2022 ORGANIC FARMER OF THE YEAR
DAVE CAMPBELL, LILY LAKE ORGANIC FARM, CERTIFIED ORGANIC SINCE 1990
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ave Campbell has dedicated his life to the organic movement. From farmer advocacy, to research, to system integrity, to teaching, Dave has touched every major pillar of the organic movement. In recognition of his lifelong dedication to organic farming, Dave has been selected as the 2022 Organic Farmer of the Year. Campbell is known and admired throughout the Midwest farming community for his work as an exceptional mentor and a vocal advocate for integrity in the organic movement. He has been a dedicated mentor through the MOSES Farmer-to-Farmer Mentor Program since the beginning of the program. Former mentees describe Dave as “a true teacher and mentor at heart.”
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Campbell began learning about organic farming from his father, who started farming organically in 1967. With his father’s guidance, he began selling organic meat to a local health food store under a de-facto two-party organic certification. Campbell continued working on his father’s organic farm throughout his school years and into college. After graduating with a teaching degree, Campbell decided to go into partnership with his father on the family’s organic dairy farm in Illinois and later, in Wisconsin. In 1988, Dave and his wife Mary returned to Illinois to start Lily Lake Organic Farm, on land that had been farmed by Mary’s family since 1834. They immediately began transitioning the land to organic and by 1990 the entire farm was certified. Today, the 224-acre farm is rooted in Campbell’s knowledge and experience growing small grains, row crops, and forages organically in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin for the past 40 years. At Lily Lake Organic Farm, Campbell has maintained a sharp focus on soil health, adding more cover crops and reducing tillage, especially in the spring. Two years ago, Campbell enrolled in the NRCS EQIP program, supporting more biodiversity and pollinator habitat areas on the farm.
