SIMPSON, Ill. – The Flamm family of Flamm Orchards are teaming up with University of Illinois Extension to host the first of four twilight meetings at their farm on Monday, May 17, 2021 starting at 6 p.m. University of Illinois Extension Educators, Bronwyn Aly, Nathan Johanning, and Katie Bell have been partnering with area farmers over the past seven years to provide four evening “twilight meetings” to highlight and demonstrate diverse farming enterprises across southern Illinois. Anyone involved or interested in local food production or learning more about farms in our region is encouraged and invited to attend.
Flamm Orchards is located on Old Hwy 51 halfway between Cobden and Makanda, IL. Flamm orchards started in 1888 and now has members of the fifth and sixth generation active in the operation. Leonhard and Theresa Flamm purchased the original 117 acres of land in 1888. Since that time, the farm has slowly evolved from the 117 original acres into a 2,000 acre farm with around 1,000 acres in operation. They currently have 350 acres of peaches, 250 acres of apples, 10 acres of strawberries and around 200 acres of zucchini, squash, and cucumbers in production. In recent years, due to market demands, the farm has been working to expand peach production.
Over the course of the evening, fifth generation family members, Mike, Jeff, and Alan Flamm will share their experiences growing plasticulture strawberries for over 20 years. They will focus on production techniques as well as variety performance between the four cultivars they are currently growing. They will also discuss how they retail market 10 acres of strawberries from the roadside stand located on the farm. We encourage anyone interested in learning more about strawberry plasticulture production and marketing in southern Illinois to join us and capitalize on this on-farm learning and networking opportunity.
DATE: Monday, May 17, 2021
TIME: 6 p.m.
LOCATION: Flamm Orchards, 8760 Old Highway 51 N, Cobden, IL
DIRECTIONS:
From Anna: Take Old Hwy 51 north out of Anna approximately 7 miles to Cobden. Continue on Old 51 straight through Cobden for another 4 miles north and farm will be on the right-hand side of the road.
From Carbondale: Take New Hwy 51 south. Turn right off New Hwy 51 at the Makanda smiley face water tower. Then make an immediate left turn and continue on Old Hwy 51 south towards Cobden for approximately 3 miles and farm will be on the left-hand side.
There is no cost to attend this in-person program, but pre-registration is required as capacity is limited to 50 participants to allow for social distancing. Please do not attend if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms. Face masks will be required by attendees and staff. To register online, visit go.illinois.edu/2021TwilightSeries. To register by phone call 618-695-2441.
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please contact Bronwyn Aly at baly@illinois.edu. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your needs. University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment.
For more information, please contact:
Bronwyn Aly – 618-695-2441, baly@illinois.edu
Nathan Johanning – 618-939-3434, njohann@illinois.edu
Katie Bell – 618-687-1727, klbell@illinois.edu
SOURCE: Bronwyn Aly, Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator, University of Illinois Extension, baly@illinois.edu, 618-695-2441
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