Floods Ruin Cook Farm's Growing Year
Popular downstate Illinois farm's crops wrecked by six feet of rainwater
Cook Farm Needs Support After Ruinous Rains
Most region farms have been able to manage the aftermath of recent excessive rains. But for Cook Farm in downstate Illinois, it was their worst-case scenario.
The chemical-free vegetable farm, managed by partners Chelsea Meiss and Dylan Cook, is at the confluence of three creeks in Heyworth, located south of Bloomington. The broad watershed recently received 10 inches of rain in two days, creating a six-foot wall of water that devastated the farm’s crops.
Our friends at Illinois Stewardship Alliance yesterday alerted us to the announcement that Cook Farm determined the damage is irreparable and is closing down for the foreseeable future. “We will regroup and rebuild. And when we can, we will plant again. But it won’t be quick,” Chelsea and Dylan wrote in a message on their website that we share verbatim below.
They also are reluctantly asking for financial assistance to do cleanup, assess and remediate toxic pollution left behind by floodwaters, and help transition their employees until Cook Farm can get back to the business of producing healthy and delicious local food. Click the button below to make a donation.
Farmers are at the core of Local Food Forum’s mission to support our local food community and build a better-for-people, better-for-the-planet food system. We started the Seasons of Change farmer series right after we launched in April because we believe that people who aren’t farmers need a clearer picture of the challenges of bringing local food from farms to table.
Cook Farm was not in the series, but their dilemma underscores its purpose in the saddest and most extreme manner. Please help them out if you can, and please share this post with others who might be able to help.
Cook Farm’s Message
First of all, we want to thank all of you who have reached out and offered us your help and kindness over the past week. We feel lucky to have your support and are humbled by your thoughtfulness. We know many in our community suffered damages and losses during the storms and subsequent flooding last weekend.
Our vegetable field lies at the confluence of three creeks in Heyworth, and received over 10 inches of rain in less than 2 days. The creeks’ watersheds, coming from Bloomington, Downs, and Heyworth, all also received over 10 inches of rain. Our field didn’t stand a chance. It was entirely covered in over 6 feet of floodwaters. While the water receded in a couple of days, it left behind a total loss. Our crops are dead, severely damaged and in some cases, completely missing. And unfortunately, we are unable to sell anything that did survive, or plant again in a timely fashion, due to recent rules passed regarding food safety. It should come as no surprise to anyone living in McLean County that our floodwaters are so toxic as to require a 30-180 day waiting period before replanting.
Our entire purpose is growing food for our community that is safe to eat. We feel devastated and heartbroken, first by our immediate losses and also by the loss of the opportunity to replant and continue to do our work and provide beautiful, nutritious, uncontaminated food in the next months. It’s not a risk we are willing to take nor a risk we could be insured for were something to come up.
With heavy hearts, we will be closing the farm down for the foreseeable future. Considering the level of crop loss and the applicable FDA/FSMA restrictions, we cannot make the timelines and numbers work in order to save the season without assuming a level of debt that we can’t service. It has been a challenging three years for our farm - in 2019 we lost our summer and spring plantings when we were sprayed with herbicide by a neighboring farmer, in 2020 we navigated running a small business during COVID, and 2021 has brought us a flood! These events have put us in a financial and emotional hole that will take some time for us to fill. We will regroup and rebuild. And when we can, we will plant again. But it won’t be quick.
To everyone who has signed up for a farm share, whether through one of our local partners, or directly with the farm - we are sorry. This is not the share we would wish to provide and not the membership you were sold. We will be offering unconditional refunds for any unused balance that remains on your account through August 6th, 2021. Please email us and we’ll make it right. For those who wish to hold onto your memberships, know that the balance on your account will be good until you have used it. Although we can’t commit to a production timeline right now, we will keep you updated on when we’ll be harvesting again.
Asking for help doesn’t come easy to either of us. And we would never expect anything more than the support you all have provided by purchasing our vegetables. But, for those of you who have reached out, we’re not in a position to be too proud to accept that extraordinary kindness. Thank you. We’ll use any donated funds to clean up the mess, test our soil, smooth transitions for our staff and to double down on our commitment to provide good, clean food for our community.
Bob, thank you for making this horrible affair known to folks up here. I walked around the Evanston market last week asking farmers how the storms affected them, and the overall sentiment was that they got off pretty easy. One farmer indicated that the only effect was that he didn't have to work one day. Yet, they are all so aware of the fact that they were fortunate. This devastation that overtook Cook Farm is so enormous that I'm donating even though I may never take a bite of their produce. The dignity and commitment of their message was something I couldn't ignore. Good luck to them in recovering.