IFVN Vol. 29, No. 11 | December 2023

Let your voice be heard! Public comment period on proposed rate changes to chlorothalonil

November 28, 2023

The active ingredient chlorothalonil (e.g. Bravo, Daconil) is undergoing the registration review process, and the public comment period is now open through January 17 for the EPA’s Chlorothalonil, Proposed Interim Registration Review Decision, Case Number 0097, September 2023 (click the link to download). This...

Blog articles

New mobile resource for commercial vegetable production

November 28, 2023

Commercial Fruit and Vegetable Growers

Just like growers who attend winter meetings to increase their knowledge and skills, Extension educators are continuously learning new or updated information to provide current, relevant research-based information to individuals, families, and groups that we serve. I recently attended the 2023...

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spring oats and crimson clover cover crops growing in high tunnel

Dixon Springs Update: Cover crops established in high tunnel

November 28, 2023

Commercial Fruit and Vegetable Growers

The cover crops, spring oats and crimson clover, seeded on October 4 in our “treatment” high tunnel have established very well. The spring oat crop is expected to winter kill and the crimson clover will continue to grow until termination in the spring. The outside temperature reached an overnight...

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Everything Local conference strengthens Illinois food supply chain

November 28, 2023

Commercial Fruit and Vegetable Growers

Illinois producers and agribusiness leaders are increasingly seeking new opportunities to boost local food systems. Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB), Illinois Specialty Growers Association (ISGA) and the Illinois Farmers Market Association (IFMA) are excited to announce the return of the From Food to...

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Events

December 18, 2023

Land Leasing Basics
Don't risk losing the farm Leasing farmland is so commonplace that landowners, farmers, and ranchers may not think twice about the lease itself until things go wrong. Prevent problems by using a strongly worded lease while building a path to a resilient future. Coverage of leasing basics will help...

Farmer walking though wheat field in the sun, brushing crops with their hand.

March 18, 2024

Forming an LLC
Legal risks can be fatal to a farm business and addressing them proactively can keep farms in business. Just as important, understanding legal issues can dispel anxiety and help farmers realize their power to control their circumstances.    This is the final in a quarterly webinar series...

Upcoming programs

From Food To Flowers: Everything Local | January 17-19, 2024 Crowne Plaza, Springfield, IL. Information and registration now open!
2024 Southwestern Illinois Commercial Tree Fruit School | Tuesday, February 6 at Knights of Columbus Hall 19899 Illinois River Road, Hardin, IL 62047. For more information or to pre-register visit go.illinois.edu/TreeFruitSchool or contact Ken Johnson at kjohnso@illinois.edu or 217-243-7424.
2024 Southern Illinois Fruit and Vegetable School | Wednesday, February 7 at Doubletree Meeting & Event Center 222 Potomac Boulevard, Mt. Vernon, IL 62864. For more information or to pre-register visit go.illinois.edu/FruitVegetableSchool24 or contact Chris Lueking at lueking@illinois.edu or (618) 548-1446.
2024 Stateline Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference | Save the date! Monday, February 19, 2024 at NIU Rockford, IL. More information to come.

Less seriously

As this will be the last issue of the year, we wanted to take the opportunity to wish everyone a joyous holiday season!

Specialty growers may only make up a small portion of the total number of farmers within our region but you are a mighty group, working diligently everyday to supply our communities with fresh fruits and vegetables to sustain our bodies and minds. Whether your touchpoint with Extension is through this newsletter, webinars, videos, emails, phone calls, or in-person conversations on your farm or around your kitchen table, know that we as extension professionals appreciate you and value our connections.

The Extension Worker’s Creed written 101 years ago still rings true today as we try our best to extend knowledge that will help to change lives.

The Extension Worker's Creed

"I believe in the people and their hopes their aspirations and their faith and their right to make their own plans and arrive at their own decisions and their ability and power to enlarge their lives and plan for the happiness of those they love.

I believe the education, of which Extension is an essential part, is basic in stimulating individual initiative self-determination and leadership that these are the keys to democracy and that people, when given facts they understand, will act not only in their self-interest but also in the interest of society.

I believe that education is a lifelong process and the greatest university is the home that my success as a teacher is proportional to those qualities of mind and spirit that give me welcome entrance into the homes of the families that I serve.

I believe in intellectual freedom to search for and present the truth without bias and with courteous tolerance to the views of others. I believe that Extension is a link between the people and the ever-changing discoveries in the laboratories.

I believe in the public institutions, of which I am part of. I believe in my own work and in the opportunity I have to make my life useful to humanity.

Because I believe these things, I am an extension professional.

The creed was written by W.A. Lloyd, founder of Epsilon Sigma Phi, an honorary Extension professional association, as a New year's greeting to county ag agents in 1922. North Carolina State University.