ASAP - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

At present there are about 250 certified organic producers in Illinois. Most of are small farms catering to Illinois consumers through direct marketing. Larger farm acreages, historically devoted to cash grains, increasingly serve growing markets for specialty grains and organic livestock systems. Illinois farmers presently supply only a fraction of the local demand for organic and/or sustainably grown food. Increased access to technical information and suitable processing and distribution channels are needed to help this sector grow.

Featured:

Organic Field Tour Series -- Stelle, IL -- Sept 25, 2008

SAVE THIS DATE:
2009 Midwest Organic Production and Marketing Conference and Trade Show
Adam's Mark Hotel, Airport
Indianapolis, IN
January 21-22, 2009

Scientific Findings About Organic Agriculture
An on-line resource from the Leopold Center

2007 Organic Farm Performance in Minnesota
FBM records of 65 Minnesota organic producers, summarized.

News

• Fruit Pests Abhor a Vacuum

  A physical chemist has developed a new technique for ridding harvested produce of insect pests and microorganisms without using pesticides such as methyl ...

• California Bans Trans Fats

  California, a national trendsetter in all matters edible, became the first state to ban trans fats in restaurants when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill ...

• New Guidelines for Organic Dairy

  The organic milk market is competitive, and organic dairy producers need information to understand their options when selling organic milk. Farmers’ Legal ...

Education & Outreach

• Standing Water

  Feed, floods and folly. A harrowing season on Menzel Farm.

• 2007 Organic Field Day Series Review

  Here's a report of the organic field days held last year, with links to photo albums containing a good collection of pics taken at each of the four events.

• Annual Midwest Organic Production and Marketing Conference

Resources

• Organic Certification Cost Share Program
• 2007 Organic Farm Performance in Minnesota

  A report of The Organic Farm Business Management (FBM) Project. Summarizes actual Minnesota organic farm performance data from 2006 and 2007. Farmers who ...

• 2008 Midwest Organic Production and Marketing Conference and Trade Show

  Powerpoints and information from the January 17-18, 2008 event.

Marketing

• Organic Farmer's Agency for Relationship Marketing
• Market Maker

  An interactive mapping system that locates businesses and markets of agricultural products in Illinois, providing an important link between producers and ...

• What impact will biofuels have on organic markets?

  By Corinne Alexander, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University

Research

• Scientific Findings on Organic Ag

  What has the scientific community discovered about the quality, nutritional characteristics and production practices used in organic agriculture? Use the menu ...

• Benefits to the Environment

  Climate change, water quality, soil health, biodiversity -- organic agriculture delivers the goods.

• Is Organic Productive Enough?

  Critics often claim organic agriculture isn't productive enough to feed the world. It's true farmers converting to organic often experience a yield drop, but ...

Organizations

• The Rodale Insitute

  The Rodale Institute works with people worldwide to achieve a regenerative food system that renews environmental and human health working with the philosophy ...

• The Organic Center

  Promote a new found understanding of the health and other benefits of organic foods and production through a comprehensive set of credible, peer-reviewed ...

• The Cornucopia Institute

  The Cornucopia Institute is dedicated to the fight for economic justice for the family-scale farming community. Through research, advocacy, and economic ...