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Tour
two farms with mixed organic crops and livestock
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Aug. 30
field day
[July 27, 2007]
URBANA -- Two unique farms that incorporate
both crops and livestock will be the locations for an organic field
day on Aug. 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 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."
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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 at Malta. The Plapps
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.
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 "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 can attend free.
Anderson said there will be another tour Sept. 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 Anderson at 217-333-1588 or
aslan@uiuc.edu.
The tours are sponsored by the University of Illinois Agroecology/Sustainable
Agriculture Program in the Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences in the College of
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences; University of Illinois Extension;
the Illinois
Department of Agriculture C-2000 Sustainable Agriculture Grant
Program; Midwest Organic Farmers Cooperative; The Land Connection;
Windsor Organic Research Trial; and the local Extension offices in
Champaign County, Ford/Iroquois County and DeKalb County.
[Text from file received from
the University of
Illinois Extension] |
