Fields Apart: Rooted Together

This three-part series by our award-winning video team highlights the diversity of agriculture in our state. Whether it’s an entrepreneur bringing fresh produce to a local neighborhood or a large downstate row crop operation working to feed the world, Fields Apart: Rooted Together lends faces and inspirational stories to food in Illinois.

Episode 1

In episode one, we ask can you farm in the City of Chicago? How can farmers provide for their communities and help fight food insecurities? Are Illinois universities providing diverse agricultural education? What agritourism opportunity is there in Illinois? and more.

Episode 2

In episode two, we meet Alicia Nesbary-Moore, owner of Herban Produce, a dynamic urban farm in Chicago, and Mathew Heberling, who comes from a row crop family on a farm in rural central Illinois. Despite their different challenges and environments, Alicia and Matt embrace their common ground as farmers fighting food insecurity and having an impact on their local communities. Raghela Scavuzzo, Illinois Farm Bureau® ’s Associate Director of Food Systems Development, and Bryan Flowers, Director of Food Systems Innovations at Northern Illinois University, discuss the importance of urban and rural farmers like Alicia and Matt in fighting food insecurity with diverse and efficient food systems throughout the state.

Episode 3

In episode three, Fields Apart: Rooted Together spotlights the impact of rural and urban agriculture at the local level. In Chicago, Michael and Amelia Howard, founders of Eden Place Nature Center in Fuller Park, have more than 30 years of experience in urban agriculture and have helped revitalize and bring together their local community. In his rural community, Mark Tuttle is a life-long row crop farmer who is helping his town start a six-day-per-week farmer’s market. Sean Park, the program manager for Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, is helping to identify and uplift rural communities through savvy business practices. Episode three of the docuseries details the different challenges that each rural and urban farmer faces and the ties that bind them all together.