DCB Summer Activity Gains Traction with Midwest Producers, National Media

Year 5 of the Diverse Corn Belt Project has begun with DCB Project Manager Emily DeaKyne featured on the At the Iowa Farm Table Podcast. The project and team members were also cited in a ProPublica article about the only rice farmer in Illinois.

To end Year 4, 70 Reimagining Agricultural Diversity (RAD) Team members from Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana gathered in Springfield, Ill, on Aug. 25 for RAD Team Meeting No. 4. The gathering focused on policies related to conservation incentives, farm-to-market infrastructure, institutional buying, and crop insurance. Farmers, nonprofit representatives, legislative staff members, and other stakeholders discussed the benefits and challenges of these policy areas. The conversations will be transcribed and analyzed with findings forthcoming.

Also in August, DCB invited people to the field for the Indiana Diverse Farm Tours. These tours highlighted several types of farming systems in northwest Indiana. The first tour on Aug. 12 showcased organic corn and soybeans, pasture, and grazed livestock at DeSutter Farms in Fountain County and Mills Farms in Montgomery County. Speakers from the farms, Purdue University, University of Illinois, and the Iowa Geological Survey discussed how farm management practices affect groundwater, weeds, insect pests, and beneficial insects.

During the second tour on Aug. 13, attendees visited Van Kley’s Blueberries and Henning’s Farm and Greenhouses in Jasper County to see blueberries, organic grains, and fall mum production. Producers at Van Kley’s demonstrated blueberry harvest equipment (video here). Producers and Purdue specialists spoke on pruning, grain roots, transitioning to organic, and diversifying a farm.

The third and final tour on Aug. 27 focused on organic popcorn, sunflowers, small grains, and equipment at Living Prairie Farms in White County. Purdue and University of Illinois speakers highlighted the diversity of weeds and insects. Jason Federer, producer at Living Prairie Farms, was presented with a display box of pinned insects found on his farm during DCB’s In-Field Team’s monitoring.

These on-farm tours showcased DCB’s work and highlighted what’s possible in diverse agriculture systems. Demonstrating that diversification is happening now and that it can be done is one step toward a more resilient landscape.