SVM_Today's Farm_090424 by Shaw Media

TODAY’S FARM

It’s Harvest time on the farm

n ... And the crop this season? Happy campers who’ve hitched up to hook up with farms and other stops along country roads, where they’re getting their fingers on the pulse of America’s heartland

By PHYLLIS COULTER | FarmWeek

A program that gives RVers, often urban-oriented, a chance to experience farms and rural businesses is just the ticket for Lynn Crafts and Dan Dougherty.

They pay a membership fee of about $85 annually to belong to Harvest Hosts, which provides an interactive map and information about more than 5,000 host farms, wineries and other businesses to help plan their trips. In return for staying free at some spots they might not find otherwise, they shop at the host’s business.

“We are kind of city people,” said Crafts, an animal lover. Some of their favorite stops included interacting with “gentle and curious alpacas” at Heartland Criations Alpacas in Rio, Illinois, in Knox County; visiting “adorable doll sheep” in Shelbyville; meeting regal, 18-hand-high draught horses in Kentucky and watching “Oreo cows” (Belted Galloway) frolick in Kansas.

“We didn’t have farms in our lives. This gives us

exposure to a lifestyle we haven’t experienced,” Dougherty said.

In the past two years, the couple has visited 18 Harvest Host sites in Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, Wisconsin and several in Illinois, now their home state.

“We’re batting 1,000. We’ve never had a mediocre experience,” Dougherty said.

“Along the way, we discovered we enjoy wine,” he said of looking for more wineries to stay at as they travel north to get out of the heat. With no air conditioning this time of year, they avoid 90-degree weather and note many people are using generators for cooling.

“It’s not for everyone,” he said. Some people can’t downsize enough to enjoy an RV life. The couple lives in a small home in Morrison when they aren’t on the road exploring or visiting relatives.

“Social media is part of it,” he said. They use it to discover some of the best places to visit and share stories on Caboose Adventures, their YouTube channel.

Some RVers are also relatively new to Harvest Hosts, including Rosemarie Barnes of Peterborough, Ontario, who has children to visit on the West Coast in Whitehorse, Yukon, and has found the hosts along the way really make the trip.

The Grey Mill, a working mill on a farm in Montana, and Kathy Albert’s alpaca farm in Rio were among her favorites. “It was a really nice experience. We’d definitely go back,” said Barnes, who bought

MORE INFO

Go to harvesthosts.com for more information, including a map of host sites, or find it on Facebook.

Sauk Valley sites

The Harvest Hosts map at harvesthosts.com/discover showed three sites in the Sauk Valley that welcomed Harvest Host members: Chaplin Creek in Franklin Grove, Erie Airpark in Erie, and a site in Sterling billed as offering “faith, fellowship, and service [at a] spiritual oasis retreat.” (The exact address was available only to Harvest Host members).

her granddaughter alpaca socks.

Bob Roat and Holly Grote left their home in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Memorial Day, driving to the Pacific Northwest and are out adventuring all summer.

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TODAY’S FARM

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“We use Harvest Hosts as our overnight stops on the way to our general destination,” Roat said.

“We keep coming back, not just for the experiences — it’s the people we meet,” said Roat of the 30 Harvest Hosts stops they visited so far. They liked some so much, they stayed three times.

“There’s only two we wouldn’t go to again,” he said. One was a winery in Tennessee that is no longer part of the program, he said. “Well over 90% have been good stays.”

The couple usually travels six to eight weeks, three times a year, then returns home to Ohio to connect with their kids and grandkids.

They map their routes carefully. “Deciding factors for us are convenience to our main route, and ease of parking our rig for the night,” said the driver of a 32-foot fifth wheeler and a Chevy 2500 pickup truck.

“We support the local economies. Probably we support them a little too much sometimes,” Roat said with a chuckle.

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.

Reaping the harvest

Farms, rural businesses are the hosts with the most to gain as they roll out the welcome mat for RV’ers

By PHYLLIS COULTER | FarmWeek

Kathy Albert has found a profitable and enjoyable way to attract customers to her alpaca business in Rio in Knox County.

She is not alone as dozens of Illinois farmers and entrepreneurs capitalize on the option of joining Harvest Hosts, a North American-based organization that provides RVers with a safe place to stay the night in return for shopping at their businesses.

“I’ve had over 100 good experiences in the year I’ve belonged,” said Albert, owner of Heartland Criations Alpacas.

Harvest Hosts is a network of farms, wineries, breweries, distilleries and attractions across the nation that invite RVers, who are members, to stay overnight at unique places.

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Photo by Kathy Albert

For Lynn Crafts and Dan Dougherty of Morrison, meeting “gentle, adorable and curious” alpacas at Heartland Criations Alpacas on one of their RV tours has been one of the highlights of being a member of Harvest Hosts.

TODAY’S FARM

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Albert, who has raised alpacas for 24 years, said she was initially reluctant to sign up because she was worried a guest might start a dangerous fire. Other alpaca farmers she consulted told her she could set rules, one being “no fires.”

“I would love to travel if I could be home at night,” Albert said of the drawbacks of being a livestock farmer.

Her other passion is antiques and she hosted an Antiques and Artisans Market on July 6 and is planning a fall open house for Sept. 28-29.

Big spenders

Amy Wertheim has also seen a big boost to her business from Harvest Host at RGW Candy and Wertheim’s Gardens in Atlanta.

“Last year we had the most successful year, with 327 rigs,” she said. That’s up from 150 from their first year four years ago. This year, in May alone, they had 67 rigs.

Active hosts average $10,000 in income from the RVers, a Harvest Host spokesperson said.

For Wertheim, each guest spends an average of $71 on her products, which include chocolate, herbs, garden produce and ready-made frozen entrees.

The Logan County farmer said location is a big reason for her success. She is halfway between Springfield and Chicago, near Route 66, which draws both national and international travelers. It is also a stop for those coming and going to Flor -

Last

year we had the most successful year, with 327 rigs.

Amy Wertheim, RGW Candy and Wertheim’s Gardens

ida, celebrating graduations at Illinois State University in May, attending the Illinois State Fair in August, or Abraham Lincoln sites throughout the year.

In April and May, many of the guests to her petfriendly location had dogs competing in dog shows in the St. Louis area needed some space to run.

“It’s kind of unique,” Wertheim said of the clientele she attracts.

She seldom has negative experiences with guests. Harvest Hosts helps monitor reports of problems and can ban troublemakers. Making and enforcing sensible rules makes things run smoothly, she told FarmWeek.

Still waiting

Not all the farmers who signed up for the program successfully attract RVers. Regenerative Life Farm founder Jarrod Yantis signed up as a host over a year ago and hasn’t seen an influx of guests yet. He had hoped Harvest Hosts would add profit to his farm to cover the labor costs of fulltime employees.

“We would like to draw on some of the several thousand campers who are in the area every

year,” said Yantis, who produces eggs, pastures 270 chickens, and grows market garden crops on his 19-acre property near Lake Shelby. The lake is the biggest draw for tourists, he said.

Yantis added that the view of the pond, which helps irrigate some of the 20 crops he grows, is part of the scenery that he hopes will attract RVers.

Winery business

For Dave Poland of Hidden Hills Vineyard and Winery, meeting the guests is a big bonus. “They come from all over. I was quite the traveler in my day, and I’ve been to most of the places they are going to or coming from,” said Poland, of rural Knoxville, close to Galesburg.

“Harvest Hosts really took off for us this year. We’ve had a few dozen RVers already with one or two every week,” he said.

The farm’s events with live music on the weekends are usually a big draw. People are also drawn to the eight acres of pet-friendly vineyards. Coming soon, his new corn maze will add to his agritourism offerings including wine tastings. The RV shoppers make it worthwhile belonging to the program, Poland said.

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.

TODAY’S FARM

People get good EATS from Illinois farms

State program gives growers’ bottom lines a boost, and helps fight food insecurity

By HANNAH SPANGLER FarmWeek

Some Illinois farmers are seeing new market growth with Illinois Equitable Access Towards Sustainable Systems (IL-EATS), a grant program through the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) and Illinois Department of Human Services.

IL-EATS, funded by the USDA, was established to boost statewide food systems over two years. Nearly $29 million in grant funding was allocated for distributing free, locally produced food in Illinois.

“IL-EATS has brought growth to our farm through increased sales and scale,” said Ed Dubrick, a Cissna Park farmer, who’s hoping the growth will help him and his wife, Lindsey, reach their goal of leaving their day jobs and making a living on the farm while raising their children, Evelyn and Calvin.

For Ed, co-owner of DuChick Ranch in Cissna Park, IL-EATS took some of the pressure off his fam-

ily’s chicken farm when he decided not to sell at farmers markets this year. Markets were 67% of the farm’s yearly sales but going to farmers markets from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. was too much for the Dubricks as they welcomed their second child.

“To just walk away from that was terrifying,” Ed said of the decision. Adding to his concerns, Dubrick said trying to enter the wholesale market as a new producer was a challenge. “Our costs of production are often higher than our vertically integrated counterparts who dominate the food system.”

Becoming a part of IL-EATS was a blessing to his family, Dubrick told FarmWeek. It eliminated barriers to entering wholesale markets and meant he could grow his 2,000-bird operation without selling at farmers markets.

This year, Dubrick and his wife expect to sell 4,000 chickens.

In March, the couple made their first delivery to the Eastern Illinois Food Bank, one of the 15 lead agencies receiving a grant from IL-EATS.

Overall, 20 grants were distributed to lead agencies in seven Illinois regions. The funds are used to purchase local food at market value from socially disadvantaged farmers. Then, each lead agency — food banks, farm cooperatives and other nonprofits — distribute to food-insecure communities at no cost.

Kristi Jones, IDOA deputy director, said IL-EATS is also helping increase access to culturally responsive foods. Food preferences within a culture may vary by individual, age, religion or how long someone has lived in the U.S. To secure more choices for the diverse population of Illinois, lead agencies can use University of Illinois Extension’s cultural food guide.

For underserved and socially disadvantaged farmers — minorities, females, veterans, new farmers and more — Jones said IL-EATS can help develop a long-term, sustainable operation. “If you are getting fair market value, you may be able to invest in your farm or expand a smaller farm, ...make your farm a business that is your main source of income,” she said.

Through IL-EATS, the Dubricks are one step closer to that goal.

“IL-EATS has brought growth to our farm through increased sales and scale,” Ed said. “We have more infrastructure in place, more experience with wholesale accounts and more knowledge about the needs of our neighbors.”

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.

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TODAY’S FARM

‘From weed to a crop in 10 years’

A pesky plant isn’t worth its weight in gold, but thanks to genetics, it’s definitely becoming worth more than a penny

By HANNAH SPANGLER FarmWeek

What was once just a weed is showing potential as a cash crop in the Midwest.

Earlier this year, Western Illinois University’s field day in Macomb brought attendees into the weeds of more than 10 years of research. Win Phippen, professor of plant breeding and genetics at WIU, led the day, welcoming farmers, fellow researchers, industry partners and students.

The event aimed to showcase the winter annual crop, field pennycress, to local producers while emphasizing the groundbreaking research behind this innovation.

Commercialized field pennycress by CoverCress Inc. (CCI), named CoverCress, expands the usefulness of pennycress beyond the wild black seed and golden varieties.

“Black seed pennycress is a weed and it persists year after year,” Phippen said, but genetics have unlocked a golden opportunity in the pesky weed. He said that golden pennycress came from changing one gene in the wild variety — the seed coat is thinner, allowing it to germinate faster and keep it from taking over — and “our industrial partner, CCI, has added some other tricks and is building these new commercial varieties,” he said.

CoverCress shares qualities with canola, particularly in terms of oil and feedstock quality. However, the Integrated Pennycress Research Enabling Farm and Energy Resilience team has evidence that CoverCress is even better than canola. The crop requires minimal inputs for planting and fertilization.

Plus, CoverCress matures much earlier than canola, allowing farmers to plant a full season crop after harvest. The target plant date for CoverCress is the beginning of October so the crop can be in the ground throughout the winter and be out of the field as soon as possible.

“The most critical step in all of pennycress is get out of the field as quickly as possible,” Phippen said. “If I delay planting of soybeans as the next crop into June, farmers are not going to have anything to do with it.”

According to CCI, gene editing and breeding has helped pennycress become a rotational cash crop that fits into a corn and soybean rotation. Breeding the once weed for proper, uniform genetics has been a series of trial and error if you ask Kevin Cook, CCI vice-president of breeding.

“We throw out roughly 90% of what is grown every year but just everything that looks positive we take another look at the following year,” he told FarmWeek.

Still, Cook said processes such as a gene editing and discovery program that tests hypotheses, allow scientists to be more direct in some aspects of their research. He added the ability to use the floral dip method to efficiently transform the crop makes pennycress a great candidate for gene editing.

Beyond showing the science behind creating new pennycress varieties, industry experts also shared the environmental aspects the crop can offer farms. CCI reports CoverCress provides cover crop benefits and contributes to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Cook said CoverCress is a way for CCI to help farmers get more use out of their land while preserving it for the next generation. He hopes the crop can enter the sustainable aviation fuel market in the future providing even more opportunities for Midwest farmers.

“The whole story is pretty cool,” Cook said of the pennycress phenomenon. “From weed to a crop in 10 years.”

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.

The Integrated Pennycress Research Enabling Farm and Energy Resilience team has evidence that CoverCress is even better than Canola. The crop requires minimal inputs for planting and fertilization.

Hannah Spangler | FarmWeek

TODAY’S FARM

Sheeps shine in the field of green energy

By MARTHA BLUM mblum@shawmedia.com

ROSEMONT — Grazing sheep on utility-scale solar sites is not a new practice for some shepherds.

“I visited my first site about 10 years ago,” said Erica Sanko, director of analytics and production programs for the American Sheep Industry Association. “It’s a form of targeted grazing and it’s providing a huge opportunity for the sheep industry.”

“This opportunity is largest since the Homestead Act,” said Marcus Gray, president of Gray’s LAMBscaping, a company that offers vegetation management solutions for solar power arrays across Virginia. “Around World War II, there were 50 million sheep in the U.S. and now there are about 5 million.”

“We have the opportunity to recover the sheep population in the U.S. and that will have a massive impact in our home county in Virginia,” said Gray during a panel discussion at the Solar Farm Summit in July, organized by the American Farmland Trust.

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TODAY’S FARM

“Our county has approved about 20,000 acres of solar, and at two to three sheep per acre we could double the livestock in our county,” said the shepherd who currently manages about 800 ewes.

“That is going to have an economic impact from a whole slew of businesses needed as sheep numbers increase.”

Eric Bronson, founder and CEO of James River Grazing in Virginia, is a first-generation farmer who started his business in 2016.

“Agrivoltaics (using land for both solar energy production and agriculture) can return the money we make into more local impact,” Bronson said during the summit .

“From the impact of jobs standpoint, we’re not talking about minimum wage jobs,” he said. “And when that impact trickles out to the veterinarians, feed stores and gas stations, that money stays within a 15-mile radius.”

Grazing sheep on solar farms is a new income stream, Sanko said, that provides opportunities for new, young and beginning farmers.

“The sheep industry is a minor species compared to the cattle industry, which has about 87 million head in the U.S.,” she said.

“When you’re a minor species, many companies that provide infrastructure like animal health products, equipment or processing don’t invest in our industry because the return on investment doesn’t work compared to the major species.”

If the sheep industry is going to grow as much as expected with agrivoltaics, that will help build the infrastructure.

“We’re going to see more veterinarians specialize in sheep production and more animal health products to assure animal welfare,” Sanko said.

“From a consumer’s standpoint, we import about three-quarters of the lamb consumed in the U.S.,” she said. “So, this could help to provide more American lamb to our consumers and provide it at a more attractive price point.”

Regional Food Business Centers around the country are working to assist with food supply chain issues.

“In the Midwest, the Center is springing from Michigan State University and it will cover Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana,” said Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, administrator for the Rural Business-Cooperative Service for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“The Center will provide technical assistance to producers and also help

to connect producers to local markets,” she said.

The Inflation Reduction Act funding has completely changed the landscape for producers to be able to afford renewable energy systems, Londrigan said.

“Previously, you could only receive 25% of your overall project cost in grant funding, but with the Inflation Reduction Act, it’s 50% so that’s a game-changer for folks,” she said. “Our applications have increased 600% so we know people are taking advantage of it.”

The goal of USDA’s Rural Development programs, the administrator said, is to get tax dollars back to the people.

“We want to get the money into your pockets to help you lower your monthly costs, make upgrades you need and keep you farming,” she said. “That’s why we are here.”

“Sheep are ideal for targeted grazing for vegetation management, but one of the challenges is trying to figure out how we can supply enough sheep to meet the demand,” Sanko said. “It takes time to build the flock.”

Education can also be a challenge for shepherds.

“We’re learning as we go,” Sanko said.

Agrivoltaics provides shepherds the opportunity to raise animals on a property while also getting paid for the service of managing the vegetation.

“This needs to be treated like a full-time job,” Gray said. “For people who have tried to do this in their spare time, it hasn’t gone well.”

Grazing sheep under solar panels is a 24-hour job, seven days a week.

“If you can’t be that person, you need to hire someone to be that person,” Gray said. “You must be on call because the dog may get out, the sheep are stuck somewhere or somebody needs access to an area where you have animals. This is not a hobby — we’re full-time ranchers.”

The opportunities for grazing sheep on solar farms are disrupting the industry — “We need to realize we’re going to deal with some growing pains,” Sanko said — but, she added: “We need to work together to address those so we don’t pass up this opportunity.”

Sanko is excited about the development of Agrivoltaics.

“You are employing sheep to provide a service and grazing is not free; there are costs involved,” she said. “Grazing on public lands is not the model we’re talking about today — this is a mindset change.”

To read more from Shaw Media’s Agrinews, go to agrinews-pubs.com/