The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS), in partnership with the SWCS Land of Lincoln (Illinois) Chapter, is proud to announce the recipients of its NEW Commodities for Community grants and scholarship program. This initiative is directly funded by Illinois farmers to invest in students and projects that strengthen local farms and communities.
Through the program, farmers voluntarily contribute a portion of their commodity sales to support local grants and scholarships. By donating grain directly—rather than selling it first—farmers may reduce taxable income, lower self-employment tax, and still deduct production costs. The donated funds are reinvested into students and organizations working to improve soil health, strengthen agricultural landscapes, and support communities across Illinois.
Frank Rademacher, a farmer and donor, is an enthusiastic supporter of the program: “SWCS does an incredible job moving agriculture forward through networking, education, and programs for young ag professionals. Grain donation is a simple, effective way for me to support an expansion of their impactful work in Illinois. SWCS walked me through every part of the donation process, and giving to a great cause was as easy as pulling across the scales.”
2026 Scholarship Recipient Emilee Cox
Emilee Cox of Macedonia, Illinois, is attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and majoring in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. Raised in southern Illinois fishing crappie on Rend Lake and gardening, Emilee has spent more than a decade involved in 4-H and was the 2024 Illinois State Fair 4-H Soil Science project winner. She now works at the Student Sustainable Farm on the University of Illinois campus and previously served as the primary instructor for the G.I.F.T. Garden (Growing Illinois Food Together).
“I hope to … advocate for rural communities like mine that often lack a voice in decisions shaping their environment.”
2026 Community Grant Recipients
Prairie Land Conservancy—Building a Stronger Conservation Community from the Ground Up
Beginning in 2024, Prairie Land Conservancy has been organizing conservation tours across West Central Illinois that bring farmers, landowners, and community members together to share ideas about sustainable land management. The tours highlight native prairie restoration, wildlife habitat, and practical conservation practices being implemented on working lands.
Local landowner Cindy Owsley noted the impact of the tours: “I love for people to see the diversity that is in native prairies [and other land types] and how it attracts insects and birds.”
The Good People Fund/Zumwalt Acres—Live-in Farm Fellowship Program: Building Soil and Community
Located in Sheldon, Illinois, Zumwalt Acres (ZA), in partnership with The Good People Fund, is a diversified farm and education hub that grows vegetables, fruit and nut trees, mushrooms, honeybees, and chickens while conducting regenerative agriculture research and hosting community events.
The farm offers three-month, live-in fellowships for young and first-generation Illinois farmers to gain hands-on experience in diversified crop production and ecological land management. Since launching the program in 2020, the farm has hosted over 60 fellows, with more than 70% going on to pursue agricultural careers.
One fellowship participant shared, “ZA is a community that welcomes young adults from all backgrounds.… The community was very inclusive and provided safe space that allowed apprentices like me to feel comfortable to try new things.”
Farmers Investing in Their Communities
The Commodities for Community program demonstrates how small contributions from farmers can create meaningful impacts, from supporting students pursuing conservation careers to strengthening peer-to-peer learning among farmers and landowners.
By keeping resources local, the program helps ensure that conservation leadership, agricultural innovation, and community development continue to grow across Illinois.
Chapters interested in replicating the Commodities for Community program in their region are encouraged to contact awards@swcs.org.
To learn more about the program or support future projects and scholarships, visit www.swcs.org/CFC.
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About SWCS
With approximately 2,000 members around the world, the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization that serves as an advocate for conservation professionals and for science-based conservation practice, programs, and policy.
SWCS’s mission is to foster the science and art of natural resource conservation. We work to discover, develop, implement, and constantly improve conservation practices and systems that sustain the productive capacity of the land while protecting environmental quality.
We pursue our mission through a combination of research, education, and advocacy aimed at promoting state-of-the-art conservation practices and science-based conservation policy.