Okay, June was brimming with activity when it comes to local food in Southern Illinois. We were directly and indirectly involved with a number of farm tours, as well as working on filming a documentary on the regional food system. 
We first visited Farmer Brown's Produce, which is tucked away in a fold of forested land just northwest of the tiny town of Pomona. The farm's proprieter is Josh Brown, who has been working the land for about nine years now. With the help of his farming partner, Devin Brown (no relation), the pair has devised a business plan that will help his operation succeed. What distinguishes this farm is that it is USDA Certified Organic. This designation gives the Brown's a leg up on regional markets, such as Whole Foods in St. Louis, where they can sell their kale and leafy greens at a premium. This dynamic duo also sells goods to a combined CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), called Fair Shares, also in St. Louis.
There's many more details of course, but the gist is that Josh is a big believer in being a certified organic grower. He said that even though there is a fair amount of paperwork invovled, and a certain amount of processing expenses ... that becoming certified is a sound business decision and it helps him be a better and more efficient business person.
Following the visit with Josh and Devin, the crew slipped about 15 miles down the road to Clear Creek Organics, where Adam and Anne Kazubski presented a rather different perspective on what organic growing means. Adam just began a CSA this year, and is providing seven shareholders with weekly boxes of fresh, seasonal veggies. Adam doesn't subscribe to organic certification, mostly because he feels that he doesn't need a label to prove to folks that he's growing food that is chem-free. He said that the people he sells food to can visit his farm and see for themselves how he grows their vegetables. It's this connection between grower and consumer that fuels Adam's fire. Adam also is not a proponent of regional, retail marketing, owing to the fuel inputs that are needed to ship produce beyond 100 miles or so (or less) from his farm. 
[Note: It's very important to keep firmly in mind, that while making distinctions between Josh's and Adam's particular approaches, these differences are relatively minor in context of the current industrial, monocultural food system. Josh and Adam are very respectful of each other's farming operations and styles. So, despite the relatively minor (though quite interesting) contrasts between the two growers, the similarities they share in their dedication to organic growing are much more pronounced and profound. Word!]
Both Josh and Adam left a very strong impression on the tour participants on that day.
Co-op Farm Tour
The following Sunday, 17 souls trekked to three farms in Southern Illinois under the auspices of the Neighborhood Co-op Summer Farm Tour. Once again, we were treated to Farmer Brown's Produce and to Clear Creek Organics. The reaction by this group to Josh and Adam's different approaches were very much the same. It exposed everyone to a very intimate look into the various growing and marketing strategies that will keep farmers financially afloat.
The third leg of the Co-op Tour was through Bison Bluff Farms, just northeast of Cobden. Here the crew got an up-close and first-hand look at a sizable portion of the 350+ herd of bison that graze the rolling pastures owned by Clifton Howell. Bison Bluff is a family ranch, and everyone learned a lot about what it takes to keep such an operation going.
Sustainable Ag Tour
On Friday, June 19, another tour took place - this one halfway between Benton and Thompsonville in Franklin County. This tour vistited JED's Farm, which is a diversified farm run by Judy and Ernie Duckworth (hence JED's). The Duckworth's raise cattle, and sell produce at the Benton Farmers Market, but this particular tour was focused on how to raise strawberries more sustainably than the traditional matted row system.
It was plenty hot, but Ernie Duckworth really helped those in attendance to understand the various ups and downs that are involved with raising strawberries for market (direct, and even retail).
The tour was sponsored by U of I Extension and the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center.
Co-op Youth Tour
And on Monday, June 29, the Co-op held a youth farm tour that took a group of five middle school students to Farmer Brown’s Produce. Afterward, the students also had a chance to tour and have lunch at the Co-op as well.
At the farm, the kids had a chance to learn about organic farming and were exposed to a lot of new concepts. While many foodie-types may take their knowledge of food for granted, there are still many people who aren’t familiar with what many would consider basic knowledge. The kids, for example, learned about kale for the first time. They also had the chance to see where garlic comes from. Furthermore, the crew got their hands dirty, literally, as they planted a row of sweet potato slips under Mr. Brown’s supervision.
And while the term organic may be fairly abstract to many, these kids got the chance to learn more about growing food without chemical pesticides or fertilizers first hand. And Josh Brown’s farm is a testament to how much fresh, healthy food can be grown in a small space.
As a result, the Zeigler crew were eager to take some of what they learned back to Zeigler and start a garden behind the city’s public library. They even talked about possibly growing some of that food to take to market.
Many thanks to the generosity of Josh Brown, who gave the kids lemonade as well as several pepper plants for them to take home and start growing – as well as taking time out of his busy schedule to show the kids around the place.
Mike Toso, of Southern Illinois Health Care, spearheaded the tour, and is to be commended for caring for these kids and choosing food and farming as the focus of the grant. For indeed, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
The tour was funded in part through a methamphetamine prevention mini-grant, funded through the Institute for Public Safety Partnerships (IPSP). Southern Illinois Healthcare teamed up with other area social service agencies to form an action team named Building Asset-Strong, Involved Communities (BASIC). BASIC's approach is markedly different than other grant awardees because it focuses on prevention.
It was pretty much a picture perfect day overall in Southern Illinois. 
In the span of just one week this June, Southern Illinois will be hosting three farm tours that will focus on several aspects of our local food system.
Beginning Organic Farmers: De-mystifying Certification and the Choice Not to Certify
The first tour is part of a state-wide series of Organic Field Days. It will start on Friday, June 12 and focus on two organic farms in Union County. The first will be Farmer Brown’s Produce, a USDA certified operation that specializes in leafy greens, heirloom tomatoes, head lettuce, peppers, and culinary garlic. Josh Brown, along with his farming partner Devin Brown (not related), have about three acres of land currently in production and are growing at both the local and regional levels, selling to nearby venues such as the Neighborhood Co-op and in several St. Louis markets as well.
The second part of the organics tour will take visitors to Clear Creek Farm in Cobden. Clear Creek is located between Bald Knob and
Neighborhood Co-op Summer Farm Tour
The second will take place only two days later on Sunday, June 14 from noon to 6 p.m. Sponsored by Neighborhood Co-op Grocery, the tour will also feature Farmer Brown’s Produce as well as Clear Creek Farm.
The third leg of the Co-op tour will include Bison Bluff Farms, a ranch that has become well-known throughout Southern Illinois for their burgers, brats and quality cuts of meat. The ranch holds some 350 head of bison, or American buffalo, which graze on more than 1,000 acres of pasture just outside of Cobden. The bison are grass mostly grass fed, though do receive a modicum of grains, but with no chemicals or hormones added. And according to the USDA, bison meat is low in fats and high in protein and iron. The ranch tour will be given by members of the Howell family, who have years of experience taking folks to their herd and teaching them about these august creatures.
For more details visit the Neighborhood Co-op website.
U of I Extension Sustainable Ag Tour
On Friday, June 19, U of I Extension will sponsor a Sustainable Ag Tour at Jed’s Farm in Thompsonville. Jed's Farm, which is actually an acronym for Judy-Ernie-Duckworth, has been in operation since 1983. On 43 of the 80 acres, the Duckworth’s graze cattle. And although just three acres are devoted to their strawberry and vegetable business, Ernie said that the strawberries are more lucrative than the cows. "One acre of strawberries out produced 43 acres of cattle." he said.
One of his secrets allows him to plant strawberries in July rather than September. "About six years ago we started using black plastic with compost made from manure rather than the methyl bromide that other fruit growers use," said Duckworth. The compost is created over the course of a year recycled from the manure in the cow operation.
The tour will include a luncheon presentation by John Pike, Extension Educator, Community & Economic Development, Carbondale Center entitled "Innovative Specialty Crop Marketing: Farmers Markets, Agritourism, and More!"
The registration deadline for the Sustainable Ag Tour is Friday, June 12.
That wraps up an intense week of local growing activity in Southern Illinois. Please click on the above links for more details. The organic tour is $10, the sustainable tours is $20, each and the Co-op tour is $25.
COBDEN - A farmer’s market will run from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday starting June 6 until Nov. 1. The market will be located at the former site on South Front Street (Old Illinois 51).
Vendor space is available to citizens of Union County who grow or produce their own products within the county. The market is open to the public. Everyone is invited to come and buy from local growers and producers of handmade items. The People’s market is part of a planned series of events to promote Cobden and its economic development.
For information regarding participation, contact the Village Hall at (618) 893-2425.
.jpg)
