What's Growing at Clearview Farm

Where can you find alfalfa, sunflowers, popcorn and more growing side by side? At Champaign’s Clearview Farm

On the northwest edge of Champaign, Clearview Farm is now in its fourth year as a place of agricultural community engagement. This pivot, after over a century of producing some combination of corn, soybeans, cattle, and hogs, can be traced to the pandemic year of 2020.

Champaign County developer The Atkins Group (TAG), owner of Clearview Farm since 1997, had planted a field of sunflowers that year in Urbana’s Stone Creek subdivision. The mass August blooming attracted widespread community attention and created a social media buzz as visitors flocked to the fields with their children, dogs and cameras in tow. A much-visited sunflower field has been planted at Clearview Farm each summer since, with a different maze pattern revealed each year.

But sunflowers are not the only crop growing at Clearview Farm. Since it opened to the public in 2021, its fields have been planted with a changing variety of crops — many of which are not usually found in Illinois — in pursuit of its educational, commercial, academic, and economic goals. According to its website, TAG’s vision for Clearview Farm is as follows:

A visually stunning, photo-ready destination during all four seasons
Field trips, demonstrations, and internships for students
Abundant testing ground for non-native crops
Commercial and academic partnerships to strengthen and enrich our local economy

Highlights from Clearview Farm in 2023 include providing an abundance of sweet corn (harvested by volunteers from Carle) for distribution through local nonprofits. Also, a successful popcorn harvest meant a 2000+ lb. popcorn donation to the Eastern Illinois Food Bank.

2023 also saw the creation of an Illinois-shaped native pollinator garden, across Olympian Drive from the rest of Clearview Farm. This site will eventually consist of almost 1,000 native plants throughout 5,500 square feet of garden space. The garden also features river rock channels (doubling as visitor walking paths) mirroring the major rivers of Illinois.

Canola plants in bloom at Clearview Farm — Canola plants blooming in early June 2021 at Clearview Farm. Chambanamoms.com photo

To learn more, we spoke to Farm Manager Sophia Horton who was kind enough to answer our questions and give us a preview of what’s new at Clearview Farm in 2024.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Q: Describe some lessons learned over Clearview’s first several years in operation.

We learn something new about farming practices each year. Besides being a space for community engagement, Clearview Farm is also a testing ground for crops not common to Illinois, agricultural technology, and regenerative agriculture principles. Clearview Farm provides a space to test ideas, like various cover crop mixes, that might be too new or risky to implement on a larger scale.

Clearview Farm is a collaboration of local businesses that donate time, talents, and
money to provide this fun and free space for visitors. Each year, we’re amazed and grateful for the outpouring of support that makes Clearview Farm possible. See our website for an up-to-date list of community partners and sponsors.

Q: What do you think is most interesting for kids (and families) at Clearview Farm? How can kids engage with these spaces?

Clearview Farm is a unique place where families can have an up-close and personal experience with agricultural production, including crops that are both common and uncommon in Illinois. There are wide paved walking paths along all our crop fields, with signs that inform visitors about the crops growing in each field and their uses. Clearview Farm is a great place to stroll, bike, or drive alongside our fields to see something unique, learn something new, and enjoy the outdoors.

We also encourage a stop at our Illinois-shaped native pollinator garden. This is one of the few places to view and enjoy a garden that is entirely planted with native pollinator plants.

Our sunflower maze is our most popular attraction. Visitors can venture through the paths in our 25-acre sunflower field, participate in a scavenger hunt, attend events, and more. It’s important to know that the sunflowers only bloom for about two weeks each summer, so be sure to check our social media and website regularly to know when they will bloom.

Q: What kind of groups take field trips to Clearview? How are these arranged?

We give tours to a variety of organizations, educational groups, and special interest clubs. Tours are arranged by appointment only. Whether this is your group’s first visit to a farm, you grew up in agriculture, or are somewhere in between, we can create a unique and interesting experience for you.

Clover at Clearview Farm — Red clover is a current crop at Clearview. Chambanamoms.com photo

Q: Anything new we should look for in 2024? Anything else you’d like our readers to know?

We have two new and exciting additions coming in 2024!

New interactive educational signage will be added to our Illinois-shaped native pollinator garden. The signs will provide educational information about pollination, soil, water, careers in agriculture, and more, enhancing a visit to this unique garden. The signs will also contain QR codes that lead to corresponding activities for continuing the educational experience at home.

This fall we will be adding a new family-friendly event: Movie at the Farm! A limited number of ticket-holders will watch the iconic film Field of Dreams in the middle of one of our corn fields. (Date and details, including ticket sale information, is TBA and will be announced on social media.)

Events like the sunflower celebration and sunflower yoga classes are planned for this season too.

2024 Crop map for Clearview Farm — Here is the 2024 crop map for Clearview Farm. Photo from Clearview Farm Facebook page

HOW TO GET THERE

Clearview Farm is roughly 140 acres of farmland, located near the intersection of Interstates 57 and 74 in Champaign. If you just want to stick it in your GPS and go, the address is 3605 N. Mattis Ave.

Most of the fields are actually located along Legacy Avenue. There is ample street parking along Legacy Avenue. Visitors are asked to follow any posted signs — note that parking for Clearview is not allowed along Mattis Avenue. There are no permanent bathroom facilities, but port-a-potties and trash cans are usually onsite during popular times (such as sunflower bloom season).

What’s Growing at Clearview Farm

Where can you find alfalfa, sunflowers, popcorn and more growing side by side? At Champaign’s Clearview Farm

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