Farmland Protection - Openlands 2008 Protecting Farmland in Northeastern Illinois Conference

February 1–2, 2008

Heavy snow could not deter the broad compendium of federal, state, and local government officials; farming businesses; non-profit conservation organizations; and land trusts that came together to explore action steps for saving farmland in northeastern Illinois—from producing viable bio-energy grasses to marketing the use of agricultural conservation easements.

Speakers at the event, hosted at Elgin Community College, offered innovative incentives to integrate farming into the economic structure of the region, discussed statewide initiatives, and considered conservation actions taken by people who operate farms. Conference presentations included:

• The Outlook for Farmland Protection in Northeastern Illinois, Steven Arnold, FFBCM, Manager, Kane County Farm Bureau;
  
• Farming with Nature: Preserving Farmland for Local Food Production, Megan Lewis, Executive Director, and Terra Brockman, Director of Farmer Training, The Land Connection;
• Ohio's Successful Farm Program, Kristen Jensen, Program Manager, Office of Farmland Preservation, Ohio Department of Agriculture;
• The Role of Land Trusts in Protecting Farmland, Lisa Haderlein, the Land Conservancy of McHenry County, and Dan Lobbes, The Conservation Foundation;
• Public-Private Partnerships, Pat O’Connell, Evergreen Conservation Finance;
• Soil Carbon Offsets, Bill Schleizer, Delta Institute; and
• Nationally: A 15-County Comparison, Anita Zurbrugg, American Farmland Trust.

The 2008 conference was funded by a grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.

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