Two unique farms that incorporate both crops and livestock will be the locations for an organic field day on Thursday, August 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. "This tour will actually start at the Dekalb County Extension Office in Sycamore and then we'll caravan to the nearby Butler farm and the Plapp farm in Malta," said University of Illinois Extension specialist Dan Anderson who is coordinating the tour. "It will be an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in organic farming from both the crop side and the livestock side to see both kinds of operations in one day."

The Butler farm is operated by Aaron Butler and his father Paul. They started transitioning their farm to organic in 1995 and certified their first field in 1997. Gradually they transitioned a few fields every year, and continued to transition additional acres as they were able to rent them. They currently farm about 1,300 acres.

"With the elimination of herbicides and the use of rotation crops and cover crops our farm has become much more labor intensive," said Aaron Butler. "We view this as a positive development, mainly from the social standpoint of wanting to spend our money locally to contribute as much as possible to the economies of the towns we live in."

In addition, livestock has become an integral part of the operation. "Paul's horse boarding business provides a built in market for a lot of the hay produced on the farm," said Anderson. "And hay is a beneficial crop to have in an organic rotation." The Butlers also have sheep that act as the farm's garbage disposal.

"At their farm, the Butlers will talk about their crop and livestock operation, and how it fits together," said Anderson. "They'll show folks the fields near the house growing yellow corn, seed corn, soybeans, yellow corn with and without chicken litter compost applied, and hay. They also plan to have some of their tillage equipment out to talk about."

The tour will then travel to the Plapp farm Malta. They have been farming the land for over a century. Plapp Family Organics produces a range of meat and grain products. Brothers Adrian and Myron Plapp, along with their families, work together to operate the farm. Adrian manages the crop work, while his wife Debbie keeps the books and Myron manages the livestock.

"They began transitioning to organic farming in 1995 and completed all of the acreage in 2000. In mid-2004 the farm began milling its grains into organic flours and grain meals and pressing its oilseeds into organic oils," said Anderson. The Plapps also produce a range of meats including beef, pork, duck, and lamb and poultry is raised for meat and egg sales.

"People who attend this field day will definitely see a lot," said Anderson.

Online registration is available at http://asap.sustainability.uiuc.edu/org-ag/29/.

The tour is $20 per person, and $10 for each additional family member. Children under the age of 10 are free.

Anderson said that there will be another tour held on September 6 at Duane and Margaret Baker's farm in Oblong. The topic of the tour will be diversified organic grain and cooperative marketing.

For additional information, contact Dan Anderson (217-333-1588; aslan@uiuc.edu).