I'm a sixth generation farmer located in east-central Illinois. Our 370 acre family owned and operated farm is located almost exactly 100 miles straight south of Chicago, Illinois and about 2 miles from the Indiana state line. Currently my father and I work the farm together growing mostly conventional corn and soybeans while we begin transitioning the farm to a more diversified organic operation. This year we will be obtaining our organic certification from MOSA (Midwest Organic Services Agency) for: a permanent pasture of eight acres that has been managed organically for many years; three acres of fresh market vegetables; four acres of alfalfa/grass forage. Next year we will be able to certify an additional four acres of alfalfa/grass forage and this summer we will begin transitioning another twenty acres for food grade organic small grains.

 

The conventional grains are marketed through local grain elevators who then aggregate harvests from multiple farmers and ship these commodities to regional processors or large international shippers. Our alfalfa/grass forage is fed to our free-range, grass-fed cattle and pastured poultry with the surplus hay sold off-farm to local livestock farmers and ranchers. The fresh vegetables we grow have been marketed at our hometown farmers' market in Milford, IL, the very vibrant Urbana's Market at the Square located in Urbana, IL in addition to sales to local restaurants and Common Ground Food Co-Op. This season we will be expanding our fresh vegetable sales with the addition of a CSA consisting of 20 shares distributed in the south suburbs of Chicago, IL - at the moment we're leaning toward Homewood, IL but the exact pick-up location is yet to be determined. I'm excited about the opportunity to begin bringing our sustainably grown products to the Chicago area residents. Our eggs from "Pasture Raised Heritage Hens" are marketed through the Common Ground Food Co-Op. We also raise pastured turkeys - processed on the farm the week of Thanksgiving for pick up by local customers.

 

The long term visioning for our farm is much, much more than just a solid foundation of organically grown small grains in a minimum four year rotation with alfalfa/grass forage augmented by continued development of markets for our organic vegetables and the establishment of an organic orchard and nuttery. We also recognize the need to preserve, protect, and promote native flora and fauna. My long-term farm vision focuses on integrating biologically diverse, multi-layered native species windbreaks aligned along contour with Keyline water management strategies and carefully planned earthworks designed to store water and distribute it as needed. These rows of trees will be spaced widely apart on contour to facilitate easy alley cropping of grains and forage with our current equipment. Fortunately, though we do live in Illinois where the topography is generally flat, our farm is located at the highest point in the county, on a glacial moraine where the headwaters for three distinct watersheds begin thus giving us a perfect opportunity to implement some critical soil and water conserving measures.

 

This coming season, in addition to all of our exciting plans, we are embarking on a great adventure by planting nearly 1000 trees and perennial plants including hazelnut, chestnut, oak, pecan, walnut, sugar maple, apple, nectarine, cherry, peach, plum, grape, blackberry, raspberry, currant, gooseberry, paw paw, horseradish, asparagus, and rhubarb plus nearly 500 hybrid poplar that will be planted as a quick growing fuelwood hedge and buffer against drift. This pilot project will be conducted in our pasture which is separate from the rest of the cropland and will help us gauge the viability of multi-species nuttery/orchard plantings. Multi-species rows of trees will be planted along contour on the downslope side of carefully constructed water controlling swales. The rows of trees will also neatly divide our pasture into paddocks for more convenient rotational grazing of livestock. For this project we are partnering with the Savanna Institute (SI), a daughter organization of the Restoration Agriculture Institute and affiliate of Mark Shepard and Forest Agriculture Enterprises of Viola, WI.