University of Illinois Extension

Illinois Small Farms

Welcome

Illinois Small Farms provides information for the commercial small farmer as well as the small acreage landowner. The website provides easy access to information for small-scale farmers and those who work with them.

What's New

Legal Issues of Direct Farm Marketing - Your Help Is Needed!

"Can I sell eggs at my farmers market?"

"Can I process honey at home?"

"Can I make jam in my own kitchen to sell at a market?"

You'll find answers to these questions and more by visiting the Direct Farm Business website put together by Bryan Endres (Associate Professor of Agricultural Law, University of Illinois).

But nothing is perfect and your assistance is needed in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of this website. Help make this site more useful to you and others by taking this very short (5 minutes!) survey now (March 1 deadline!)Click here to open the survey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/F2JYQY7. This is not just any survey, but one in which your responses are taken seriously, and the site will be improved accordingly. Thanks for your help!

Need farmland?
Got farmland?
Then Get Your FREE Guide!

The Land Connection has created a new FREE Farmland Toolkit for anyone needing land for sustainable farming, or for anyone who would like a sustainable farmer stewarding their land.

In this toolkit, you'll learn about types of leases that are typically available for Midwest farmland, plus new and innovative lease arrangements. You'll also explore the pros and cons of leasing vs. buying, and the elements of a good farm lease. This guide will also connect you to a wide variety of resources in the Midwest and beyond . . . click here now!

European Union and United States Agree to Historic New Partnership on Organic Trade

NUREMBERG, Germany, Feb. 15, 2012-The European Union and the United States announced today that beginning June 1, 2012, organic products certified in Europe or in the United States may be sold as organic in either region. This partnership between the two largest organic-producers in the world will establish a strong foundation from which to promote organic agriculture, benefiting the growing organic industry and supporting jobs and businesses on a global scale.

The organics sector in the United States and European Union is valued at more than $50 billion combined, and rising every year.

Formal letters creating this partnership were signed on 15 February 2012 in Nuremberg, Germany, by Dacian Ciolos, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development; Kathleen Merrigan, U.S. Agriculture Deputy Secretary; and Ambassador Isi Siddiqui, U.S. Trade Representative Chief Agricultural Negotiator. The signing took place at the BioFach World Organic Fair, the largest trade show for organic products in the world.

"This partnership connects organic farmers and companies on both sides of the Atlantic with a wide range of new market opportunities," said U.S Deputy Agriculture Secretary Merrigan. "It is a win for the American economy and President Obama's jobs strategy. This partnership will open new markets for American farmers and ranchers, create more opportunities for small businesses, and result in good jobs for Americans who package, ship, and market organic products."

"This agreement comes with a double added value. On the one hand, organic farmers and food producers will benefit from easier access, with less bureaucracy and less costs, to both the U.S. and the EU markets, strengthening the competitiveness of this sector. In addition, it improves transparency on organic standards, and enhances consumers' confidence and recognition of our organic food and products," stated the EU Commissioner responsible for agriculture and rural development, Dacian Ciolos. "This partnership marks an important step, taking EU-U.S. agricultural trade relations to a new level of cooperation".

"This is a significant step in strengthening our bilateral trade relations," added Ambassador Isi Siddiqui. "I am confident that this arrangement will facilitate and boost agriculture trade between the European Union and the United States - and lead to more jobs in this important sector for both America and Europe."

Previously, growers and companies wanting to trade products on both sides of the Atlantic had to obtain separate certifications to two standards, which meant a double set of fees, inspections, and paperwork. This partnership eliminates significant barriers, especially for small and medium-sized organic producers. All products meeting the terms of the partnership can be traded and labeled as certified organic produce, meat, cereal, or wine.

Leading up to today's historic announcement, both parties conducted thorough on-site audits to ensure that their programs' regulations, quality control measures, certification requirements, and labeling practices were compatible.

Although there are small differences between the U.S. and European Union organic standards, both parties individually determined that their programs were equivalent except for the prohibition on the use of antibiotics. The USDA organic regulations prohibit the use of antibiotics except to control invasive bacterial infections (fire blight) in organic apple and pear orchards. The European Union organic regulations allow antibiotics only to treat infected animals. For all products traded under this partnership, certifying agents must verify that antibiotics were not used for any reason.

In addition, all products traded under the partnership must be shipped with an organic export certificate. This document will show the production location, identify the organisation that certified the organic product, verify that prohibited substances and methods weren't used, certify that the terms of the partnership were met, and allow traded products to be tracked.

Both parties are committed to ensuring that all traded organic products meet the terms of the partnership, retaining their organic integrity from farm to market. The European Commission's Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Organic Program—which oversees all U.S. organic products—will both take on key oversight roles.

The United States and the European Union will continue to have regular discussions and will review each other's programs periodically to verify that the terms of the partnership are being met. The EU and U.S. will also begin to work on a series of cooperation initiatives to promote organic production and tackle important topics such as animal welfare and other issues. Both programs will share technical information and best practices on an ongoing basis to further enhance the integrity of organic crops and livestock production systems.

Currently, this agreement only covers products exported from and certified in the United States or the European Union. For additional details on this agreement, please visit

http://www.ams.usda.gov/NOPTradeEuropeanUnion or http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/home_en, or please contact one of the following:

 

FACT's Healthy & Humane Farm Funds - Call for Applications!

FACT's Healthy & Humane Farm Funds Project will provide small grants to qualifying humane farmers who need assistance in improving the welfare of their farm animals. Grants will be awarded for projects that (1) help farms transition to pasture-based systems, (2) improve the marketing of their humane products, or (3) more generally enrich the conditions in which farm animals are raised. Applications are due by April 1, 2012 for awards made in June 2012. At least five farms will be funded each year, with grants ranging from $500 to $1500 per farm. View guidelines and download an application at http://www.humanefarmfunds.org. Contact Lisa Isenhart at or 773-525-4952 with questions.

Call for Abstracts for the 6th National Small Farm Conference - "Promoting the Successes of Small Farmers and Ranchers"

The conference includes preconference short courses, plenary sessions, breakout sessions, oral and poster paper presentations, exhibits, success stories, and educational tours. This conference will bring together a diversity of nearly 800 professionals from academia, non-governmental organizations, farm leaders from local, state, and national levels who work with small farmers and ranchers. One of the plenary sessions will consist of farmer panelists who will highlight small farm opportunities and challenges. The conference aims to strengthen collaboration and partnership among stakeholders, and provides an opportunity to share new ideas in research, extension and outreach with the goals of enhancing farm income and improving the quality of life within communities. DEADLINE: February 29, 2012. For more information

Illinois Announces Tools to Help Increase Local Food Distribution

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announces the release of Building Successful Food Hubs: A Business Planning Guide for Aggregating and Processing Local Food in Illinois. The guide includes descriptions of key functions, best practices, and “how-to” strategies for establishing and operating food hubs. DCEO has also announced a new website to help farmers navigate larger market channels, which often have complex regulatory requirements. The site http://isupply.illinois.edu/ connects producers directly to market requirements and resources, as well as entities that may already have an interest in purchasing their products.

 

MarketMaker connects farms and consumers to support local food movement

Where can you find chocolate goat cheese truffles, organic okra, and Ginger Gold apples in the same place? The answer is http://www.foodmarketmaker.com, an online marketing resource that was created by a team from University of Illinois Extension and has grown to include almost 20 states.

MarketMaker was initially developed in 2004 to assist and educate livestock farmers on marketing strategies for value-added meat products. The current site has developed into a tool that can benefit everyone in the food supply chain, from farmers, to processors, distributors, retailers, and the consumer looking for unique food products.

Since its inception, MarketMaker has grown to include profiles for over 500,000 producers and other food-related businesses. Each state has its own unique site, but all sites access a common database. This allows users to conduct multi-state searches. MarketMaker's interactive mapping capabilities provide the user with easy location of all businesses.

Large corporations such as Wal-Mart are utilizing this Web-based instrument to find produce. Darlene Knipe, MarketMaker principal investigator and University of Illinois marketing specialist, said MarketMaker was able to provide training to buyers that were interested in local produce on how to use MarketMaker for fulfillment in their stores. Because of Wal-Mart, some farms in Illinois, such as Frey Farms Produce located in Wayne County, are maximizing their business.

This past year, MarketMaker joined forces with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC) to provide a region-wide tool to connect fisheries to markets as part of the economic recovery plan after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill of 2010. This accessible seafood section caught the attention of Louisiana when Louisiana State University launched MarketMaker as a means to assist a struggling shrimp and fishing industry after the oil spill.

Michigan is using MarketMaker to help connect producers with food banks in order to provide fruits and vegetables for those in need. Toril Fisher, Director of Programs and Member Services for the Food Bank Council of Michigan, began using MarketMaker to identify farms within 50 miles of its member food bank's warehouses, and proactively contracted with several of them to provide over 600,000 pounds of produce through the Michigan Farm To Food Bank pilot program. Over one million people utilize these food banks and were able to have fresh produce with the help of MarketMaker and Fisher's efforts.

Recently, Farm to School and MarketMaker united to link producers and educational institutions, giving farmers access to new markets through schools. The benefits are twofold--supplying local schools helps diversify the producers' markets while students reap the benefits of healthy, flavorful, local foods.

"MarketMaker continues to grow and is a work in progress," says Knipe. "We are adding new states every year and are looking to diversify into more sectors such as horticulture, the timber industry, and agritourism." Knipe says they are hoping to start work with the international market as well.

In 2010, National MarketMaker program was awarded the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Partnership Award for their work in providing consumers with better access to fresh, local foods and for helping farmers profit through a successful, multistate partnership.

The vision of MarketMaker is to be a national information technology platform that enables all food producers, processors, wholesalers, and retailers electronic access to geographically referenced data. The platform will enhance the opportunity for food and agricultural entrepreneurs to identify and develop new and profitable markets and improve the efficiency and profitability of food systems in the United States and, eventually, globally.

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