Developing paths to make owning farmland a reality

WOODSTOCK, Ill. — Silvia Abel-Caines is on the path of owning a farm where she can grow garlic and develop a silvopasture.

“I’m a forest lover, veterinarian, mother of three and my husband and I have been dreaming of having a place like this,” said Silvia Abel-Caines, who has established Garlic eScape Farm near Woodstock.

Abel-Caines started on her journey to own a farm when she discovered the Illinois FarmLink program.

“I visited the website and found I could do my own account,” she said during a Learning Circle for Women Farmland Owners event hosted by The Land Conservancy of McHenry County.

“On the website, you can see landowners who are searching for people who want to purchase a farm,” she said. “I knew exactly what I wanted because I wanted to be able to certify organic as soon as possible.”

In addition, Abel-Caines learned that there are alternative ways to purchase a farm.

“If I didn’t have the money right away to buy a farm, you can work your way to the time you can purchase it and at the same time be actively working the land,” she said.

That’s when Abel-Caines met Linda Balek, farm program manager at The Land Conservancy of McHenry County.

“McHenry County is 60% farmland and if we want farming to be part of our future then we have to start thinking about who is going to grow food and how we are going to preserve land and make it affordable,” Balek said.

Traditionally, The Land Conservancy has worked with private landowners to preserve their land with conservation easements.

“That is a legal document that goes with the title of the land, so no matter who owns it in the future, the easement is locked in place,” Balek said.

“In this case, there is an agricultural conservation easement, so it not only preserves the land, but it reduces the market value of the property,” she said.

“That can have its drawbacks for some people, but it has advantages to other people who feel like it is important to preserve the land because it has been in their family for generations.”

The farm where Abel-Caines is currently growing garlic is owned by The Conservation Fund through its Working Farms Fund program.

“The Conservation Fund is a national conservation group that historically focused on wetlands and working forests,” said Kelly Larsen, farm services specialist at The Conservation Fund.

“The Working Farms Fund started in Atlanta in 2001 when we saw there was a big issue around metro areas,” Larsen said. “The farms were becoming ship warehouses, the land values were so high and there was a young generation of people who really want to farm.”

In addition, Larsen said, many farmers don’t want their land to turn into a subdivision, yet they want fair market value for their land.

“They want the farm to be a legacy even if it’s not their family farming it,” Larsen said.

“Silvia is paying rent and she has three to five years to scale her business,” she said. “We have eight farm businesses in the Atlanta area, Silvia is the first farmer in the program in Chicago area and I’m working with the second farmer in the program in south Cook County.”

The Conservation Fund is focused on eight counties around Chicago.

“I’m matching farmers to the land and we’re looking for people with a real desire to own property,” Larsen said.

The first step for farmers who want to buy land is to fill out the farmer’s survey so The Conservation Fund knows what type of farm a person desires.

“We only purchase 20 acres or more and we’re looking to work with regenerative farming,” Larsen said. “We have six farmers in the pipeline and we’re actively buying farms in south Cook County and McHenry County.”

Abel-Caines is growing nine varieties of garlic on the farm that totals 28 acres.

“This farm is mostly forest with a few acres to grow garlic,” she said. “I’m into silvopasture, so I want to get some Jacob sheep to work with the management of the farm.”

The farmer plans to make a path through the forest area of the farm and plant a low ground cover of thyme on the path.

“This place is pristine with no interference for 41 years, so I want to share this with people from urban settings who don’t have access,” she said. “I want to offer meditation and yoga here.”

The construction of a hoop house is also planned for the farm.

“I am going to grow ginger, ginseng and turmeric,” Abel-Caines said.

For more information about The Land Conservancy of McHenry County, go to www.conservemc.org.