[FIG-ALL] SAVE the DATE- FIG MEETING! and other EVENTS

Sun Dec 28 17:47:34 PST 2008

Hi all!

Happy New Year.... Early. 

Mark your calendars for January 12, 7-9 pm for the next FIG meeting.  Location and agenda TBA.  This is our first quarterly FIG meeting for 2009 and we hope this meeting will be an opportunity for us to meet all together and discuss some things... but also provide time for project teams to get off to a good start in the new year!  We will not have a potluck this time.

There are lots of things going on in the New Year... check out all these events below... (not ordered date).

Cheers,
Lisa

*****************

Some FIG members are planning to attend this event.  Email fig at lists.wrecking.org if you'd like to carpool.
February 3, 2009

			Food Rules: Knowing the Regulations (QUINCY)
			 			If
you are producing and selling foods to consumers, then you need to know
the rules and regulations that govern the direct-marketing of farm
products . . . That’s why The Land Connection and the University of
Illinois Extension are collaborating to host Food  Rules workshops. This class will be held from 6:30-8:30 at the Adams County Extension office.        http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/adamsbrown/findus.html    330 S. 36th St  Quincy,  IL 62301  217-223-8380

FOR OTHER FOOD RULES WORKSHOPS IN CHAMPAIGN, PEORIA OR MARION, IL... SEE THIS WEBPAGE: http://www.thelandconnection.org/events/events.cfm

***

January 7-9, 2009

			Illinois Specialty Crops and Agritourism Conference
			In
addition to concurrent program tracks on fruits, vegetables, herbs, and
agritourism and marketing on January 8 and 9, there are three full-day
workshops on January 7; topics for these workshops are pumpkin
production and marketing, biological control in greenhouses and high
tunnels, and federal grant-writing basics. For more details, contact
Diane Handley of the Illinois Specialty Growers Association at
309-557-2107 or handley at ilfb.org.  Illinois Specialty Crops and Agritourism Conference, January 7-9, 2009 ... Crowne Plaza, Springfield, IL.  
****

January 29-30  Overall Women: A conference for Today's Rural Women

http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/overallwomen/home.html
****

From: Larson, Debra Levey
[mailto:dlarson at illinois.edu] 

Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 8:23 AM

To: Larson, Debra Levey

Subject: U of I News: Gardening, Skincare, Baking and Herbal Folklore,
January 17

 Source: Chuck Voigt (217- 333-1969; cevoigt at uiuc.edu)

Contact: Debra Levey Larson (217-244-2880; dlarson at illinois.edu) 

Gardening, Skincare,
Baking and Herbal Folklore Featured at U of I Herb Day, January 17 

URBANA
– Herbal experts from around the country will present five educational sessions
designed to provide information and inspiration about herb gardening. The event
will be held on Saturday, January 17 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Holiday
Inn Hotel and Conference Center near Lincoln
  Ave. and I-74 in Urbana.

“This year’s speakers include Lucinda Hutson, a noted
herbal author, speaker, and garden entertainer, from Austin,
Texas,” said Chuck Voigt, University of Illinois
  Extension vegetable and herb specialist and
coordinator of the event. 

Hutson will give two talks. In the morning, her
presentation is entitled, “A Fiesta in Lucinda’s Garden, which includes her
suggestions for creating a memorable garden party. Her afternoon talk is
entitled, “Theme Gardens from Around the World. Lucinda
is famous in the Southwest for her cooking, gardens, and style,” said Voigt.

Kathryn and Melvin Schiedermayer, from New Glarus, Wisconsin,
will explain how to harvest and preserve herbs. Their business, Garden Spirit
Natural Bath & Skincare, gives a good idea of what to expect. “Many herb
novices do a good job of growing a wide variety of herbs, but then have trouble
knowing what to do with them beyond cooking,” said Voigt.  “The
Scheidermayers will offer many ways to solve this dilemma.” Voigt said that the
Schiedermayer’s herbal soaps and lotions will be available in the retail area
of the event.

Father Dominic Garramone, of St. Bede Abbey in Peru, Illinois
lectures throughout the state about herbs and is an engaging and entertaining
speaker. He previously hosted a “Breaking Bread with Father Dominic” TV series
on PBS. “We have tried to get Herb Day on his schedule for many years, and
finally succeeded this year,” said Voigt. Garramone will demonstrate baking
herb breads with special meanings. Recipes will be included in the attendee
packets.

Susan Hess, from Farm at Coventry,
in Pottstown, Pennsylvania claims a Pennsylvania Dutch
heritage. “She discovered that this group once had a tremendous store of herbal
knowledge and lore, which was suppressed and nearly lost in the latter half of
the 20th Century. She and her fellow researchers are working hard to rebuild
that storehouse of knowledge,” said Voigt. 

In addition to the speakers, there will be a retail area
selling a wide variety of herb, spice and gardening products as well as books
and products from the presenters. 

Advance registration of $55, which includes an herb-themed
lunch buffet, must be received by January 9. Contact Carla Chapman
(217-333-7738; carlac at illinois.edu). 

On-site registration on January 17 begins at 8:00 a.m.
only as space allows and does not include lunch. The first educational session
begins promptly at 9:00 am.

******

Source:
Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant (217) 968-5512; cvnghgrn at illinois.edu

Contact:
Debra Levey Larson

(217)244-2880;
dlarson at illinois.edu

Workshops
Offered for Small-Scale Farming 

URBANA - Soil testing, plant propagating,
identifying diseases and pests, and selecting the right equipment are some of
the topics that will be addressed at five workshops being offered this spring
for small-scale farming operations. 

“The
Central Illinois Farm Beginnings (CIFB) workshops are geared toward people
interested in launching a small farm business that is economically and
environmentally sustainable,” said Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, University of Illinois
  Extension Specialist, Small Farm and Sustainable
Agriculture and CIFB co-facilitator. 

Now in
its fourth year, Central Illinois Farm Beginnings is a program co-sponsored by
the U of I Extension and The Land Connection. The year-long program includes course
work, field days and workshops and hands-on mentorships.  “This year we
are opening the workshops to those people that are not able to commit to the
full year program,” said Terra Brockman, founder of The Land Connection and
CIFB co-facilitator. 

Complete
information about the workshops including registration, is available at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/smallfarm/begin_farm.html.

The
schedule is as follows: 

Saturday,
March 14, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Richland Community College,
Decatur

General
Plant Propagation and Production for the Vegetable Grower

Topics
will include: Vegetable and Flower Production (variety selection, production
equipment, production volume and scheduling, containers, soil mixes, seeding,
plug and bare root and transplanting); Plant Propagation (plant selection and
taking cuttings) and Sales. Participants will receive transplants to include in
their farming operation.

Monday,
March 16, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

U of I
Extension, Sangamon County Unit Office, Springfield

Web
Marketing for Your Farm

This
workshop will focus on using the Internet as a critical part of a marketing
plan for small farms.

Saturday,
March 28, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

U of I
Extension, Sangamon County Unit Office, Springfield

VegScout School

This full
day of instruction will consist of a series of lectures on insect, weed and
disease identification followed by hands-on identification of live samples and
color photos. Discussion of troubleshooting problems in organic and sustainable
production systems, 

scouting
techniques, sample collecting and record keeping will also be presented.

Saturday,
May 16, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Prairie
Fruits Farm, Champaign

Evaluating
Soil Quality and Soil Maps

This
hands-on workshop will demonstrate how to collect soil samples for soil
testing, and how to measure simple soil quality indicators such as soil
structure, water infiltration and soil penetration resistance. 

Saturday,
May 23, 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Spence
Farm, Fairbury

Equipment
for Small Farmers

Marty and
Kris Spence will present information on the function and use of tractors and
various implements for small-scale farming, such as a bale mulcher, crop cart,
tractor tiller, converted horse-drawn cultivators, and a potato planter. Safe
handling and use of the implements to prevent accidents will also be covered.

There is
a fee of $30 per workshop for registrants who have not been enrolled in CIFB.
To register, visit http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/smallfarm/ or contact Deborah
Cavanaugh-Grant (217-968-5512; cvnghgrn at illinois.edu).

****

Midwest Organic Conference – Jan. 21 - 22

URBANA – This year the
Midwest Organic Production and Management Conference and Trade Show January 21
and 22, 2009 will be held at the Adams Mark Hotel-Airport in Indianapolis.

The sessions will run from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on
January 21, with an organic dinner at 7:00 p.m.  The day will begin with a
presentation entitled, “Transition Wisdom: What I have learned and what I would
change.” Other session topics will include: the Farm Bill; Organics 101:
certification; Market Maker; cover crops, soil fertility, compost; high
tunnels; e-organics, ATTRA, New Ag Network, general organic markets- local food
demand and food safety-post handling.  

Day one will include a presentation from University of Illinois
  Extension small farms specialist Deborah
Cavanaugh-Grant on organic agriculture's new national resource -
eOrganic.  "This resource, created by the eOrganic Community of
Practice, provides resources and solutions to organic producers, agricultural professionals,
educators, and researchers," said Cavanaugh-Grant. The website will be
launched in early 2009 at www.eXtension.org.

Sessions on January 22 will begin at 8:00 a.m. and
conclude at 4:30 p.m. Day two will begin with presentations on marketing and
economics of organic grain; composting, cover crops, soil fertility; and food
regulations for processing.

Other topics throughout the day will include: organic beef
production; organic dairy, marketing, value added, and agri-tourism; Traders
Point Dairy Indianapolis; feed processing, hogs, grain cleaning; post harvest
handling; and processing flour. The day will end with a panel on organic
markets and marketing.

“The trade show will open from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on
the first day of the conference and during breaks and lunch on day two,” said U
of I Extension’s Dan Anderson. Anderson will be
presenting information in the exhibit hall about the University of Illinois
farmer research project on perennial weed control in organic farming systems.

 For a complete listing of conference speakers and
sessions and online registration, visit http://orgconf.sustainability.uiuc.edu/.

For more
information, contact...

Dan Anderson

Research/Outreach
Specialist in Ag

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences

W-503 Turner Hall

1102 S. Goodwin

Urbana, IL 61801 MC-047

217/333-1588

217/244-3219  fax

aslan at uiuc.edu

http://asap.sustainability.uiuc.edu/org-ag

_________________________________________________________________
It’s the same Hotmail®. If by “same” you mean up to 70% faster.
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