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Consultant summarizes pollinator guidebook and $755,000 in local resiliency grants awarded to 19 farms
Summary
Consultant Ellen Kamps presented progress on a Farming with Pollinators guidebook and described the county's Food and Farm Resiliency Grant Program, which awarded $755,000 to 19 farms and ranches in 2024, staff said.
Ellen Kamps, a contracted sustainable-agriculture consultant, told the Kane County Agricultural Committee on Jan. 23 that her team is finalizing a Farming with Pollinators guidebook tailored to local conditions and that the county's Food and Farm Resiliency Grant Program awarded $755,000 to 19 farms and ranches in 2024.
Kamps described the guidebook as a practical, evergreen decision-making tool for land managers that links conservation practices to available incentive programs and includes seed mixes and recommendations for above- and below-ground expectations. She told the committee the draft includes a short field guide of native Kane County pollinator habitats and that staff expect to complete the guide by the second quarter of 2025 (April–May 2025).
On the grant program, Kamps said the county awarded $755,000 in 2024 to 19 food-growing farms and ranches to support critical operating expenses. She said awardees include a family-owned dairy in continuous operation since the 1980s, a fourth-generation vegetable farm, a certified naturally grown producer that uses crop output for value-added products such as soup, and a beekeeper who brings hives to neighboring vegetable farms. Kamps said many awardees donated produce to the Northern Illinois Food Bank or smaller food pantries and that all awardees reported negative COVID-19 impacts to operations.
Kamps described outreach methods used to reach growers, including a county database, the Growing for Kane database (staff referenced the Kane County Farm Bureau's list), phone calls and in-person field days. She said staff conducted three field days in 2024 (two in Kane County and one at an urban farm on Chicago's south side) and that many farmers responded by phone or text during busy workdays.
Committee members and staff discussed outreach timing and the compressed schedule required by ARPA deadlines. Staff credited the existing grower database and the direct farmer-to-farmer approach for the strong response. Committee members asked for follow-up reporting; staff said they will publicize awardees and create vignettes and visual storytelling tools for county channels after harvest.
Kamps also explained terminology used in outreach materials when asked. A committee member asked about "NOFO" on a slide; staff explained that NOFO stands for "notice of funding opportunity." Kamps said the guidebook aims to help farmers navigate multiple program documents and local Farm Service Agency and NRCS offices with a practical flowchart specific to Kane County and Northern Illinois.
Kamps and staff said Janice Hill will present a separate update in March about the land-transfer navigator work and training and transition services.
