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Tony Stirling holding a row of his hydroponic lettuce

More Than a Warehouse: Down at the Farms’ Satellite Hubs Fuel Food Access

August 7, 2025

Every Tuesday, Tony Stirling of Valley Fresh Harvest hauls 150 pounds of lettuce from his hydroponic operation in Ladd to the Down at the Farms warehouse near Fairbury. Down at the Farms coordinates its sale...

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From farmer to aggregator: Meeting the growing need for local food

December 12, 2024

Cultivating Connections

A class project changed how Clint Bland looks at food.As part of an ecology course, Clint tried to find a more sustainable way of living by eating only locally grown food for a month.He couldn’t. With summer over, he couldn’t rely on local foods from farmers markets or home gardens. As he read the...

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Mei Shao, owner of Sunny Oaks farm holding a mushroom log

Mushrooms — and happiness — grow at Sunny Oaks Farm

November 5, 2024

Cultivating Connections

Happiness matters. Mei Shao’s path to farming is unique. Raised in China, her parents encouraged a very traditional educational path. She studied in the U.S. and became a very successful executive architect for one of the most prestigious firms in the country. But happiness matters. ...

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Small but mighty: Midnight Sun Farm cultivates community, sustainability

October 7, 2024

Cultivating Connections

Every Monday, Becky Stark and her husband, Nick Batchelder, pick and pack vegetables grown on their Midnight Sun Farm and deliver them to Empower Boone Food Pantry just a few miles down the road in Capron.And, every...

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Specialty Crops Blogs

More Than a Warehouse: Down at the Farms’ Satellite Hubs Fuel Food Access

From farmer to aggregator: Meeting the growing need for local food

Mushrooms — and happiness — grow at Sunny Oaks Farm

Small but mighty: Midnight Sun Farm cultivates community, sustainability