Illinois Stewardship Alliance

Unlock the full potential of your farmland with The Land Connection Illinois FarmLink’s last two parts of a five-part lunchtime webinar series - Do More With Your Farmland 🧑‍🌾🐦🪏

Register here: https://www.illinoisfarmlink.org/domorewithyourfarmland/

Topics covered throughout the series include:
• The power of soil biology
• Working productively with family
• Improving your farmland’s habitat
• Finding the right farmer
• Creating a good lease
• And you'll hear from farmland owners, farmer-tenants, and experts across the Midwest!

Why not make this the year that you and your family begin doing more with your farmland?🌱

🌱 What did farmers, eaters, and food system advocates accomplish during the 2026 legislative session?

Our new Farm & Food Policy Recap takes a look at the victories, challenges, and unfinished work shaping the future of Illinois agriculture and local food systems.

This year, Alliance members helped advance policies to support emerging farmers, strengthen local food infrastructure, expand food access, and build a more resilient farm and food system. While not every priority crossed the finish line, each campaign helped build relationships, elevate farmer voices, and create momentum for future change.

Real change doesn't happen in a single legislative session. It happens when farmers, eaters, and advocates organize together year after year.

📖 Read the recap and see what your collective action helped accomplish:
https://ilstewards.org/2026/06/12/2026-farm-food-policy-recap/

💪 Thank you to every member who attended lobby days, contacted lawmakers, shared their story, testified, joined a caucus, or took action this year. This work is only possible because of you.

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2026 Illinois State Budget Recap: Key Wins and Challenges Explore the 2026 Illinois State Budget recap highlights, focusing on local food systems, conservation, and the fight for farmer rights.

🥩 Beef prices are rising, grocery bills are climbing, and many people are asking: what's driving the cost of food?

This video from Business Insider explores some of the pressures affecting the beef industry: https://www.businessinsider.com/beef-getting-more-expensive-2026-5

But there's another part of the story that often goes untold: market consolidation.

As fewer corporations control more of our food system, farmers, ranchers, and consumers are left with fewer choices, less competition, and greater vulnerability when disruptions occur.

We're collecting stories from farmers, food businesses, and community members who have experienced the impacts of consolidation and monopolization firsthand. Have you struggled to access markets, processing, fair prices, or local food options because of industry concentration?

📣 We want to hear from you.

Your story can help build the case for a food system that works for farmers, eaters, and communities, not just the powerful few.

👉 Learn more and share your story here: https://ilstewards.org/2026/04/15/a-food-system-for-the-many-not-the-powerful-few/

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The hidden forces making beef prices skyrocket Just four companies control roughly 80% of the American beef market. How does this kind of consolidation impact what you pay?

Here's a great opportunity to engage in Mississippi River Days of Action right here in Illinois! Grab a paddle and check it out!

Join the Aquarium Foundation and Mississippi River Water Trail Page on a guided paddle on the calm backwaters of Pool 26 on the Mississippi River!

On Sunday, June 14th from 2-5pm, you can enjoy spectacular views, learn about river wildlife, and hear how each of us can be better stewards for wetland and river health.

Register here! https://bit.ly/4dMbunx

Yesterday, Policy Organizer Ed Dubrick was able to attend an Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition Pasture Walk at the Kaeb Family Farm.

There attendees walked the pasture, shared grazing and pasture management experience, and enjoyed being in the company of fellow pastured livestock operators.

From beginning to end it was clear that the Kaebs care deeply about soil health and that it was one of their main reasons for converting former crop land to pasture for South Poll cattle and Saint Croix sheep.

Some attendees came as far as 5 hours away to attend!

If you missed this event, but are interested, be sure to check out Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition’s websites for upcoming pasture walks or events in your area: https://www.ilgrazinglands.org/events

What happens when investments in local food systems disappear?

A new article from Civil Eats examines the impact of the USDA's cancellation of key local food purchasing programs that helped connect farmers with schools, food banks, and communities across the country.

The story features Illinois farmer and Illinois Stewardship Alliance Policy Organizer Ed Dubrick of DuChick Ranch, LLC, who shares how these investments helped farmers expand production, build local markets, and strengthen regional food systems.

Programs like these didn't just support farmers. They helped keep food dollars circulating locally, improved food access, and created new opportunities for small and mid-sized farms.

As Illinois continues investing in local food infrastructure and regional supply chains, this article is an important reminder of what's at stake.

👉 Read the article:

This USDA Program Transformed Food Systems. Now It’s Gone. ‘We will survive, but we’re not going to thrive.’

Last night we hosted our annual 2026 Member Legislative Session Debrief. It was a valuable opportunity to reconnect, celebrate our collective accomplishments, and begin planning for the work ahead.

Members like Chamika Jones, owner of Sowed Up Farms on Chicago’s West Side (Instagram: ), spoke to her experience working on HB4922, the Emerging and Socially Disadvantaged Farmer Grant.

“It was nice to have my farmer voice heard and to be able to collectively work together to see how we could align our needs and wants with what is existing and how to make it happen. I feel fortunate to be a part of an organization like this that gives me a platform to use my voice in the way I feel comfortable to be able to make the changes that need to be done to support everyone else," Jones said.

"When we talk about power, we mean ordinary farmers, eaters, and food system leaders acting together in ways that shape decisions, influence outcomes, and change what feels possible."

Sometimes that shows up in visible wins. Power also looks like new leaders like Chamika stepping forward, stronger relationships being built, deeper participation, or people gaining confidence and agency through collective action.

🔍 Looking Ahead

While the legislative session has concluded, our organizing work continues. Members discussed the importance of maintaining relationships with lawmakers throughout the year. Summer organizing efforts will focus on educating legislators, strengthening relationships in districts, elevating farmer voices, and preparing for emerging policy opportunities and challenges.

💪 Building Our Movement

One of the strongest themes from the discussion was the importance of community. Our caucuses continue to be spaces where farmers, advocates, and food system leaders can learn from one another, build relationships, and work collectively toward a stronger and more equitable food system.

Thank you for your continued engagement, leadership, and commitment to this work. We look forward to organizing together throughout the summer and building momentum for the year ahead.

From the wild rice beds at its headwaters in Minnesota to the oyster reefs at its mouth in Louisiana, the Mississippi River sustains life, including ours right here in Illinois. 🌾🦪

For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have depended on these waters for nourishment, travel, and trade, and held them as sacred. The River remains one of the world's most important cultural and ecological corridors and one of the most threatened.

On National Mississippi River Day, we honor that legacy and recommit to protecting it. Get involved at: mississippiriver.org/national-mississippi-river-day

@1.Mississippi

Check out all the great events surrounding 1 Mississippi's River Days of Action kicking off Monday, June 1st and running through June 15th. There are even some Illinois events to make plans for!

Every time you turn on the tap, the Mississippi might be closer than you think. 🚿

More than 20 million people get their drinking water from the Mississippi River. That's tens of millions of cups of coffee, glasses of water, and showers — every single day — made possible by a healthy River.

This June 1–15, join to celebrate and protect the water we all depend on.

Find 40 events happening online and in-person at:
https://buff.ly/JEQwQdv

@1.Mississippi

🚨 Time is running out for HB4922.

The Emerging and Socially Disadvantaged Farmer Grant Program passed the House with strong bipartisan support, but it has now stalled in the Senate with only days left in the legislative session.

This bill does NOT create new funding. It simply creates a pathway for already-allocated resources to finally reach emerging and socially disadvantaged farmers working to feed Illinois communities. 🌱

For years, these funds have existed in the budget without clear implementation guidelines, leaving many farmers without access to the support intended for them. HB4922 changes that.

📣 Your legislator may be in a leadership position and can help move this bill forward. Contact them today and urge them to act before session ends.

👉 https://secure.everyaction.com/kidPaLqmFki2lCRDx-TtdQ2

We are close. But we need action now.