Livingston County Illinois

Illinois Wesleyan Celebrates Connection to Farms at First-Ever Agricultural ...

July 14, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University dedicated an evening to honoring those who work the land at the first-ever Agricultural Heritage Dinner on Wednesday in the Young Main Lounge. Officials recognized the operators of more than 6,000 acres of University-owned farmland across 33 farms in Illinois.

“Without the farmland, Illinois Wesleyan would not be the University that it is today,” said President Richard F. Wilson, who noted farm holdings generate around $40 million of the University’s $200 million endowment. “The income from the farms goes directly into our scholarship program and support of the faculty,” as well as building construction and maintenance, said Wilson. “There is no better investment than the rich farmland of this area.”

More than 140 guests were in attendance at the dinner, including operators of IWU farms throughout the state. “If people ask me what I do, President Wilson said to tell them, ‘I put students through college,’” said Rick Heaton, operator of the Dorothy Hoadley Farm in Stark County, just north of Peoria. “I’d never thought of it that way before.”

The first gift of farmland to Illinois Wesleyan came in 1873 from Hiram Buck, who offered the University 640 acres. The Buck Farm, located in Douglas County, began the University’s agricultural endowment. “That farm has helped countless students to receive an Illinois Wesleyan education,” said Board of Trustee Chairman George Vinyard. “Ours is a long and rich history with the farms in Illinois that goes back to our earliest days. We are continually impressed by the agricultural heritage that we are celebrating here tonight.”

The University’s reputation for maintaining donated land, as opposed to selling it for an immediate profit, is important to the legacy of agriculture in Illinois, according to Steve Brown, chair of the Trustee Farm Committee. “This agricultural heritage is sacred to all of us,” said Brown, who is a farmer and also the father of two Illinois Wesleyan graduates.

“The University has always shown great respect for the wishes of those who left land to them,” said Jeff Dixon, who works the Ethel K. Hoerner Farm, in Livingston County, west of Pontiac, with his son Jake. “I think that if Ms. Hoerner was alive, she would want to see the farm around for future years.

AgWired » Blog Archives » Growing Connoisseur Corn

Growing Connoisseur Corn

There was a lot to learn from Spence Farm on the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project field tour. Specialty corn varieties for connoisseur chefs is another lesson we learned last week. Iroquois White Corn has an unusual earthy flavor and a varied texture that chefs love and it’s worth about $840 a bushel for Marty and Kris Travis of Spence Farm in Livingston County, Illinois.

Marty and Kris started growing the heirloom corn several years ago. “We harvest it, dry it and then we roast it over an open fire, shell it and run it through our stone mill to make a roasted corn meal,” Marty said. “We sell that to the general public and to chefs for $15 a pound.”

The Travis’ have also started growing a red flint corn from Italy this year, a typical polenta corn that took them two years to find and is in high demand with chefs right now. “The red corn has this incredible, floral flavor that is unlike any of the corns that we’ve ever tasted,” said Marty.

Watch them talk about their specialty corn crops and how they’ve found a market for just about every part of the plant!

The History of Livingston County, Illinois, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. ...

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Livingston County, Illinois

Livingston County, Illinois, official farm plat book and directory

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