Food and Agriculture
Strategic Priority
Signature Initiative
Initiative Summary
Illinois Extension will facilitate coordination and capacity building for Illinois farmers, ranchers, producers, suppliers, distributors, and others within the food and agriculture system through education, research, and outreach.
Extension efforts will support the strengthening of a resilient food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy system by addressing issues including but not limited to crop/livestock management practices; food safety and accessibility; soil and water conservation; farm business management; expanding and diversifying operations and markets; and succession planning.
To achieve these goals, Extension will establish new or support existing partnerships with public and private entities and individuals to address obstacles identified in the needs assessment process through directed education, research, and/or outreach.
Key Actions
- Enhance foundational educational programs and industry-driven training that promote safe, sustainable, and tech-enabled production and distribution of food and agricultural products.
- Expand and support consumer and producer education to increase equitable access to and reduce waste of healthy, locally produced foods, thereby improving nutrition.
- Provide educational resources and programming to inform and support the development of local and regional food aggregation, distribution, and waste recycling networks.
- Provide educational resources and programming for farm business planning to promote entrepreneurship and support succession planning.
- Develop partnerships and collaborations with organizations working to develop and support regional food production and distribution systems.
- Develop stakeholder group-specific communication/marketing/dissemination strategies, educational materials, and outreach efforts for different contexts and production scales (e.g., commodity agriculture, small farms, urban agriculture, and community gardens).
- Facilitate local farmer peer learning networks to exchange information/resources and define local education/outreach needs.
- Facilitate organizational development and strategic planning for food producer/distributor networks to improve access to resources and improve supply chain coordination.
- Develop a mentorship program between youth that do not live on farms but have interest in working in agriculture and farmers with capacity to support their projects.
- Development of programming support for emerging food, feed, fiber, and/or bioenergy crops and production systems
Key Outcome Measures
- Number and type of education and outreach programs developed and delivered
- Number and demographic of participants reached, including food/agriculture demographic (e.g., consumer, landowner, farmer, etc.)
- Parity analysis of participants and organizations reporting increased knowledge and/or adoption of recommended practices after completing an Extension training program regarding food and agriculture.
- Levels of engagement (e.g., views, sessions, etc.) of digital educational materials and/or media items
- Number of partnerships with local food system entities, existing and new, including local, state, regional, and national
- Number of and engagement in collaborative educational programs and materials produced
- Number of units with active farmer peer learning groups
- Attendance and demographic info
- Number of new educational materials produced, or research studies conducted due to input from farmer peer learning groups
- Knowledge gained from a peer
- Number of organizations for which strategic planning services were provided.
- Change in resources acquired by partner organizations
- Longevity of producer/distributor networks
- Number of counties who have youth participate in Food & Ag-related sessions during Illini Summer Academies
- Number of counties who have youth participate in 4-H state Food & Ag related projects and events.
- Number of developed resources for county 4-H staff to guide families through the mentorship pathway
- Equitable socioeconomic and geographical diversity represented on the Food and Ag-related 4-H youth leadership teams
- Number, percent, and parity analysis of participants in 4-H Food and Ag programs
- Number of 4-H youth pursuing UIUC certificate programs
- Number of new programs developed
Key Impacts
Primary
Enhanced Knowledge and Adoption of Best Practices – Expanded education and training will equip farmers, consumers, and stakeholders with sustainable, tech-enabled agricultural practices, improving food production, distribution, and waste management.
Secondary
Stronger Collaboration and Resilient Food Systems – Partnerships, peer networks, and strategic planning will enhance coordination, resource sharing, and equitable access to locally produced food, ensuring long-term sustainability.
Rationale
One in five jobs in Illinois is in the food and agriculture sector, contributing multiple billions of dollars in annual revenue. Yet, inadequate coordination across local, state, and regional food and agricultural system infrastructure challenges the ability of Illinois to maintain a resilient food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy supply. Illinois Extension is specifically designed to build collaborative partnerships with stakeholders that inform and leverage research and technology from the university and its partners to support the coordination and capacity building among producers, suppliers, distributors, consumers, policymakers, and other stakeholders necessary for a resilient food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy supply.
Champion

Talon Becker
Workgroup Members

Beth Chatterton
Ex Officio
