Train the Trainer program for technical assistance professionals and consultants for organic grain production.
- OGC – Organic Grain Conference – You down with OGC?! Oops, wrong acronym! In all seriousness, this rapidly growing conference is put on by TLC and is a conference to explore ways to grow the industry. Click the link for last year’s details and look forward to February 2019 when we host the next one!
- OGRAIN – Organic Grain Resource and Information Network – An educational framework for developing organic grain production in the upper Midwest.
- OOO – Out of Office – I will be honest in stating that the first time I looked at our TLC calendar, I had no idea what this stood for. I even rode this one out for a bit because I felt like I maybe missed the window of opportunity to ask. It’s pretty self-explanatory.
- RI – ReGenerate Illinois – A group of champions who believe in the power of regeneration and are leading the way for its expansion across Illinois!
- SNAP – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – A nutrition program for low-income individuals and families AND The Land Connection’s Farmers Market provides a number of incentives each week to people eligible for SNAP benefits.
- TGIF – Thank God It’s Friday – But actually it’s not. We just wanted to see if you were still paying attention 🙂
- TLC – The Land Connection – That’s us!
- UIUC – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – Our local land grant University that hosts a large agriculture research program and our state’s Extension service.
- USDA – United States Department of Agriculture – TLC receives a great deal of grant funding from a number of USDA agencies and programs within those agencies. Here is where the rabbit hole begins. See you on the other side!
- WIC – Women, Infants, and Children – A supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income moms and soon-to-be moms, as well as infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. Sola Gratia, Meyer Produce, and Prosperity Gardens all accept WIC cards for produce purchases at the Champaign Farmers Market.
- WWF – Women Who Farm (NOT the WWE’s former name!) – This is one of TLC’s programs that is an opportunity for the public to visit farms run by women.
Whew! If you made it this far, congratulations. Believe it or not, these acronyms actually serve as a useful shorthand for communication within our office. Though, if I’m being honest here, it has taken me some time to learn them all! This list is only the tip of the iceberg and I’m sure my notebook will continue to be filled with more acronyms floating around our office. I’m looking forward to sharing my next blog of information with you. Stay tuned!
