Upcoming Programs
See the University of Illinois Extension Local Food Systems and Small Farms Team’s website at:
https://extension.illinois.edu/lfssf
- Legal Training for Illinois Small Farms |The 2024-2025 Legal Training for Illinois Small Farms will begin this October! In partnership with Farm Commons, this four-part quarterly webinar series is designed to cover relevant topics that can help you understand legal issues, address risk, and provide relief. Each webinar will be offered at 7 p.m. eastern time on the coordinating dates.
- Forming an LLC – December 16
- Land Leasing Basics – March 17, 2025
- Farm Property Insurance – June 23, 2025
- 2024 Great Lakes Expo | December 10 – 12 at DeVos Place, Grand Rapids, MI. Visit the Expo website for more information or to register online.
- Digging Deep into Data: using balance sheets for farm planning and decision making | December 11 virtual lecture, Registration is open and provides additional information for an in-person component
- From Food to Flowers: Everything Local 2025 | January 29 through 31 at Bank of Springfield Center, 1 Convention Center Plaza, Springfield, IL 62701. Registration is now available and program details will be available soon. Register before January 17 to receive the pre-registration discount.
- 2025 Southwestern Illinois Commercial Tree Fruit School | Tuesday, February 11 Barefoot Restaurant 106 S Water St., Hardin, IL 62047. Registration is open but for more information, contact Ken Johnson or call 217-243-7424.
- 2025 Southern Illinois Fruit and Vegetable School | Wednesday, February 12 at the DoubleTree, Mt. Vernon, IL. Registration is open and the finalized program will be available soon. For more information, contact Chris Lueking or call 618-242-0780.
- 2025 Stateline Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference | Monday, February 17 in Rockford, IL.
Tracks for this year will focus on tree fruit, vegetables, and new grower-farmers. Save the date! For more information, contact Grant McCarty or Sarah Farley.
News and Announcements
Digging Deep into Data
Upcoming programs with both virtual and in-person components that allow for a deep dive into using balance sheets and other forms of data for farm planning and decision making. The first part is a free virtual session on December 11 from 6:30 pm to 8 pm on the why and how to use balance sheets with time for discussion and Q & A. The second part is an in-person session on December 13 from 9 am to 3 pm at 8753 S. Greenwood, Chicago, IL 60619. For more information and to register for this program visit Go.illinois.edu/DigIntoData
Digging Deep sessions planned for January 2025 include:
- Jan 15: Vegetable Production Planning Webinar, 6:30 – 8 pm
- Jan 22: Cash Flow Worksheets Webinar, 6:30 – 8 pm
- Jan 24: In-person Workshop, 9 am – 3 pm, 8753 S Greenwood, Chicago
Sarah Batka, Local Foods Small Farms Program Coordinator (217-300-8636; sbatka@illinois.edu)
Less Seriously
On behalf of the Illinois Fruit and Vegetable News contributors and all of Illinois Extension, we want to thank you for subscribing to this newsletter, joining us for in person programs and workshops, utilizing our unbiased, research-based resources across many different platforms, and reaching out for direct assistance throughout the year. We are quite fortunate to be in positions where we can forge relationships with specialty crop producers across the state, and we value those connections.
As we will be home the last part of December spending time with our families, there will not be a newsletter issue for January. 😊 Look for the first issue of the Illinois Fruit and Vegetable News for February 2025!
With Gratitude
-Bronwyn & Nathan