This story was originally shared in the February 2024 Illinois FarmLink newsletter. Illinois FarmLink, a program of The Land Connection, provides farmland access services (including free advising) to farmers and landowners across Illinois. Illinois FarmLink helped make this farmland connection between the Harbecke and Kanchwala families happen in Kane County last year. Rozina Kanchwala is…
Climate Land Leaders Paul and Sanna Mairet of Nine Hazels Farm grow 12 acres of hybrid hazelnut, a cross between the European hazelnut and the native American species. As a perennial crop, hazelnuts have an extensive root system, which increases water infiltration, soil organic matter and carbon sequestration – and the shrubs provide shelter and…
Which nonprofit organizations do you support that center Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities? We asked Climate Land Leaders that question, and here’s the list. Check out these groups doing wonderful heart work: 1619 Freedom School All Square Appetite for Change BIPOC Foodways Dream of Wild Health Ear Hustle podcast Honor the Earth Indigenous…
Climate Land Leader and farmer Dan Guenthner of Common Harvest Farm recently shared observations on climate change impacts over 35 years of vegetable farming. Following is a lightly edited version of Dan’s comments on the cohort call. To place ourselves: We own 40 acres in the St. Croix River Valley, south of Osceola, WI. This…
How important soil is to life! 95 percent of our food comes from soil. It is a natural resource that needs to be protected way more than it is today. Making soil takes years and requires practices that aren’t yet adopted by most farmers. The demand on soil for food production for humans and animals…
We have much to report about our year! The land stewards in the Climate Land Leaders Initiative built soil health, increased biodiversity and protected water so that ecosystems and communities will thrive in a rapidly changing climate. In 2023:
Climate Land Leader Seth Watkins shared this update with the cohort on our December 2023 call. Seth is a fourth-generation farmer in Southwest Iowa. I’ve spent the last 40 years trying my best to build an efficient and profitable crop and cattle operation. Like most of my fellow farmers I have followed a model that…
Integrating art – visual, written word, film and more – has been an important element of the Climate Land Leaders initiative since it began. Engaging with creative work inspires; it also helps us manage climate grief. Climate Land Leader Anna Geyer has been integrating art with her land stewardship for many years. This year, alongside…
Climate Land Leader Dick Sloan wrote the following piece, which was published in the Cedar Rapids, IA Gazette on October 7, 2023. I visited my doctor recently, as I do every year. We take the time to review my metabolic profile to confirm my health status. A simple blood test reveals that my CO2 levels…
Climate Land Leader Helen Gunderson recently shared this celebratory update from her farm in Pocahontas County, IA. “Following my grandfather’s death in 1956, our family no longer raised cattle on our land. I recall some of our early farm tenants having herds, but for over 40 years there have been no cattle on Gunderson land.…
