Additional Information

Central Illinois Farm Beginnings is a strong and innovative public-private partnership of experienced farmers and nonprofit and university personnel. As you read about our history, farmer steering committee, and facilitators on these pages, you will see how these diverse players are all working together for a common purpose – to prepare small and medium sized farmers to grow for an Illinois food system.

The Goals of Central Illinois Farm Beginnings:

To increase the number of successful beginning and transitioning small and medium-sized farmers in Illinois.
To increase the number of acres being farmed in ways that protect and enhance the environment.
To expand the availability of diverse food products from family farms to meet the growing demand for high-quality, sustainably-raised, local food.
To increase the capacity of farmers and farmer associations to provide high-quality farmer-training programs to beginning and transitioning farmers.

All Farm Beginnings material was developed by the Land Stewardship Project and is based on the experiences of their farmer members. It is used by permission under license. For more information, please visit . Central Illinois Farm Beginnings adapts these original materials based on the experiences of its local farmers and steering committee members.