Small Farms 2014

Webinars will be held from 1:00 - 2:30 pm on Thursdays and are free. To register, click https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?Registra

Handbook Helps with Urban Farm Planning: Urban Farm Business Plan Handbook, and its complementary Urban Farm Business Plan Worksheets.http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/urbanag/pdf/urban_farm_business_plan.pdfThere...

Snow is gone and many weeds are already green. Do you know which ones they are?https://pubsplus.illinois.edu/NCR607.html Common Weed Seedlings of the North Central States Product...

Webinars will be held from 1:00 - 2:30 pm on Thursdays and are free. To register, click https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?Registra

Planting by the calendar is too risky when there are simple tools to help make more accurate decisions about soil temperature. Checking regional soil temperatures can be as simple as checking a website.  Current Soil Temperatures for Illinois:...

Northern Illinois Strawberry Symposium will be held on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at Dining on the Green, 349 Main Street Park Forest, IL 60466, from 8 am – 5 pm. Topics to be covered include: diseases, insects and weeds affecting strawberries; managing fertility; growing strawberries vertically and...

Webinars will be held from 1:00 - 2:30 pm on Thursdays and are free. To register, click https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?Registra

Apply for your audit now to receive up to 75% of the cost of the food safety inspection Time is running out. The Illinois Department of Agriculture Food Safety Grant that assists farmers with a cost-share for GAPs audits will terminate in September 2014. There are still funds available for...

The 2012 Census reported several historic changes in value of sales for agriculture producers in the United States: * In 2012, crop sales of $212.4 billion exceeded livestock sales of $182.2 billion. This occurred for only the second time in Census history; the other time was 1974. For more...

Illinos farmers raise about 3 million turkeys a year!  A small percentage of the almost 250 million turkeys raised in the United States. 

Dr. Hao Feng, Food Engineer/Professor and his team at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a Food Safety Project that is doing research aimed at reducing microbial contamination of fresh produce, so that the risk of illness in consumers can be reduced significantly. The project is...

The 2012 Census reported several historic changes in value of sales for agriculture producers in the United States: * Between 2007 and 2012, per farm average value of sales increased from $134,807 to $187,093, continuing a steady 30-year upward trend. The increase of $52,286 was the largest rise in...

Honey prices increased to a record high during 2013 to 212.1 cents per pound, up 6 percent from 199.2 cents per pound in 2012. United States and State level prices reflect the portions of honey sold through cooperatives, private, and retail channels. Released March 21, 2014, by the National...

The 2012 Census showed principal farm operators are becoming older and more diverse; following the trend of pervious censuses. In 2012, the average age of a principal farm operator was 58.3 years, up 1.2 years since 2007, and continuing a 30-year trend of steady increase. The Census also accounted...

In 2012, the United States had 2.1 million farms - down 4.3 percent from the previous Census in 2007. In terms of farm size by acres, this continues an overall downward trend in mid-sized farms, while the smallest and largest-size farms held steady. For more information about the Census, including...

2014 Small Farms Winter Webinar Series. Register early. The highly popular small farm winter webinar series will again bring a wide range of speakers and topics on small farm production of fruits, vegetables and livestock. Sign up early and get the dates on your calendar. To...

There was an increase in the value of agricultural products sold in the United States totaling $394.6 billion in 2012, up 33 percent ($97.4 billion) from 2007. The number of farms and land in farms were down slightly, but held steady. Additionally, agriculture is becoming more diverse. For more...

Webinars will be held from 1:00 - 2:30 pm on Thursdays and are free.To register, click https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=8854