P REPARING A N EW G ENERATION OF I LLINOIS F RUIT AND V EGETABLE F ARMERS a USDA NIFA B EGINNING F ARMER AND R ANCHER D EVELOPMENT P ROGRAM P ROJECT G RANT # Rick Weinzierl University of Illinois ;

Preparing a New Generation of Illinois Fruit & Vegetable Farmers Why? The average age of farmers in the U.S. in 2007 was 55.3 years, and for fruit growers the average age is 57.7 years. To meet the demands of consumers, new farmers are needed. Increased demand for locally produced foods is well documented nationally and in IL, but only 1.1 percent of all crop sales recorded in IL for 2007 were fruits and vegetables. Starting a new fruit and vegetable enterprise is a more realistic financial endeavor than starting a new commodity crop enterprise. With land prices greater than $10,000 per acre in much of Illinois, the buy-in cost for 500 acres often exceeds $5 million for land alone, excluding most new farmers. The minimum size for a viable fruit and vegetable farm can be 10 acres or less and cost $100,000 or less for land. This allows many more aspiring farmers an opportunity to begin farming.

Preparing a New Generation of Illinois Fruit & Vegetable Farmers (W EINZIERL, K INDHART, S HOEMAKER, C AVANAUGH -G RANT, P IKE, AND G ONZALEZ ) Our goals 1.Increase the number of new farmers producing fruits and vegetables throughout Illinois and enhance the viability, profitability, and sustainability of new and beginning enterprises to meet increasing demand for local produce and contribute to local economies. 2.Assist a specific target audience – seasonal Hispanic farm workers – in beginning viable, profitable, and sustainable small produce farms. 3.Increase the expertise of university extension educators, high school and community college teachers, and educators in community organizations so they can better aid new farmers.

Our Objectives 1.Provide year-long programs of classroom and hands-on / in-field instruction on essential skills and information for 60 or more new farmers per year for three years so that new growers have the information base to be successful. Provide up to 20 of these new farmers (per year) access to land as needed to allow low-risk experience growing vegetables with expert oversight. 2.Provide year-long programs of classroom and hands-on / in-field instruction on essential skills and information for 30 seasonal workers who want to become independent farmers so that they have the knowledge to become successful. Provide up to 10 of these seasonal workers (per year) access to land to allow low-risk experience growing vegetables with expert oversight. 3.Develop human and informational resources by providing year-long classroom and hands-on / in-field instruction on essential skills and information to Extension educators (15), allied educators (5-10), and vocational agriculture and FFA teachers (90) so that these educators can continue programs for new growers and by developing an online resource library (English and Spanish) of educational materials for new and aspiring fruit and vegetable farmers.

Our Methods Classes offered at three locations – St. Charles Horticulture Research Center (and Kane County Extension Office) – Urbana Research and Education Center – Dixon Springs Agricultural Center These are our locations where we have ongoing fruit and vegetable research and demonstration programs and qualified staff All sessions involve hands-on opportunities and first-hand observations

Classes are offered free of charge to participants … applications are screened based on likelihood of success Classes are one Saturday per month, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., at each location All classes are filled for 2013 Registration for December, 2013, through November, 2014, will begin July 1, 2013 Content: Land acquisition, business planning, safety, transplant production, high tunnels, soils, variety evaluations, integrated pest management, pruning, thinning, harvest practices, postharvest handling, conventional and organic production methods, visits to established farms … and more

Some logistics Pre-class primers – Webinars and other especially good online resources Lectures and hands-on opportunities Follow-ups – Direct s – List-serve (wikispace) Additional opportunities – Mid-month farm visits (sometimes) – Organic – Additional crops and livestock – by referral

Programming for Hispanic workers Two approaches for 2013 – At Urbana and St. Charles Classes offered one Saturday per month, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., in combination with “main” program Classes in English for bi-lingual students and future trainers – At Carbondale in southern IL Classes offered Tuesday and Thursday evenings each week for 12 weeks, January - March For 2014 and 2015 – Spanish-language instruction at all locations – Scheduling to be determined

Incubator plots Up to ½ acre per individual 1 to 2 years Primary tillage and access to irrigation provided, along with some simple equipment All labor and management supplied by the participant Participants may sell produce grown on the plots

For Year 1… 109 entities participating Participation: enterprises / individuals – St. Charles34 / 49 – Urbana47 / 63 – Dixon Springs20 / 28 + Carbondale8 in the Spanish-language program Demographics – 55 % / 45% male/female – Age range = 24 – 72 (mean = 47; 28 younger than 35) – Organic = 19 %; Sustainable = 81 % Diversity: new farmers, high school and community college instructors, nonprofits, community garden managers, restaurateurs … and even a few established farmers transitioning from row crops.

Distribution of participants (enterprises) by county, “Preparing a New Generation of Illinois Fruit and Vegetable Growers,” Blue circles indicate the primary training locations – St. Charles, Urbana, and Dixon Springs. The red circle indicates the location of the southern IL IMC program at Carbondale.

John Gehrke, USDA Farm Service Agency, discussing FSA‘s loan programs, particularly the new microloan program, in January, 2013, at Dixon Springs. A participant wrote us one month later, thanking us for including this information in the course … she had just received a USDA microloan.

To reach us ContactsContact information Rick Mary Esperanza Gonzalez