University of Illinois Extension

Illinois Small Farms

Welcome

Illinois Small Farms provides information for both the commercial small farmer as well as the small acreage landowner. The purpose of this website is to provide easy access to information for small-scale farmers and those who work with them.

What’s New

Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Farmer of the Year

MOSES is seeking nominations for our 2009 'Organic Farmer of the Year' award.

Don't miss this opportunity to properly acknowledge the outstanding efforts of an organic farmer! As in years past, the award will be presented at the Organic Farming Conference to be held next February 26-28, 2009 in La Crosse, WI.

Please visit our website to download a nomination form directly and view a press release with more information.

http://www.mosesorganic.org/foy/

The nomination deadline is September 15, 2008.

Sustainable Agriculture Educational Materials (SAEM) Library

The Sustainable Agriculture Education Association (SAEA) in conjunction with Mann Library at Cornell University is developing an online database of materials related to the teaching of Sustainable Agriculture called the Sustainable Agriculture Educational Materials (SAEM) Library. Most of the current materials; which include syllabi, lab manuals, and unpublished papers/presentations; were gathered during the Second National Conference on Facilitating Sustainable Agriculture Education, but we would now like to open the database to submissions from anyone teaching or researching Sustainable Agriculture. We plan for this to be a growing resource and will be accepting submissions indefinitely; however, to ensure the success of the resource we would like to have a significant collection to start.

If you would like to submit a document to the collection please send a copy of it to Heidi Pettitt electronically at and sign the attached release form and mail it to the address below. Materials will be collected on the SAEM website and will be added as they arrive. For additional information, contact Heidi Pettitt, ITS Mann Library, Cornell University, 607-255-7626.

NCR-SARE Announces Grant Recommendations

The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE) has made public the lists of projects most recently recommended for funding for each of its four main grant programs: Farmer Rancher, Research and Education, Professional Development, and Graduate Student.

Go to the NCR-SARE website to find links to lists of the projects recently recommended for funding. NCR-SARE administers these four grant programs, each with specific priorities, audiences, and timelines. The focus for all four NCR-SARE grant programs is on research and education.

Funding considerations are made based on how well the applicant articulates the nature of the research and education components of their sustainable agriculture grant proposals.

NCR-SARE funds 50 to 75 cutting-edge projects every year in the four grant programs. NCR-SARE’s Administrative Council (AC) members decide which projects will receive SARE funds. A collection of farm and non-farm citizens, the AC includes a diverse mix of agricultural stakeholders in the region. Council members hail from regional farms and ranches, the Cooperative Extension Service, universities, and nonprofit organizations.

In addition, regional representatives of the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and NCR agribusinesses, state agencies, and foundations sit at the table to distribute grant money.

The USDA's NCR-SARE program has awarded more than $30 million worth of competitive grants to farmers and ranchers, researchers, educators, public and private institutions, nonprofit groups, and others exploring sustainable agriculture in 12 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Clean Energy Farming: Cutting Costs, Improving Efficiencies, Harnessing Renewables

Across the country, as energy prices climb, farmers are turning more and more to clean energy practices. From energy-saving light bulbs to solar panels to fuels grown and processed on the farm, farmers are making their operations more profitable, efficient and cleaner.

"Clean Energy Farming: Cutting Costs, Improving Efficiencies, Harnessing Renewables" features innovative SARE-funded research and examples of farmers who are improving energy efficiency while saving money, implementing farming practices that both save energy and protect natural resources, and producing and using renewable fuels.

The publication is available online.

The 2008 Indiana Farm Sustainability Tour Series

The Indiana Farm Sustainability Tour Series will host nine tours will this year. During each of the tours, participants will have the chance to interact with the farm and facility owners and operators and to learn about their experiences, management styles and how they make important decisions. The tours vary from month to month and focus on topics such as business structure, keeping the family involved, agritourism and niche marketing. The tours also include a specialist from Purdue who will discuss the topic of the day and be available to answer questions. Not only will participants have the chance to speak with specialists and farm owners, but they will also have the opportunity to learn about available resources and network with others who are interested in diversifying their farms or rural enterprises.

The Indiana Farm Sustainability tours will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the dates and locations listed below.

For more information and to register, visit the Indiana Farm Sustainability Tours website. Each tour is $15 per person, which includes lunch, refreshments and materials. Individuals have the option to register for all of the tours or to select one or two at a time. Registration is due seven days prior to a tour.

The 2008 Indiana Farm Sustainability Tours are sponsored by the Purdue Small Farms Team, the Purdue New Ventures Team, Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) and the North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE).

For questions and more information, please contact Jerry Nelson, New Ventures Extension educator and tour coordinator, at (812) 886-9582 or or Ballard at (317) 462-1113 or .

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