Allison Organic Farm Field Day gets dirty
Issue date: 7/23/08 Section: News
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The field day will be held from noon-4 p.m. at the agriculture department's Allison Organic Research and Demonstration Farm and the neighboring Kane Farm in southern Warren County, seven miles north of Sciota. Events will begin at the Kane Farm with a complimentary lunch featuring local farm products. A variety of organic products will also be available for sampling.
The lunch will be followed by a slide presentation by Gary Reding, a pioneering producer of conventional, specialty and organic crops in Greensburg, Ind. After observing strong demand for organics in his seed cleaning business, Reding became certified to clean organic grains in 1997. Continuing to follow the market, he began transitioning land to organic in 2000 and now has nearly 50 percent of his 600 acres certified. In addition to crops, Reding has a 40 head cow/calf herd and direct markets "natural" beef (80 percent direct market). Reding will share his experiences and then join a panel of Illinois farmers with mixed operations to discuss the unique opportunities and challenges associated with combining organic and conventional operations.
Activities at the Kane Farm will close with short reports on organic markets by Roger Hendricker, manager of Clarkson Grain in Beardstown, AgLeader guidance systems by Rex Garthaus of AgLeader and the CropCam system by Dale Crawford, a farmer in Sullivan.
Following the presentations at the Kane Farm, the field day will transition one mile east to the Allison Organic Farm for equipment demonstrations by Western agriculture faculty assistant Andy Clayton and Crawford, followed by a tour of research and production activities led by Joel Gruver, assistant professor of soil science and coordinator of the Western Illinois University Organic Research Program. Crawford will demonstrate the CropCam system, a radio control glider plane that can be used to inexpensively take aerial photographs of agricultural fields.
"If you have ever contemplated organic production or are simply curious about why some successful conventional farmers diversify into organics and how they keep their mixed operations in balance, this field day will have something for you," Gruver explained.
The event is co-sponsored by the McDonough County and Warren County soil and water conservation districts and the Western Illinois University agriculture department.
The field day is free to the public; however, advance registration is required for the lunch.
To register, contact Clayton at AW-Clayton@wiu.edu or 309/298-1172, 217/322-2639 or the agriculture department office at 309/298-1080.
More information about Western's organic agriculture research program website can be found at wiu.edu/ag/organicfarm.
-University Relations
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Lemonade Diet
posted 8/01/08 @ 11:54 PM CST
Some people think that it is impractical for a big country to grow everything organically. In Russia if anything is not grown orgnically,then it is a crime and the people growing it are criminals. (Continued…)
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