Week 7, Summer 2022
Hi everyone,
The past week marked the seventh week of our summer season! We are starting to welcome our summer fruits, so there’s a lot to be grateful and excited for. We said the shehecheyanu (Jewish prayer for the first time something is done during the calendar year) at dinner last week to mark our tomatoes’ first appearance at our table. We are also beginning to see some squash and cucumbers. The cucumbers were especially popular in our produce that went to the Sheldon Food Pantry this week.
We had a field day event at ZA on Friday in collaboration with the Land Connection, an organization which promotes regenerative agriculture in the Midwest (check out their website here), the Savanna Institute, an organization that promotes agroforestry in the Midwest, and the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture. The event included a tour of the farm, a presentation about basalt rock weathering and agroforestry, and a shared meal that allowed everyone in attendance to talk with each other and form connections. People with many different connections to agriculture showed up, including local farmers and friends, representatives from nonprofit organizations working on climate change mitigation strategies in agriculture, researchers from the University of Illinois, and members of local government. It was amazing to talk with all of these people and to see what we could learn from each other.
We also traveled around the area, extending our understanding of who is farming in this region and how we can strengthen connections and learn from others. At Spence Farm, we talked to Marty and Will Travis about their journey through sustainable farming in central Illinois as well as their farmer to restaurant marketing and delivery service Down at the Farms, where we sell some of our produce. A group of us went to the Newton County Fair one evening with John Zumwalt, and he showed us around the animal barns. We saw the pigs and goats that had won first prize, enjoyed some soft serve, went up to the Soil and Water Conservation District table, and enjoyed the mild evening.
As usual, we’ve been harvesting our produce and distributing it around the region. This was our second week of the season selling at the Watseka Farmer’s Market! And, we’re grateful for the rain this past weekend, even as it poured during our field day. The incredibly dry past month has made us appreciate the days where we get some extra moisture.
Wishes for an inspiring and exciting new week,
Sophie, Luisa, Marya, Julia, Isa, Sydney, Lexi, Gavi, Bella, and Daniel
Something we read this week:
Farm (and Other F Words) by Sarah K. Mock (book)
Cover Image Alt Text:
An illustration of a squash in orange pencil. The words “summer squash” written above the drawing.
