Growing the Southern Illinois (SoIL) Farmers Network

Commodities

Practices

This project supports an emerging farmer peer network in Southern Illinois, the Southern Illinois (SoIL) Farmers Network, to increase knowledge and adoption of soil health practices (link: https://bit.ly/SOILfarmers). The Advisory Board members are early adopters of regenerative agriculture in Southern Illinois, and their goal is to increase participation in the group and adoption of regenerative practices. They have strong ties to the Soil Health Academy/Understanding Ag infrastructure. They want to offer two workshops: Summer 2025, and Winter 2025/2026, and bi-monthly virtual and in-person meetings. The group already offers pasture walks and some informal meetings, but want expand opportunities to learn about regenerative agriculture and assess knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Regenerative practices are still viewed with suspicion in this region, and the uptake of practices like cover crops and no-till has been slow. We aim to educate a total of 40 farmers across two workshops, and offer a subsidized soil health test through Regen Ag Labs (Haney and PLFA). In addition to the two Soil Health Academy workshops, the SoIL Farmers Network will host bi-monthly meetings to build a cohort of farmers adopting new regenerative practices. This project will help advance the vision, missions, and goals of the SoIL Farmers Network. 

1. Formalize the emerging SoIL Farmers Network and support their vision, mission, and goals
2. Host two Soil Health Academy workshops in Summer 2025 and Winter 2025/2026 with the goal of directly educating a total of 40 farmers.
3. Assess changes in knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward regenerative agriculture in the region through surveys and questionnaires.
4. Host bi-monthly virtual and in-person meetings with specific programming for women farmers, and increase communication and connectivity between farmers
5. Subsidize soil health tests for farmers participating in the Soil Health Academy workshops
6. Develop educational materials about soil health test results including infographics and data visualizations.