Illinois Small Farms Newsletter - University of Illinois Extension

Current Issue

Past Issues

Small Farms Website

University of Illinois Extension

University of Illinois Extension
Illinois Small Farms Newsletter

http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/smallfarm/newsletter/

Summer 2008

The Best of Years, the Worst of Years
SARE Corner
Organizations and Programs Supporting Small Farms
Resource Spotlight
Calendar
Download the PDF Version

The Best of Years, the Worst of Years

Beth and Jody Osmund were fast asleep when a fierce storm, dumping 6½ inches of rain, rolled through their area in late August 2007. They woke up to discover that about 400 of their chicks had drowned in 18 inches of water that had pooled in their pasture.

This added to the losses that the Osmunds had already suffered in 2007, more than in any previous year. But despite the losses, 2007 was also the best of years, thanks to their focus on retail meat. "2007 was simultaneously our most successful year and the year we've suffered the greatest losses," says Beth Osmund, co-owner of the 85-acre farm in Ottawa. "That's because the scale of what we were doing was that much bigger."

With the help of a SARE grant, the Osmunds were able to jump-start a meat CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in 2007. The grant allowed them to purchase a 6-cubic-foot, cold-plate, ice cream freezer in which to store the meat, as well as a trailer for transporting the freezer to and from farmer's markets.

For a $240 fee, plus a small delivery charge, Osmund says CSA members share in the "risk as well as the bounty," receiving a package of frozen meat, about $80 to $85 worth, each month for three months.

The Osmunds had been running a vegetable CSA for five years, but she says they have phased out the vegetable CSA in 2008 and are focused only on meats. Meat CSAs are not as common, she says, so this "puts us in a unique position. There are only a couple other farms offering the kind of meat we do."

In addition, they can offer meat year-round, and the work is less grueling. "My short explanation...is that I've never once had to weed the freezer," says Osmund.

The Osmunds go to farmer's markets twice a week—on Saturdays and Sundays. They sell their meat at a local market in Ottawa, as well as at the Logan Square farmer's market in Chicago.

According to Osmund, they do not give their animals growth hormones or antibiotics. By keeping drugs out of the food chain, she says, the result is better-tasting, healthier eggs and meat—chicken, beef, pork and turkey.

"The animals are healthy because they're well taken care of," Osmund explains. "Our animals are in small groups; they're not in a large, concentrated feedlot situation where the goal is to put as many animals in as small a space as possible and fatten them as quickly as you can."

The cows have to be rotated on a regular basis when the pastures become grazed down. But the pigs, which are kept in open pens in fields, do not have to be moved as often. The chickens and turkeys, meanwhile, spend a couple of weeks in the brooder before being moved into 10-by-10-foot pens, each of which holds between 75 and 90 chickens. It takes eight weeks from hatching until the chickens are ready for the butcher.

One problem the Osmunds have had to contend with is predation. Rats got into their brooder in 2007, killing about 100 chicks. Raccoons found a way into the pens, costing them about another 100 chickens. They alleviated the problem by rigging an electric fence about 6 inches off the ground around the pens. In 2008 they added two livestock guardian dogs.

Osmund says they have learned to focus their operation, which is one reason they have decided to specialize in meats. "It's a lesson we continually have to learn," she says. "We have to keep focused enough to be successful and diverse enough to continue enjoying and challenging ourselves."

Meanwhile, the customer response to their meat CSA has been overwhelmingly positive. As Osmund puts it, "99.9 percent of the people come back and say 'You're right, that was the best chicken I've ever had' or 'I've never had steak like that before.'"

- Jason Peterson

SARE Corner

Travel Scholarships Available

Scholarships are available for agricultural professionals wishing to attend conferences to further their knowledge of sustainable agriculture practices, to be applied to existing and new local programming.

Reimbursable expenses include lodging, registration, meals, airfare and mileage. Scholarship recipients will be expected to complete a survey immediately after the conference/event, and a second survey six to nine months after the event on how the information was used in their work.

For more information on travel scholarships:
North Central Region SARE
Professional Development Program
P.O. Box 410
Greenview, IL 62642-0410
(217)968-5512
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/smallfarm/sare/travel.html

Official blog for NCR-SARE has been launched!

NCR-SARE's blog will feature interesting projects, events, and
announcements about information pertaining to NCR-SARE.

Feel free to add comments to individual blog posts.
If you would like to be automatically notified when a new blog entry has
been posted, subscribe to the NCR-SARE blog feed (on the right-hand
sidebar of the blog).

Read, enjoy, and share with your colleagues! Visit:
http://ncrsare.blogspot.com/

NCR-SARE Grant Recipients Announced

NCR-SARE awarded Farmer Rancher grants to two Illinois farmers for the 2007 funding cycle. In the category of Economics/Marketing, Godwin Akpan of Chicago received funds for a direct marketing project entitled "Establishment of an Organic, Sustainable Small-Scale Farm Producing Livestock (Goats/Chickens) and Vegetables for Niche Markets in Chicago."

Also in the Economics/Marketing category, Lisa Haynes of Mahomet received funds for a market study entitled "Marketing of Small Amounts of Organic Grains Through Alternative Broiler Feeds and Direct to Consumer Sales."
NCR-SARE also awarded funds to three Graduate Student projects for 2008 at the University of Illinois. Shaijal Babu and Thru Ppoyil, under Professor Babadoost, received funds for "Determining the Effectiveness of Mustard Short-cycle Cover Crops in Managing Soil-borne Fungal Pathogens in Cucurbits." Moneen Jones, under Professor Weinzierl, received funds for "Assessing Reduced-risk Insecticides and Refining Distribution and Phenology Models to Improve Management of Oriental Fruit Moth (OFM) in Apples and Peaches." Laura Witzling, under Professor Wander, received funds for "Evaluation Soil Quality and Lead in Chicago Community and School Gardens."

NCR-SARE awarded one Research and Education grant for 2008 to Frederick Iutzi of Western Illinois University for "Alternative Oilseeds for Sustainable, High-Quality Biodiesel."

For a listing of NCR-SARE grants awarded in Illinois: http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/smallfarm/sare/

Organizations and Programs Supporting Small Farms

Beginning and Transitioning Farmer Training - Illinois Farm Beginnings—
2008-2009 Classes Starting in October

The Need is Great
The number of U.S. farmers aged 34 and younger has decreased by 46% over the last 10 years (1997 Census of Agriculture). According to an AgriNews article (December 28, 2000 issue) titled "Young Farmers Buck Odds in Staying on Land," this age group is decreasing at a rate of nearly 10% per year nationally. Because the farm population is older, it is expected that between 200 and 400 million acres of land owned by aging family farmers will change hands in the next decade. The time is critical for the next generation of farmers to be trained and ready to farm the land.

Who Will Feed Illinois?
This is the critical question asked in Feeding Ourselves: Strategies for a New Illinois Food System, a 2004 study completed by the firm Red Tomato. The report was commissioned to identify strategies to help build a local, sustainable and healthy food system that is accessible to all residents of Illinois. One of the barriers to developing a sustainable and healthy food system for Illinois identified in Feeding Ourselves was lack of training for beginning and transitioning farmers.

Illinois Farm Beginnings™ Addressing these Needs and Barriers
The overall goals of Illinois Farm Beginnings are to expand the number of successful beginning and transitioning small and medium-sized farmers, the number of acres being farmed in ways that protect and enhance the environment, and the abundance of food products from diversified family farms to meet the growing demand for high quality, local food in Illinois.

General Description of Illinois Farm Beginnings™
This unique program is offered in two locations – Central Illinois Farm Beginnings (Decatur, University of Illinois Extension, Macon County Unit Office) and Stateline Farm Beginnings (Caledonia, Angelic Organics Learning Center). The year-long training course has three components: winter coursework that focuses on business planning and marketing; field days and workshops; and one-on-one mentoring from a successful sustainable farmer in your field of interest.

Registration and class information for both Central Illinois and Stateline Farm Beginnings is available at
http://illinoisfarmbeginnings.org/ or call 217-968-5512.

Resource Spotlight

Western Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Society (WISAS)

WISAS is a regional, farmer-based not-for-profit organization incorporating the counties of Adams, Pike, Scott, Morgan, Cass, Hancock, Brown, Calhoun and Schuyler. It was established in 1992 in Western Illinois to encourage farmer practices that strike a balance between short-term profitability and long term environmental quality and rural community vitality.

PO Box 87
1256-C W. Washington St.
Pittsfield, Il 62353
217-285-411
www.wisas.org/

Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA )

ATTRA is the national sustainable farming information center
operated by the private nonprofit National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT).

ATTRA provides technical assistance to farmers, Extension agents, market gardeners, agricultural researchers, and other agricultural professionals in all 50 states.

Topics addressed by ATTRA can be categorized into three broad
areas: (1) sustainable farming production
practices; (2) alternative crop and livestock enterprises, and (3) innovative marketing.

P.O. Box 3657
Fayetteville, AR 72702
(800) 346-9140 M-F 8:30am-4:30pm CST
http://attra.ncat.org/

Calendar

Driftless Regional Grazing Conference
July 29 – 30
Location: Prairie du Chien, WI
Visit: http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/rockfordcenter/

Conservation Expo 2008
August 19 – 21
Location: Decatur, Illinois
Visit: http://www.illica.net/events.html

NCR SARE Farmer Grant Writing Workshop
August 28
Location: Springfield and other sites TBA.
Visit: http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/smallfarm/events.cfm

Dr. John Ikerd, UIS Speaker's Series
September 29
Location: University of
Illinois at Springfield
Visit: http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/smallfarm/events.cfm

Additional events may be found on University of Illinois Extension's small farm website at: www.extension.uiuc.edu/smallfarm