Your Farmers
Passionate - Grateful - Determined
The Bishop Family has been farming our 450 acres for about 35 years. Located in the center of Illinois, we operate a diversified farm and raise a bit of about everything. Having farmed conventionally, we’ve seen first hand the detrimental effects on the soil, to the farm and to rural communities. We work hard to regenerate the land because caring for the land is important not just for us, but for future generations as well.
Our farmers & our customers, believe organic is more than just a practice, it’s a way to influence a healthy life in our community and provide a sustainable way of producing healthy food. Organic production takes hard work but we feel the nutrient rich food, healthy communities, and thriving land make it worth it. Our fields are very diversified and include vegetables, herbs, and fruit as well as additional acreage in organic grains. The bond between the land and those who live & work it is important to us. Beyond our production fields, we have dedicated space to an acre of restored native Illinois prairie, a young food forest, mushroom orchard, small honey bee apiary, and restored woodlot along our creek access. Everyone who works at PrairiErth is a Farmer and you will often see our farmers out enjoying the land they care for.
Farmer Hans
Hans grew up on the farm, left for the big city and then returned to start the vegetable operation. He brought the farm to the Downtown Bloomington Farmer’s market and implemented one of the few USDA Certified Organic CSA’s in central IL! Growing quickly from just one acre to 60+, Hans is seen as a leader in organic farming nationwide. He raises healthy and delicious vegetables year round in our hoop-houses and has been told he grows the best lettuce and carrot! Hans currently oversees the grain operations – growing nearly 200 acres of organic soybeans, corn, wheat, oats and other grains in 2021!
Approachable, humble and full of resources and expertise, Hans speaks on subjects such as season extension, mechanical weed control, and using mechanization on a diversified vegetable farm. Hans was selected as one of the 2012 Slow Food Delegates to Terra Madre representing the United States.
A few fun facts about Hans.
- Hans has a plan. It will change.
- Hans wears many hats – the clean ones are for going to town
- Generally you can tell how Hans feels about the machine work he’s doing in the shop by the volume and type of music he’s playing!
Farmer Hans
Hans grew up on the farm, left for the big city and then returned to start the vegetable operation. He brought the farm to the Downtown Bloomington Farmer’s market and implemented one of the few USDA Certified Organic CSA’s in central IL! Growing quickly from just one acre to 60+, Hans is seen as a leader in organic farming nationwide. He raises healthy and delicious vegetables year round in our hoop-houses and has been told he grows the best lettuce and carrot! Hans currently oversees the grain operations – growing nearly 200 acres of organic soybeans, corn, wheat, oats and other grains in 2021!
Approachable, humble and full of resources and expertise, Hans speaks on subjects such as season extension, mechanical weed control, and using mechanization on a diversified vegetable farm. Hans was selected as one of the 2012 Slow Food Delegates to Terra Madre representing the United States.
A few fun facts about Hans.
- Hans has a plan. It will change.
- Hans wears many hats – the clean ones are for going to town
- Generally you can tell how Hans feels about the machine work he’s doing in the shop by the volume and type of music he’s playing!
Farmer Katie
Katie is one of the many PrairiErth Farm successes. Due to the growth of the farm, Katie was able to leave her corporate job of 18 years to farm full time with her family. Together Hans and Katie run the vegetable and grain operations. Katie manages the vegetable, fruit & herb side of the Farm. She is the go-to for all things veggie from transplant sales to CSA, wholesale accounts and community outreach programs, planting through harvest.
In typical “farmer’s wife” fashion Katie even pulls weeds, cleans the bathroom and makes dinner. She works hard with the community to make sure local and organic food is accessible by all. Katie speaks on topics such as food preservation, farm business & management, creating and building your brand, and using social media on the farm.
A few fun facts about Katie.
- Katie enjoys surprising other farmers with impromtu facebook videos.
- Katie is an amazing gift giver!
- Katie’s office always smells magical (and she knows a lot of stuff about using those smells to feel better!)
Farmer Dave
Dave’s expertise, wisdom and experience come from many years of farming and a passion for regenerative agriculture. Dave is very active in the community sharing his knowledge and has taken on several projects to guide new farmers towards responsible stewardship of the land.
Fun Facts about Dave
- Dave LOVES people! He leads most of our on-farm tours.
- Dave is very involved in state & countrywide ag policy
Farmer Crew
The farm wouldn’t function without our Farmer Crew! They dive into every task, work through rain or shine, and quickly adapt to the ever changing hard work that is farming. Its amazing to see each Farmer grow into their interests – a major part of the diversification of PrairiErth has been spurred by our Farmers. From our heritage pork operation to our food forest – its our farmer crew’s investment in the farm that creates our success. In their free time, you can find them enjoying yoga (sometimes teaching it!), cooking up spectacular staff food parties, discussing philosophy, and jamming out on a variety of instruments.
Fun Facts about Farmer Crew
- Several Farmers live and work right on the property
- Creativity runs rampant! Almost all of our Farmer Crew are artists of some sort
- Our Farmers love to travel and learn! You’ll find them at different farm training classes throughout the year.