Submitted by Jeff Hake on Tue, 09/29/2015 – 9:50am This week, Pope Francis visited the United States and continued to breathe hope into an institution that had become increasingly fixated on social issues while also fighting publicly with its own demons. The pope has seized his role back from that of administrator and figurehead to […]
Farm Aid 30–Mud, Bands, and Seeds
Submitted by Cara Cummings on Mon, 09/21/2015 – 3:28pm The first Farm Aid concert was held in Champaign in 1985, and 30 years later it is still going strong. The first concert was supposed to be a one-off to help farmers in crisis–but the event turned into an organization that has been helping farmers ever […]
Market Rain Out Realizations
Submitted by Stephanie Fenty on Mon, 09/14/2015 – 4:40pm Last week’s market got rained out. And it wasn’t the warm summer downpour that we’ve held multiple markets in, but rather a bone-chilling rainstorm that made the few vendors and TLC staff members that were there tremble under tree cover in hopes it would pass quickly. […]
Progress at the Farm Progress Show
Submitted by Bob Porter on Tue, 09/08/2015 – 9:40am At the Farm Progress Show in Decatur last week, I saw encourging signs that even among conventional farmers there is growing recognition of the importance of sustainable farming practices. During two panel discussions, one on cover crops, the other on wildlife restoration, the conversation made it […]
My trip to Uganda: new plants, new people, and “oh s$#%” moments
Submitted by Jeff Hake on Tue, 09/01/2015 – 6:17am Any journey might break you. A good journey will put you back together. Rural road in Iganga district, on the way to class. I recently traveled to Uganda to work with rural smallholder farmers as they strive to begin farming as a business. Currently, smallholder farmers […]
Farming Beautiful
Submitted by Cara Cummings on Tue, 08/25/2015 – 8:16am Farming is inherently beautiful. The reorganization of soil, water, and sunlight into a rainbow of colors and all of the architectural combinations that we have not thought of yet, that end up reorganized yet again before they end up on our plates. And then there are […]