By Kay Shipman,
FarmWeek
Stepping outside comfort zones and into no-till fields, prairie habitat and organic crops can break down misperceptions about farm conservation in northeast Illinois.
That was one of the goals for a Will County conservation tour on June 24 organized by the Chicago Wilderness, a regional alliance of 250-plus organizations.
“The idea was to, first of all, let everyone see the great progress being made on farms on the collar of the Chicagoland area because I think the impression of people — whether you’re a consumer or a conservationist or just somebody in the city — there’s assumptions made that the farms around Chicagoland are a danger to us,” said Tim Brennan, vice president of the Farm Foundation and co-chair of the Wilderness Ag Committee that hosted the tour.
“We wanted to bring people out to show them how much innovation and innovative conservation practices are happening,” Brennan said while organic farmer Doug Yunker demonstrated tillage equipment. “But there are also ideas that farmers have about consumers and conservationists. We wanted them (farmers) to meet these people who are extremely thoughtful and eager to learn and eager to better understand the pressures that are on the farm.
“There’s no better way to do that than face to face.”
A daylong field day with four farm stops offered face-to-face conversations among representatives of 30-some organizations and government bodies as they traveled on two motor coaches.
A video and photography crew from Chicago’s Field Museum even documented the farmers’ practices on public and private lands. The museum is documenting regenerative agriculture and wanted to talk with “the people doing it,” a photographer explained.
Farmers were represented by the Will County Farm Bureau, Soil and Water Conservation Districts and other traditional ag organizations. Those groups were joined by the Nature Foundation of Libertyville, which focuses on urban and suburban conservation; village and county governments; organizations for wildlife, birds and fish; and even representatives from Aldi.
The diverse mix of perspectives surfaced questions different from those asked on most farm field days.
When asked about their challenges and obstacles, farmer presenters spoke honestly.
Will County Farm Bureau member Doug Yunker of Yunker Organic Farm described the three-year, extensive process for acres to become certified organic. Even after certification, a farmer must record and describe each pass through an organic field, said Yunker, who began farming organically in 2018. He farms with a rotation of corn, soybeans, wheat and hay for small, square bales.
“For the three years (of transitioning to organic), you sell a crop that yields less (compared to conventional crops) for less of a price (than organic crops),” Yunker said.
Asked about support he received to learn organic farming practices, Yunker answered he leaned on a college friend who also farms organically several counties away.
“Having someone as a mentor has been the biggest part,” he said. In 2021, Yunker and his father, Mark, were awarded the Will County Forest Preserve District’s first organic farm license.
During the tour, Yunker demonstrated a 40-foot cultivator adapted to till organic soybeans and admitted that the weed-control process takes longer than using a spray boom and herbicides.
“Organic is more time consuming, but I’m enjoying it,” he added.
At the Will County Forest Preserve District’s Laughton Preserve, tour participants learned Mother Nature can hinder even the best conservation practices and intentions. The forest preserve district rents about 3,000 farmland acres and requires tenant farmers to use no-till and other conservation practices.
To reduce erosion and build soil organic matter, the district’s tenant farmer used contour farming and no-till at the Laughton Preserve. The farmer also seeded two, 50-foot native prairie strips along the contours to catch field run-off and add diversity. In addition, the district put in sediment-control basins.
Walking across no-till soybean fields and a prairie strip, Michelle Blackburn, the forest preserve’s agricultural specialist, pointed to accomplishments and setbacks. While eroded gullies had filled in, soil compaction in combination with intense spring rain caused some gullies to return.
“We are trying different seed for erosion control. We are fortunate the tenant farmer is willing to work with us,” she said. “Laughton (Preserve) is a success story, but it is also a work in progress.”
This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.