Inspired by the Local Food Challenge of SustainDoor.org, Ann Hippensteel has gone the past year eating food grown and produced within 100 miles of her home, and it's been a year of discovery, attuning to the land and dealing with global environmental issues, right at home.

John Ikerd was the keynote speaker for the 2008 Midwest Value Added Agriculture conference, held in Eau Claire. Agricultural economics is his field, and his work with with sustainable agriculture and the move toward localization of food. The conference is hosted annually by River Country Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc.