We have recently purchased 16 acres of farm land and are in the process of remodeling an old arm house. We have been thinking about starting a part-time business. We have thought about organic gardens, flowers, perenials, etc. Do you know who we could speak to about business opportunities and soil testing? We have out buildings and have an old wood peg construction barn.

Concerning your questions regarding business planning please contact the Small Business Development Center in Champaign. Al Luchetti is the director there and is familiar with the needs of small farm enterprises.

For soil testing I would suggest you take a sample to either the coop in White Heath or FS in Monticello. There are also a couple private soil testing labs in the vacinity.

The U of I Agro Ecology website is a good source of informaiton concerning organic information. http://asap.sustainability.uiuc.edu/org-ag/

These U of I Extension sites might also be useful:

Small Farms: http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/smallfarm/

Agritourism: http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/agritourism/