Who would have thought you could turn honey into a drink that’ll give you a buzz? A growing number of businesses, that’s who
TODAY’S FARM
Farming’s flight risks
By PHYLLIS COULTER | FarmWeek
Summer skies fill with planes and helicopters in rural Illinois every year as corn and soybean fields need crop protection. However, the risk to aerial applicators was magnified in July with four crashes within eight days in Illinois.
An applicator plane crashed near the Ogle County Airport in Mount Morris along state Route 64 in mid-July. The 23-year-old pilot, who was the sole occupant of the plane, died.
Elsewhere, no one was injured when a plane crashed near Hartsburg on Route 121 close to the Logan County Airport. Minor injuries were reported in a plane crash in Wyoming, and no injuries resulted from a helicopter accident near Bloomington, according to the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB).
Every year, there is a crucial time in June and July when planes and helicopters weave low above the fields.
“There’s a lot of acres that must be sprayed very quickly. So that’s when we have accidents,” said Dennis Bowman, digital agriculture specialist with the University of Illinois Extension.
RISKS cont’d to page 19
Photo: Catrina Rawson of FarmWeek
TODAY’S FARM
RISKS cont’d from page 18
“With the windmill and cellphone towers, we have made the environment more dangerous,” he told FarmWeek.
For corn, most of the products are applied shortly after tasseling time. The soybean season is a little longer. So, July and early August are prime times.
“Already facing razor-thin margins due to low crop prices and high input and land costs, farmers strive to set their crop up for success and reduce the negative impacts from stressors such as weather and pests,” said Kathryn Seebruck, commercial agriculture educator, U of I Extension. This might include aerial application of crop protection products such as fungicides and insecticides to prevent diseases and insects, respectively, from damaging the crop during this sensitive period, she said.
While helicopters have advantages over planes — some can land on a platform on the back of a truck and take off again, and they can hover and land in small areas — statistics show fatalities are a mix of both helicopters and airplanes, Bowman said.
So far in 2025 in the U.S., there have been four aerial application fatalities, two with planes and two with helicopters. In Illinois, five aerial ag application accidents have been reported this year; three airplanes, one helicopter and a drone.
“Pilots are skilled, but they have to be alert every second,” Bowman said. “Pilots need to take time, not be fatigued, and not let concentration slip.”
Meanwhile, farmers need chemicals applied quickly
The pilot of this crop duster died July 22 when the plane he was flying struck power lines and crashed near the Ogle County Airport, between Oregon and Mount Morris. Authorities placed the canopy over the wreckage during the investigation.
in a small, specific window.
“The key thing for farmers is to be patient with the pilots,” Bowman said of farmers’ role in safety.
For years, planes and helicopters ruled the skies over Illinois farmland, carrying out aerial applications, but in recent years a growing number of drones have taken on the task. Drones in ag were initially used for mapping and scouting, but their use in other applications started taking off about three years ago when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) changed its rules to make it easier to apply products using drones.
Spray drones were designed specifically for agricultural applications, and their size increased so they can
cover more area.
As far as safety is concerned, drones stay in the field boundaries and don’t need to zoom up and around for the next pass. If something does go wrong, there’s no pilot on board. Spray drones also minimize the risks associated with carrying large volumes of hazardous materials and aviation fuel, as they typically carry much smaller payloads, Bowman said.
While drones offer a higher degree of safety, manned crop dusters still have several key advantages, especially for large-scale agricultural operations. Manned aircraft can carry much larger payloads and cover hundreds to thousands of acres per day at significantly faster speeds, making them more efficient. Their longer operating times also make them well-suited for continuous, high-output applications. Although drones are advancing quickly, their limited battery life, smaller coverage capacity, and regulatory restrictions currently make them less cost-effective for large operations.
“As technology and regulations evolve, swarms of drones working in coordination will likely overcome many of today’s limitations,” Bowman said.
“One of the paramount advantages of advancing agricultural technology like drones is that they make ag work easier and, more importantly, safer. As their benefits are realized, they may just become as much of a familiar sight in the summer as crop dusting airplanes and helicopters,” he added.
This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.
Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media
Greg Fischer, owner of Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery in Beverly on Chicago’s South Side, says mead is the ultimate craft beverage: “[It] can be dry, sweet, spicy — whatever you want it to be.”
Raising a glass to an industrious insect
n A new generation is rediscovering an ancient elixir, and when it comes to producing this ‘nectar of the gods,’ an Illinois business says the state is poised to becoming one of the leading places to bee
By CELESTE HUTTES | Illinois Farm Bureau Partners
Anyone who’s combed through history books has probably come across a mention of mead.
Once known as the “nectar of the gods,” mead was a celebrated part of ancient cultures around the world, prized by Greek philosophers, Viking warriors, Egyptian priests and Chinese nobility alike. The fermented honey drink reigned supreme for thousands of years. But, with wine and beer emerging as simpler, less-expensive alcohol options, mead became a luxury lost to time. Aside from the occasional Renaissance fair, mead has not been part of modern life.
But a Prairie State producer is bringing the drink back, and he’s hoping others will follow his mead.
Greg Fischer, owner of Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery in Beverly, on the South Side of Chicago, has been as busy as a — well, you know — working to bring back the noble nectar, testing out new and unique flavors all while paying ode to the bees that make the beverage possible.
He’s not the only one who feels a need for mead. Interest in the drink has grown in recent decades. Once a sign of status and privilege, today, mead can be found at wineries, craft breweries and retail stores everywhere. According to the American Mead Makers Association, the number of commercial meaderies in the U.S. grew from approximately 60 in 2003 to an estimated 650 in 2022 — and one of the first began right here in Illinois.
Nathan Lambrecht/Journal Communications
TODAY’S FARM
cont’d from page 20
Everything old is new again
Clearly, mead is making a comeback, thanks to skilled meadmakers like Fischer.
“We were Illinois’ first meadery,” he said. “We started at this location in 2001, built up a good following and expanded into a world-class tasting room and winery.”
For a time, Fischer worked as a beekeeper, transporting bees around the country to pollinate crops. Conveniently, honey is one of the main ingredients in mead, so his beekeeping roots came in handy.
“My family grew apples in upstate New York, and we needed honeybees for pollination,” says Fischer, who first became enamored with bees as a child. “That’s how I got so attached to bees.”
Today, he channels his love for bees into making buzzy beverages. Nestled against the Dan Ryan Woods, Wild Blossom Meadery’s location is both picture-perfect and productive.
“Instead of raising grapes, we raise honeybees,” Fischer says. “Instead of vineyards, we have forests and fields and meadows that we farm.”
He also maintains hives on the Marriott hotel rooftop and other locations in downtown Chicago, a surprisingly bee-friendly place.
“Chicago’s lakefront is just teeming with flowers,” he says. “Cities with parks and flowering trees often have more nectar sources than rural locations. Bees are one agricultural endeavor that can work pretty well in an urban environment.”
In the winter, Fischer’s bees become snowbirds. To protect them from Illinois’ increasingly volatile weather fluctuations, he transports his hives to Florida, where they make honey that hints of local botanicals like palmetto and orange blossom. In the springtime, Fischer’s bees help Michigan farmers boost blueberry production by as much as 40%.
The art of mead making
After those busy bees do their job, it’s Fischer’s turn to roll up his sleeves. A relatively simple process, mead making takes approximately two weeks and three ingredients: honey, water and yeast.
During the first, or primary, fermentation, the yeast converts the honey to alcohol, creating a basic dry mead. During an optional secondary fermentation, the mead maker can add honey back into the batch to sweeten it up as well as flavors ranging from cranberry to chocolate. By varying the amount of honey added to the water, the mead maker can adjust the alcohol content from very light to as much as 20%. Many people mistakenly assume all meads are sweet, but the varieties are endless.
“Mead can be dry, sweet, spicy – whatever you want it to be,” Fischer says. “It’s the ultimate craft beverage.”
Wild Blossom produces very dry meads comparable to pinot grigio as well as sweet varieties similar to port. None is more sought after than the Blueberry Nectar mead.
MEAD by the
8,000 Years since mead was first made by fermenting honey with yeast
650 Commercial meaderies in the U.S. in 2022
15 Flavors of mead, honey wine and sangria offered by Wild Blossom, from PB&J to Blueberry Nectar
60 Commercial meaderies in the U.S. in 2003
numbers
2
MILLION
Flowers pollinated by Wild Blossom bees to produce the honey needed for just one bottle of mead
2001 Year that Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery was founded in Chicago 24% Sugar content of Wild Blossom mead
“After primary fermentation, we pump the mead over beds of blueberries, and it will ferment on that fruit again, which builds flavor and complexity,” Fischer says. “In the end, we get a really beautiful blueberry flavor with honey in the background. It’s better than eating blueberries.”
One can only wonder what the earliest mead
As a pioneer in Illinois’ mead industry, Greg Fischer believes the Midwest is poised to become one of the mead capitals of the world.
drinkers would have thought of Wild Blossom’s more adventurous offerings. Fischer’s signature creations include the award-winning Chocolate Cherry Honey Buzz and PB&J, made by pumping mead over freshroasted peanuts, then co-fermenting it with Concord grapes.
“People are just dumbfounded by it,” Fischer says. “They say it’s like drinking a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
A mecca for mead
As a pioneer in Illinois’ mead industry, Fischer believes the Midwest is poised to become one of the mead capitals of the world.
“We’re the Prairie State, and we produce some of the best honeys in the world right here,” he says. “Our meads really do wow people.”
Meanwhile, Fischer stands in awe of his honeybees. They fly as many as 15,000 miles and pollinate up to 2 million new flowers to produce the honey needed for just one bottle of mead.
“Bees are just so amazing,” says Fischer, noting the concern of serious threats bees face, such as mites and the changing climate. “When they’re pollinating, they’re either producing more food or more seeds. That’s why mead is the most sustainable wine on earth.”
So, the next time you’re in the mood for merrymaking, grab a glass and rediscover what our earliest ancestors knew: Mead is something to celebrate, along with the hard work of pollinators.
“Mead production supports honeybees, so you can feel as good about drinking mead as you feel when you’re done drinking mead,” he says.
This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit ILFBpartners.com.
Nathan Lambrecht/ Journal Communications
TODAY’S FARM
Pilot program could make corn a pop star
Illinois farmer hopes to get a bigger bite of the snack market with his deep-fried popcorn
By HANNAH SPANGLER | FarmWeek
What started as a kitchen experiment on a Knox County farm has grown into a deep-frying method that could bring popcorn to restaurant menus, and open fresh opportunities for specialty crop growers.
Andrew Bowman of Pilot Knob Farm near Oneidanin west-central Illinois has developed a specialized fryer basket that allows restaurants to deep-fry popcorn using existing kitchen equipment. The innovation could create a new market for his family-grown, hull-less red and blue popcorn.
“We’re very excited for this,” Bowman said. “It will be a novel way for people to experience our no-toothpicks-required popcorn.”
The five-generation family farm has been around since 1877 on high ground near Oneida, where the family grows popcorn that’s marketed as having a more natural taste and better texture — and because of its thin, soft hulls, it touts “no toothpicks required” with
its hull-less popcorn.
The fried popcorn concept addresses a common challenge for small-scale food producers: breaking into crowded grocery store shelves. Despite strong feedback on taste and quality, Bowman said it’s been difficult to scale retail sales due to the sheer number of products grocery buyers manage. That challenge led Bowman to explore new markets.
The idea came from a viral video his son found online. After testing the concept in a small fryer, Bowman realized deep-fried popcorn could offer restaurants a unique, quick-cooking side that fits easily into existing kitchen routines.
“Can you imagine having a nice bowl of popcorn to go with some cheese curds at Culver’s, or a nice sandwich or a steak at Texas Roadhouse?” Bowman told RFD Radio Network’s DeLoss Jahnke.
said. “We want people to enjoy the bounty from our family farm.”
Instead, Pilot Knob Farm plans to provide the baskets at little or no cost to restaurants that agree to source their popcorn exclusively from the farm. It’s a model designed to build long-term relationships and open a new sales channel for a product that’s already proven popular with consumers.
More info
Contact: 309-368-3544 or https://pilotknob.farm/ contact/ Online: https://pilotknob. farm/ and on Facebook
The key is a custom-designed fryer basket made from food-grade perforated stainless steel. It allows popcorn to be cooked in a standard deep fryer, right alongside fries or onion rings. While the basket is more complex and costly than typical fryer equipment, Bowman said the goal isn’t to sell hardware.
“We’re not equipment salesmen. We’re farmers,” he
Bowman is offering a pilot program for restaurants interested in trying the product. Participating establishments will receive free popcorn and temporary use of the custom fryer basket with no upfront cost.
The goal is to fine-tune both the equipment and the process before scaling up. Bowman said he’s especially interested in working with Illinois-based restaurants and food entrepreneurs who value local sourcing and are open to offering something new on their menus.
“It’s a phenomenal product. It tastes amazing,” Bowman said. “Now we just have to execute on it, and that part is going to require feedback.”
This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.
FARMERS SERVING FARMERS
VOTE FOR ADAM DELGADO
Candidate For US Senate From Illinois
Be a part of history! Please come out to the Sterling High School football game on September 5th, to meet and sign the petition to get on the ballot, for class of ‘83 Sterling High School graduate and U of I Urbana-Champaign class of ‘91 graduate, as he runs for the seat held by Senator Durbin. Adam has honorably served our country for 38 years. Thank you!
I want to restore your VA, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
“A Democrat with a Twist”