Sustainable Local Foods Farming, a new academic program that focuses on the skills needed to grow locally grown foods and market food crops, will start this fall at John Wood Community College.

The program will include classroom and hands-on training in agriculture, vegetable and small fruit production, entrepreneurship, and marketing. Students will gain the practical skills and knowledge needed to be successful agricultural entrepreneurs in this emerging industry. Students will be able to earn a 29-credit-hour certificate in Sustainable Local Foods Farming. State approval is pending and is expected before fall term begins.

Technical knowledge and skills will be gained through hand-on courses taught at JWCC's demonstration market garden, located on the Quincy campus.

"There is an increasing consumer demand for locally grown foods, and this program is being implemented to help meet this growing demand," explained Dr. Jeff Galle, JWCC director of agricultural sciences programs. "Local foods require the implementation of distinct production and land-use techniques to assure a financially sustainable industry. Locally grown foods initiatives provide agricultural production opportunities that require relatively small land and financial resources as well as minimal off-farm inputs.

"The program is designed with an emphasis on entrepreneurial skills," Galle explained. "It is about more than just how to plant, care for and harvest fruit and vegetable crops. It's also about how to market them and how to run a business on a limited amount of space—a business that is sustainable."

Students enrolled full time can complete the program in three terms: fall, spring and summer. However, students are welcome to enroll on a part-time basis as well.

JWCC was one of six community colleges in Illinois selected by the Illinois Community College Board and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to start a pilot program, in response to a growing demand for locally grown foods. The program is a joint effort between JWCC and the University of Illinois Extension—Adams/Brown Unit.

"This program was developed with a great deal of input from a local advisory council that concluded there is a distinct need for this program in our area," Dr. Galle explained. "The two local members of the Illinois Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force—Carrie Edgar at the Extension Office and Gerry Kettler of Niemann Foods—have voiced their support for programs that prepare students to help meet the demand for locally grown food.

"Completion of the certificate program will prepare students to successfully enter the expanding local foods and sustainable agriculture industries," he said.

GETTING STARTED

Fall courses include
-- Fall Vegetable and Small Fruit Production
-- Introduction to Sustainable Agriculture
-- Agricultural Entrepreneurship
-- Soil Management.

Additional courses include
-- Spring [and Summer] Vegetable and Small Fruit Production
-- Pest Management
-- Marketing Horticultural Crops
-- Greenhouse Production
-- One Agriculture or Computer Science Elective.

Tuition for residents of the JWCC District is $107 per credit hour. Pending U.S. Department of Education approval, this program will be financial aid eligible for qualified students.

For more information on the new program and the classes to be offered, call the JWCC Agricultural Education Center, 217.641.4558.

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