MUSIC IN THE QUARRY: SOPHIE COYOTE

Join us on June 21 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM for an intimate, sunset hike-in musical event in our magical limestone quarry. Participants are invited to bring their own picnic and beverages along with a blanket or camping chair. BYOB!

Enjoy a sunset acoustic session with local musician, Sophie Coyote.

FREE RANGE KIDS: FARM CAMPS



There's still a few spots open for our summer camps!

We grow kids that can change the world in a place that is changing the world. Camp on our campus includes organic gardens and a small-scale livestock operation. Our facilities give us a chance to immerse kids ages 6-15 in what's possible - and, in the process, develop skills for 21st-century success.

ALFALFA MUSIC FEST 2024



Join us at Alfalfa Festival, August 24th from 2pm - 10pm, a gathering of LIVE music, friends and fun in support of Farmers Rising's Education Programming! Enjoy an afternoon and evening with LIVE music at the Rainbow Pavilion stage, overlooking the lush alfalfa fields and tranquil Kinnikinnick Creek that flows through the grounds.

Over the last month, I have been working with Patriots Gardens to help get their garden established this year. Recently they had 8 additional raised beds built, and compost was purchased to get these beds up and growing for the season. Janice Forrest (Site Director) and I reached out to the teacher who is teaching students from Africa a second language to see if they were interested in utilizing some of the beds to grow vegetables. 

After our first meeting with much interpretation, we came up with a list of vegetables they were interested in growing. This included eggplant, cucumbers, summer & winter squash, tomatoes, and several other fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

I purchased the seeds and provided them with the seedlings, and we were on our way. We meet every Thursday, and we started off planting those items they had identified but quickly we started planting a much wider array of other vegetables into additional beds. On a couple of occasions, I have brought them garlic scapes, asparagus, and strawberries from our farm, and they have loved sampling things from the farm.

With the help from the teacher and another volunteer, we have managed to communicate with each other fairly well. They are an enthusiastic bunch and eager to get the job done, and there has been a lot of laughter along the way. We are having a lot of fun getting to know one another. 

This week I will be bringing them over to the farm so they can see what we are growing on a larger scale. This has been a gratifying and rewarding experience and I look forward to seeing them every week.

Back in April, our Farm Beginnings team wrapped up the Spring Farm Dreams Program. 

The Farm Beginnings team had the honor of helping 9 participants residing in Illinois from Roscoe to Chicago, and another 2 with Illinois roots joining us from New Orleans, LA, and Nashville, TN, transform their budding farm dreams into comprehensive enterprise plans.

This cohort of farmers demonstrated how our Farm Dreams Intensive program helps participants grow in their relationships with the Earth, their community, and themselves by cultivating a sense of confidence that those relationships can be profitable.

For example, one participant, who came to Illinois after being displaced by a climate change-induced extreme weather event, started as someone questioning if there was a clear pathway for them to move beyond Mutual Aid. They transformed into someone with an enterprise plan of launching a Herbal Health CSA with an affordable pay scale.

Another participant, whose healing from the generational trauma related to their indigeneity, started as someone who would have their excitement about joining the land back movement diminished by the uncertainty of how they were going to make it profitable. They transformed into an aspiring farmer with an enterprise plan of starting a diversified bean farm on the northern border of Turtle Island.

These participants wouldn’t have been able to make progress toward developing clear enterprise plans if it weren’t for the sense of confidence they cultivated in their ability to have an impactful relationship with the earth, their communities, and themselves while running a profitable farm. 

As we wrapped up the program, most participants shared that their engagement with their program peers, guest speakers, and our instructor team played major roles in boosting their newfound confidence in becoming profitable impact-driven farmers!