Here in Olney, we have been on the same weather roller coaster as the rest of the state. At my house, we received around 2 1/2” of snow along with sleet and drifting on February 16. In a week we have gone from 70-degree days to 19-degree lows and now back to 53 degrees. Like everyone else, I am...

We have gotten a break from the most intense cold with a fairly mild February overall.  Precipitation has been fairly light so far with only 0.54” of rain in this month bringing our yearly total to 5.82”.  Half of our February precipitation came 2/16 in the form of a light layer of ice...

In the southern region, it is time to get prepared for uncovering strawberries in both annual plasticulture and matted row systems.  When you start checking strawberry growth under covers, what you find underneath is quite different between the two systems.  Straw, the primary cover in...

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...

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...

We are testing soil solarization as an effective management strategy for bindweed, a nasty perennial weed, at our Unity site. We know soil solarization can work for control of annual broadleaf and grass weeds, but I have never attempted to control a perennial weed with it. A bindweed-infested bed...

Illinois has $28M to support local farmers and fight hunger in Illinois through USDA’s Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) program. LFPA aims to strengthen the Illinois food system over the next two years by purchasing food at fair market value from socially disadvantaged growers and...

Our production and demonstration garden at the Unity Community Center in Normal received a nice infrastructure upgrade recently — a small high tunnel. Besides adding the capacity to grow protected culture crops over the cooler months for our free community food donation program, it is allowing me...