Illinois Stewardship Alliance planted four fruit trees at Hope Institute for Children and Families in Springfield Monday in honor of four lifetime members. Lifetime members have made a one-time contribution of at least $1,000 to the Illinois Stewardship Alliance.

The trees planted were in honor of Illinois Stewardship Alliance members Deanna Glosser, Sister Julia Huiskamp, John Record and John Curtis.

“To find an organization that helps with, and understands what the local producers need and works on policy issues to strengthen the local food system is so incredibly important,” Deanna Glosser, ISA’s most recent lifetime member, said. “It’s one thing to get grants to do projects but it’s really very hard to keep money coming in to just keep the lights on and make sure the executive director gets paid. To me, membership, whatever you can afford to pay, is vital.”

Illinois Stewardship Alliance, which gets the majority of its funding through various grants, uses membership dues to fund work that is wanted and needed, but not covered by grants.

“The monetary support from these lifetime members is vital because it gives us flexibility in addressing issues that arise without notice or in areas that our usual sources of income do not cover,” Illinois Stewardship Alliance Interim Executive Director Wes King said. “But the donations are just as important to the morale of ISA. Knowing that there are people who are willing to give such significant gifts reinforces the importance of the day-to-day work we do.”

ISA is searching for new lifetime members in an effort to be able to quickly respond to members’ needs, and is incorporating that search into its upcoming membership drive, which starts May 15. Be on the lookout for further updates regarding the membership drive, and in the meantime, anyone interested in giving to or joining the Illinois Stewardship Alliance can call 217-528-1563 or email isa@ilstewards.org

The Illinois House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation in April that updates Illinois composting laws to make it easier for urban and rural farmers, community gardens and others to compost.

“This is an important step forward. We are excited about the impact that both these bills will have in supporting the growth of local food in urban, suburban, and rural Illinois. We look forward to working next with the Senate to usher these bills through the legislature,” Wes King, interim executive director for the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, said.

Illinois Stewardship Alliance has been working along side the Illinois Environmental Council, the Chicago Food Policy Advisory Council, farmers, lawmakers and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to craft the legislation.

House Bill 3319 passed 114-0, andHouse Bill 2335 passed 101-14. Both pieces of legislation now move to the Illinois Senate for approval. Make sure to call your state Senator and urge them to support the legislation.

Legislation details include:

● HB 3319 increases the type of materials that farmers can compost on farm as part of an on farm compost permit exemption that already exists. HB 3319 will also allow farmers in rural areas to compost crop residue and other organic agricultural materials from other farms and agricultural operations. This simple change will give farmers access to new materials to create high quality compost.

● HB 2335 will allow urban and suburban farms to have a similar but limited exemption for composting on farm as rural farms. Many farms in urban areas are dealing with contaminated or questionable soil making the creation of high quality compost an essential component of urban agriculture. This will give urban farmers the ability to more easily compost off-site materials.

An energetic din filled the flatlanders room at the Common Ground Food Co-op in Urbana on an evening in late March. Chefs and farmers traded business cards and product lists as they drank Illinois wine and munched on locally sourced appetizers.

The gathering was one in a series of farmer/chef mixers Illinois Stewardship Alliance organized around the state during the first part of 2013. ISA worked with partners in Rockford, Chicago, Springfield, Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal and Peoria to gather producers and chefs together with the hope of spurring long-term business relationships.

More than 150 chefs and farmers attended the various events, which generally consisted of a short program by ISA staff, general networking by attendees, a questions and answer session, and at the Urbana location, a “speed-dating” session for chefs and farmers.

The workshops were a continuation of ISA’s work to get local food on the tables of restaurants around Illinois. Not only is local food healthier and more sustainable than food from other states or countries, it is also something consumers are demanding. The National Restaurant Association listed locally sourced food as its top trend in “What’s Hot 2013” list.

Be on the lookout for more such events in the future.

The local food movement is a distant memory, something that peaked two decades ago and has been on the decline ever since. What was at one time a growing economic engine fizzled, taking jobs and money out of local economies. Farmers’ markets are relegated to an asterisk in recent food history.  The closest thing to local produce the average person can get in Illinois is a carving pumpkin or a can of Del Monte lima beans.

Luckily this isn’t the case, but could easily become reality if people do not make their voices heard by submitting testimony about the Food Safety Modernization Act rulemaking that is underway.

Illinois Stewardship Alliance worked with partners in Washington D.C. to pass amendments to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that would protect local food producers, but proposed rules regarding the legislation could ruin that work.

Basically, FSMA sets up new, strict guidelines for food safety that fruit and vegetable growers will have to follow as well as value-added producers. Lobbying by a number of groups in Washington ensured that there is a partial-exemption in the law for farms that gross less than $500,000 annually from fruit and produce. The idea is that operations that small can keep a close eye on their products to ensure their safety, and it’s cost-prohibitive to force them to implement these new rules. But now it appears that work could be jeopardized by the rulemaking process, which would count what a whole farm grosses towards that $500,000. That means that if a corn and soybean farmer wanted to diversify and get into produce, their soy and corn crop would be counted against them. If a farmer is growing just 400 acres of corn they already exceed the $500,000. That also means that every corn and soybean farmer that grows a couple acres of fresh produce or has a family member grow a couple acres of fresh produce to sell at a roadside stand or a local farmers markets would have to comply with the new strict food safety guidelines. This could mean the end of diversified farming as we know it.

But there is still time to fix the rules! The commenting period lasts until September 16th of this year. Those comments, submitted by you and others like you, will be used to craft the final rules. CLICK HERE to make your voice heard and help save local agriculture.

Illinois Stewardship Alliance is all about good, local food. That's why we love the Share-a-Meal event going on April 24 in Springfield. It's simple. Eat at a participating restaurant near you. Just enjoy your meal—the restaurant automatically donates a portion of your tab to Community Shares of Illinois, which then helps out Illinois Stewardship Alliance.

Check out the details and a list of participating restaurants HERE.

More than 50 people turned out to the Illinois State Capitol for Illinois Stewardship Alliance’s Local Food Awareness day. Participants listened to a pep talk from Lt. Gov. Shelia Simon before getting a crash course in lobbying from Wes King, Illinois Stewardship Alliance interim executive director and registered lobbyist. The attendees then blanketed the capitol to talk to their representatives about the importance of local food.

ISA’s legislative priorities were two pieces of legislation that reform Illinois composting regulations. Both passed out of committee in late March, partially thanks to lobby day participant’s efforts. The legislation allows farmers, both rural and urban, and community gardens to use limited amounts of certain materials from off-site in their composting operations.

Currently, Illinois environmental law that pertains to composting pushes everyone into a one-size-fits all category, and is designed to regulate large scale commercial operations with little thought for the realities of urban farming, community gardens and sustainable agriculture.

“These bills will create scale appropriate laws for composting and open new opportunities for urban and rural agricultural operations to compost on their farm or garden and create high quality compost to grow food,” Wes King, Illinois Stewardship Alliance Interim Executive Director said.

Now the legislation moves to the full House of Representatives in the legislature. Please contact your representative and let them know that you, a voting constituent, support the composting reform legislation. Click HERE to find out who your representative is.

ISA joined forces with Food and Water Watch, which is advocating for genetically engineered food labeling, in the hope of to increasing the impact of each others' efforts during Local Food Awareness day. The genetically engineered labeling legislation is being sponsored by Sen. David Koehler, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Sen. Koehler has indicated that he plans to hold a series of public listening session around the state this summer to discuss the labeling of genetically engineered foods. Stay tuned for more information on those hearings.

Illinois Stewardship Alliance’s Outreach Coordinator Drew Thomason and central Illinois farmer Marcus Maier* spent two days in Washington D.C. in March talking with lawmakers and their offices about need for a new, five-year farm bill that funds sustainable agricultural programs.

In a whirlwind tour Marcus and Drew met with the offices of the three Illinois freshmen members of Congress that are on the House Committee on Agriculture, including meeting personally with Rep. Rodney Davis. Marcus and Drew also met with Sen. Richard Durbin’s office.

Drew and Marcus’s efforts were part of a larger push by sustainable agriculture advocates from across the nation arranged by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Their efforts came after Congress failed to approve a new five-year farm bill, and instead passed a short-term measure that extended parts of the 2008 farm bill through September of this year. Unfortunately that extension left many sustainable agricultural programs stranded without funding.

Programs Drew and Marcus focused on:

• Conservation Stewardship Program

• Value Added Producer Grants

• Specialty Crop Block Grants

• Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program

These programs help grow agriculture in a way that benefits the environment and creates new jobs and economic opportunities in Illinois. Specifically the various programs and grants  encourage conservation practices on traditional row crop farms, help agricultural related businesses grow, fund programs such as Buy Fresh Buy Local Central Illinois and train a new generation of farmers and ranchers.

Thanks to efforts like this and a concentrated push by conservation advocates, Conservation Stewardship Program funding was recently restored for 2013. Click HERE for those details.

Now it's time to make sure your voice is heard. Call your representative and senators and let them know you want a five-year farm bill that supports sustainable agriculture, and small and family farms!

*Marcus lives with his wife and three children live on the farmstead that’s been in his family for four generations. He’s an advocate of using conservation practices to maintain and improve the health of his 400 acres, and benefits from federal programs such as the Conservation Stewardship Program that help cover the costs of his cover crops.

Illinois Stewardship Alliance’s Outreach Coordinator Drew Thomason and central Illinois farmer Marcus Maier* spent two days in Washington D.C. in March talking with lawmakers and their offices about need for a new, five-year farm bill that funds sustainable agricultural programs.

In a whirlwind tour Marcus and Drew met with the offices of the three Illinois freshmen members of Congress that are on the House Committee on Agriculture, including meeting personally with Rep. Rodney Davis. Marcus and Drew also met with Sen. Richard Durbin’s office.

Drew and Marcus’s efforts were part of a larger push by sustainable agriculture advocates from across the nation arranged by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Their efforts came after Congress failed to approve a new five-year farm bill, and instead passed a short-term measure that extended parts of the 2008 farm bill through September of this year. Unfortunately that extension left many sustainable agricultural programs stranded without funding.

Programs Drew and Marcus focused on:

• Conservation Stewardship Program

• Value Added Producer Grants

• Specialty Crop Block Grants

• Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program

These programs help grow agriculture in a way that benefits the environment and creates new jobs and economic opportunities in Illinois. Specifically the various programs and grants  encourage conservation practices on traditional row crop farms, help agricultural related businesses grow, fund programs such as Buy Fresh Buy Local Central Illinois and train a new generation of farmers and ranchers.

Thanks to efforts like this and a concentrated push by conservation advocates, Conservation Stewardship Program funding was recently restored for 2013. Click HERE for those details.

*Marcus lives with his wife and three children live on the farmstead that’s been in his family for four generations. He’s an advocate of using conservation practices to maintain and improve the health of his 400 acres, and benefits from federal programs such as the Conservation Stewardship Program that help cover the costs of his cover crops.

Illinois Stewardship Alliance’s Outreach Coordinator Drew Thomason and central Illinois farmer Marcus Maier* spent two days in Washington D.C. in March talking with lawmakers and their offices about need for a new, five-year farm bill that funds sustainable agricultural programs.

In a whirlwind tour Marcus and Drew met with the offices of the three Illinois freshmen members of Congress that are on the House Committee on Agriculture, including meeting personally with Rep. Rodney Davis. Marcus and Drew also met with Sen. Richard Durbin’s office.

Drew and Marcus’s efforts were part of a larger push by sustainable agriculture advocates from across the nation arranged by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Their efforts came after Congress failed to approve a new five-year farm bill, and instead passed a short-term measure that extended parts of the 2008 farm bill through September of this year. Unfortunately that extension left many sustainable agricultural programs stranded without funding.

Programs Drew and Marcus focused on:

• Conservation Stewardship Program

• Value Added Producer Grants

• Specialty Crop Block Grants

• Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program

These programs help grow agriculture in a way that benefits the environment and creates new jobs and economic opportunities in Illinois. Specifically the various programs and grants  encourage conservation practices on traditional row crop farms, help agricultural related businesses grow, fund programs such as Buy Fresh Buy Local Central Illinois and train a new generation of farmers and ranchers.

Thanks to efforts like this and a concentrated push by conservation advocates, Conservation Stewardship Program funding was recently restored for 2013. Click HERE for those details.

*Marcus lives with his wife and three children live on the farmstead that’s been in his family for four generations. He’s an advocate of using conservation practices to maintain and improve the health of his 400 acres, and benefits from federal programs such as the Conservation Stewardship Program that help cover the costs of his cover crops.

Funding for a critical farm bill program that ensures the health of soils and helps farmers adopt practices to guard against extreme weather events was restored at the end of March. President Obama signed a continuing resolution to keep the federal government running through the end of the fiscal year, including funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program. Funding for the program was left out of the nine-month farm bill extension that passed at the end of 2012.

The Conservation Stewardship Program offers technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers for adopting and maintaining high standards of resource conservation and environmental stewardship. Assistance is provided for actively managing and improving existing conservation systems and for implementing new conservation activities on land in agricultural production.

In the program’s first four enrollment years (2009-2012), the Natural Resources Conservation Service has enrolled nearly 39,000 farmers and ranchers operating 50 million acres of farm and ranch land that is now under five-year, renewable CSP conservation contracts worth $3.3 billion.

The enrollment process is competitive, based on conservation and environmental benefits. The cutoff date for enrollment has yet to be announced, but the timeline is expected to be short.  Interested farmers and ranchers are encouraged to visit their local NRCS office and start the enrollment process now before planting season starts. Details such as the ranking deadline for 2013 and total acres available are expected from NRCS in the coming months.