This Month in Cook County Agriculture
National Direct Agricultural Marketing Summit, October 7-9, 2019, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. This conference is designed for anyone working in direct to consumer agriculture: farmers, farmers market managers, technical assistance providers, value-added producers, and more. The conference will hold sessions on technology, business development, finance, community impact, marketing and more. We will also be providing "Curbside Consulting" throughout the summit. Individuals can register for one-on-one technical assistance time with very consulting services including website design, marketing, grant writing, business planning, and USDA programs. Registration and information found at: https://localfoodeconomics.com/agsummit/.
Tree & Fish Sale- The Will/South Cook Soil & Water Conversation District (SWCD) Fall Tree and Fish Sale is underway. In addition to a fundraiser for the SWCD, landowners are offered excellent quality stock and reasonable pricing.
The SWCD offers a large variety of potted trees, shrubs, evergreens, perrennials and groundcovers. All items are pre-ordered and picked up at the District office in New Lenox. Order forms will be available online at will-scookswcd.org. A PDF containing tree descriptions can be found on the "Publications, Rescources and Links" page of this website.
The fish sale, which is also very popular, offers landowners an opportunity to stock their ponds. A variety of fish are available including the Triploid Grass Carp, known for its biological weed control. The fish are also pre-ordered and picked-up at the District office in New Lenox. The customer should consider using coolers, 5-gallon buckets, garbage containers or Rubbermaid totes for transporting their fish. When purchasing catfish, pond owners MUST provide their own pond water for transport.
Stocking recommendations and other information can be found in a booklet titled Management of Small Lakes and Ponds in Illinois which can also be found on the "Publications, Resources and Links” page of the SWCD website. ADDRESS 1201 S. GOUGAR RD, NEW LENOX, IL, 60451 PHONE: 815-462-3106 X3 FAX 815-462-3176 EMAIL: [email protected]
This article is for local farmstands, farmers’ markets, chefs and restaurants, and organizations that are hosting farm-related activities, events, workshops, and gatherings that will occur soon. To promote your activity, email [email protected] or call 708-354-3276 by the 15th of the month. Please include your name, the event date/time, a short description of the event, and how a reader can obtain further information in the email. We will edit submissions based on space allowances in the publication. In addition, we will post farm, garden, or livestock related photos on our social media platform if you forward those to [email protected].