Illinois Women in Conservation Launch

Pack your camp chair and join us for a very first Illinois Women in Conservation Potluck Field Day!

We’re delighted to launch Illinois Women in Conservation with a field day at Pasture Grazed Farm, where host Rosalie Trump farms alongside her dad and brother. Join us an learn how this family farm has made the transition to regenerative agriculture, and how the journey has impacted their farm legacy and community.

As is tradition at Women in Conservation events, we’ll begin our day in a Learning Circle, giving everyone a chance to introduce themselves, connect, and share some of their own experiences, questions, and conservation goals.

Then, we’ll head out onto the land with Rosalie to see regenerative agriculture in action. During the field tour, we’ll dig into adaptive grazing, virtual fencing, grazing cropland, and integrating cover crops while hearing about the Trump family's experiences putting these practices to work on their own farm. Along the way, Rosalie will share both what she has learned and the role these changes have played in the farm’s evolution. Today, Pasture Grazed produces regeneratively grown meat and grains while also welcoming people onto the land through educational farm tours and events.

We’ll conclude our time together with a shared potluck, where there will be plenty of time to eat, talk, laugh, ask questions, and get to know other women interested in conservation. Please bring a potluck dish or dessert to share, along with your own plate/bowl/silverware, a reusable water bottle, and a camp chair. Think camp! We’re here to reduce waste and honor the earth.

ILWiC Host

Rosalie Trump, Pasture Grazed Farm

Rosalie farms alongside her brother and dad in Clare, Illinois, primarily helping with livestock and the direct marketing of farm products. Her professional background in marketing has helped the family business grow beyond production to offer regeneratively grown meat and grains, educational farm tours, and other on-farm events.

ILWiC Facilitator

Christine Johnson, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute Farmer Education Coordinator

Dr. Esther S. Durairaj, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute Education Director and Women in Conservation Project Lead

For more information about this event, please contact Christine at cjohnson@michaelfields.org ; (262) 642-3303 ext. 107

What to Expect

• Connect with other women around shared dreams, challenges, questions, and experiences with conservation.

• Learn about Illinois Women in Conservation and opportunities to connect with conservation resources and a growing network of women across the state.

• Explore adaptive grazing, virtual fence collars, grazing cropland, and cover crop integration in the field.

• Hear firsthand about one family's transition toward regenerative agriculture and what that transition has meant for their farm and community.

• To spend significant time outdoors in the woods and around the farm. Please dress accordingly. We recommend long pants, closed-toe walking shoes, sunscreen, and a sunhat.

• Eat, talk, laugh, learn, and make some new conservation connections along the way.

• To share a potluck lunch. Bring a dish to share and your own plate/bowl/silverware - and chair! 

  
  

Event Details

• Event is free to attend but registration is required and space is limited.

• ILWiC events follow a Learning Circle model, with ample time and a safe space for story sharing, networking and collaborative learning. We all have something to both share and learn together.

• ILWiC is a family-friendly space, and you are welcome to bring your children.

Photos are taken at Women in Conservation events to help amplify the work being done by women land stewards and promote future events. Your registration grants consent for your photo to be taken and used for these purposes.

About Illinois Women in Conservation

ILWiC is for women on a conservation journey: farmers, landowners, farm workers, gardeners, urban growers and conservation professionals who share a passion for taking good care of soil, water, and wildlife. We are also biologists, researchers, farm market managers, prairie enthusiasts, hunters, fishers, retirees and young women with dreams of land ownership. By sharing stories, knowledge, and experience, we are working together for a brighter future on the earth. 

Research shows that women land stewards benefit from connecting with one another to build supportive relationships and capacity for conservation implementation. Encouraged by the success of Wisconsin Women in Conservation (WiWiC), Michael Fields Agricultural Institute is pleased to announce the birth of “Illinois Women in Conservation” (ILWiC), in partnership with The Land Connection and The Land Conservancy of McHenry County. The launch of ILWiC coincides appropriately with the United Nation’s Year of the Women Farmer in 2026. 

This collaboration will leverage existing resources and proven peer-to-peer education techniques to guide women to networks and resources in both rural and urban areas. Women and female-identifying land stewards at every level of experience who reside in Illinois are all welcome to join. ILWiC plans to host learning circles, field days, and webinars, while connecting with other conservation-minded women across the Upper Midwest. Together, we are nurturing land and legacy.

About Michael Fields Agricultural Institute

MFAI is a non-profit organization that has been cultivating resiliency through research, education, and policy work since 1984. With a broad coalition of public and private partners, The Institute supports farmers, food systems and communities in the Upper Midwest and beyond through a range of programs and initiatives. We believe agriculture can sustain both human and ecosystem health, while advancing food security, independence, and justice. Follow along on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news and events.