The Adams/Brown Master Gardeners have planned a wonderfully diverse and unique Master's Tour for this year. The event is open to the public and will occur Saturday, June 28^th, 9 am to 1pm. This 7^th annual event focuses on both gardens and porches.

The tour offers a look at history, carrying us back before air-conditioning, when front porches were the center for summer relaxing and entertaining. In addition, it celebrates community by showcasing the Quincy Community Garden, on 8^th street; as well as gardens at the Illinois Veteran's Home. Enjoy container gardens, flowers, and other unique displays. The tour allows you to see what is possible with a creative mind, lots of plants, and some unique "porch art".

The tour includes a plant sale, refreshments, tour booklet and an opportunity to ask gardening questions. Cost is $5 and tickets can be purchased in advance at the Extension office, 330 S. 36^th St. in Quincy; or at any of the main sites the day of the tour. For more information contact Deborah Lee, Horticulture Coordinator at 223-8380.

- Deborah Lee

It's the same old story for producers this year, just a day or two before the field can be worked, it rains. While the vast majority of the corn crop is planted, there are still 15-20% of the acres left to plant. Meanwhile, soybean seed is still in the bag (which is probably a good thing, as seed supplies are short, and soybeans tolerate cool and wet soils much less than corn).

It's had to remember back to when the planting season was so cruel. Nearly every field has a spot or two where the corn just didn't go in well and isn't growing too good now either. If things get hot and dry this summer, these areas will suffer.

The corn crop will be much later in pollinating this year versus normal. Usually we like to see pollination occur as early as possible. The past two years, we've had pollination occur by July 1st. That definitely won't happen this year. And the longer pollination is delayed, the higher the risk of hotter and dryer conditions occurring. But we certainly can't predict what kind of weather we'll have the end of July. The weather and soil conditions the last two weeks of July will dictate yields.

- Mike Roegge

The Health & Social Services Action Team of Brown County Action will be hosting the second annual Brown County Back to School Fair on Saturday July 19, 2008 from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Brown County Middle School. This collaborative effort brings together a variety of local agencies whose mission is to provide services to needy area families in preparation for the 2008-2009 school year. Parents must be present at the fair with their children, and services available to students will include:

· Immunizations-Bring individual immunization records

· Back to school supplies for those who qualify

· School physicals-No sports physicals

· Free haircuts

· Free muffins and juice for breakfast

· Fun and interactive educational booths

Free transportation will also be available. Those interested can call Jeanne at 773-3025 by 3:00 pm on Friday July 18, 2008 to make arrangements. For more information about the fair, contact Brenda Derrick, MS, RD, Nutrition & Wellness Educator at 217-223-8380 or by email at derrickb@uiuc.edu.

- Brenda Derrick

The Tri-State Development Summit Entrepreneurship Task Force will be holding Linking & Leveraging: Resources for Entrepreneurs on July 31st from 10am-3pm in Keokuk, Iowa. The event will be an opportunity to link service providers to area entrepreneurs and provide a networking opportunity for service providers within the 35-county region of the Summit. Business and organizations who offer services to support and assist entrepreneurs are invited to attend as well as entrepreneurs who would like to broaden their contact base with such organizations.

YP Quincy is hosting a Meet & Greet Luncheon on June 19th for new members of YP and people new to the community. The event will serve as a welcome to our community and a networking opportunity.

Alliance for Building Community is leading an assessment of the Adams County area. By including all Adams County residents at various levels of involvement throughout the process, this assessment will help to identify key areas of concern to be addressed within the community; evaluate the past & current local efforts to improve the quality of life in Adams County; and drive the decision-making process surrounding local issues.

- Shelby Crow

Mark your calendars now for the 4th Annual Locally Grown FoodFest on Saturday, August 2nd in Washington Park in historic downtown Quincy. Starting at 7am with the Farmers Market, the FoodFest celebrates the importance of local food and farms in the Tri-State area.

The popular Chefs Competition will be held again this year where area chefs will shop at the farmers market and then have 45 minutes to prepare and dazzle the judges and audience with their culinary talents.

Show off your green thumb by entering the annual tomato contest. Prizes will be awarded for the heaviest, sweetest and best dressed tomatoes. You can also submit your salsa made from locally grown tomatoes in the Salsa contest. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 entries.

The FoodFest is a great place to meet and talk to local farmers at the Quincy Farmers Market about their fresh produce and locally-raised meat products. Activities for kids and families, great food, informational booths, fun contests and live entertainment will be available throughout the day. To find out more about the Locally Grown FoodFest call the U of I Extension office at 223-8380 or visit http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/adamsbrown/localgrown/421.html

- Carrie Edgar

More than 50 planters have been planted by Master Gardeners in downtown Quincy and are being monitored and watered 3 days a week by the Transitions' Pride Team. Three medians are now being planted for the summer and will be maintained by Master Gardeners. If you drive by, notice the red roses and other colorful flowers and grasses. Phase I of the Quincy Amtrak station has been completed, with Phase II to begin shortly. 7 large planting areas welcome visitors to Quincy with colorful roses, cannas and flowering shrubs. A team of Master's Gardeners will be maintaining the site weekly. Visit the Memorial Garden at the Illinois Veterans Home this summer. Last year over 900 volunteer Master Gardener hours were dedicated to the beautification of this public site. It is lovely any time of the year.

- Deborah Lee

Adams County Ag Awareness provides education on food, fiber and natural resources. The main objective of the program is to provide learning opportunities for youth and adults. Since last July, 9009 youth and adults participated in 436 Ag Awareness programs. In 2007-08 the number of participants increased 22% from the previous year and the number of programs increased 118% from the previous year. Educators requesting multiple classroom visits during the school year has led to the sharp increase in programs. Forty-four classrooms received at least five in-classroom programs during the 2007-08 school year. The program's success continues to build on educator approval of lessons that meet Illinois State Board of Education's Learning Standards.

The Adams Ag Awareness Program is a collaborative effort between: University of Illinois Extension - Adams/Brown Unit, Farm Bureau, Soil & Water Conservation District, Pork Producers and Two Rivers FS. For more information, contact Sharon Knorr at 223-8380 or knorr@uiuc.edu.

- Sharon Knorr

The Brown County Ag Awareness Program had an exciting 07-08 school year starting in the fall with Junior High Fall Ag Tours and seasonal programs on apples, pumpkins, corn & soybeans. In March we celebrated Dr. Seuss & Agriculture with pre-K to 4th grade students at BCES & SMS and later in the month celebrated National Ag Week by providing Ag Mags and Can You Have a Day Without Agriculture flyers and activity sheets for all the students at BCES & SMS schools. In May we geared up for our annual Walk Day at Mt. Sterling Lake for 3rd & 4th graders and then followed that with our annual Progressive Ag Safety Day at the Brown County Fairgrounds for all Pre-K - 4th graders. We also invited local daycare providers and parents to attend the day long event. A grant received from Illinois Farm Bureau and Country Insurance & Financial Services helps fund the event.

Summer plans include weekly programs at the YMCA summer camp. The U of I Extension Adams/Brown Unit and the Mt. Sterling Community Center YMCA is partnering for the second year to provide an educational hands on garden for the YMCA summer day campers to plant, water, weed and harvest produce all summer long. Many families in Brown County do not have a garden so the youth who attend camp get to experience gardening for the first time. The campers love working in the soil and taste testing the fresh produce. The magic of agriculture is growing in Brown County through our Ag Awareness Program. For more information contact Nicky Geisler at 773-3013 or e-mail ngeisler@uiuc.edu.

- Nicky Geisler