2009 Conference Highlights 

The 2009 Illinois Specialty Crops and Agritourism Conference, held January 7-10 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield, included programming for both the Illinois Specialty Growers Association and the Agricultural Tourism Partners of Illinois (ATPI). The overall effort featured three pre-conference workshops, the traditional breakout sessions, and for the second year a Saturday program called “Buy Local, Eat Healthy.”

The three pre-conference workshops held on Wednesday, January 7 were: (1) the ever-popular Pumpkin Workshop; (2) Biological Control in High Tunnels and Greenhouses; and (3) Federal Grantwriting Basics. All were well attended and well reviewed, with about 150 people in the audience for the three programs combined. On the evening of January 7, programs on labor and legal issues and the new AGR-lite crop insurance program were led by Rich Schell and Griffin Schnitzler. Both provided excellent information and guidance on two very complicated topics.

On Thursday, January 18, a presentation and cooking demonstration by chefs Michael and Brigitta McGreal kicked off the conference. Michael heads the culinary arts program at Joliet Junior College, and Brigitta is a department chair and culinary arts instructor at Bolingbrook High School. Their presentation on “Foods that Heal: Cooking Quick, Nutritious, and Delicious Gourmet Meals” was a great hit (in part because of all the great samples they handed out) that featured produce that Illinois growers bring to markets for several months each year.

The remainder of the January 8-9 program featured four concurrent program tracks on fruits, vegetables, herbs, and agritourism/marketing.

Invited speakers for the fruit sessions included Wesley Autio from the University of Massachusetts on pruning in apples and peaches and controlling top growth in apples, as well as Patty McManus from the University of Wisconsin on brown rot in peaches and early-season disease control in apples. The fruit sessions also included talks on top 10 do’s and don’ts for orchard establishment from Chris Doll and a grower panel; orchard monitoring for disease control from Mohammad Babadoost and a grower panel; modes of action and effectiveness of tree fruit insecticides by Rick Weinzierl; characteristics of disease-resistant apple cultivars by Mosbah Kushad; and weed management in orchards after heavy rains by Elizabeth Wahle.

For vegetable growers, Galen Dively, University of Maryland, talked on the efficacy of OMRI-approved (organic) insecticides and on the efficacy of Bt sweet corn hybrids. Jerald (Snook) Pataky, a sweet corn disease resistance specialist from the University of Illinois, gave a great summary of disease resistance and disease management in sweet corn, and Rick Weinzierl, Jeff Kindhart, and Elizabeth Wahle rounded out the sweet corn session with information on insect management and cultivar evaluations. Alan Walters of Southern Illinois University provided talks on sustainable production techniques and mini watermelons, and University of Illinois faculty and staff members Mohammad Babadoost, Bill Shoemaker, and Jeff Kindhart covered bacterial diseases of tomatoes, irrigation management, and chile pepper production.

Agritourism sessions featured talks on state tourism programs, safety considerations for agritourism operations, marketing options which capitalize on evolving consumer trends, and ideas to increase on-farm sales. The banquet speaker, Matt Lohr, also talked in the breakout about his agritourism business in Virginia. Two panels featured Illinois agritourism and media relations.

In the Herb breakout sessions, Greg Stack (U of I) started off the day with his talk “Old Roses for the Herb Garden” followed by Jananne Fink and Jennifer Fishburn (U of I Extension) on helping your customers down the information highway. Phil Nixon, also from U of I, rounded out the day with “What’s Bugging Your Herb Garden?”

On Friday, Susanna Reppert of The Rosemary House, Mechanicsburg, PA, talked about using interns and apprentices as well as addressing the future of the herb industry.

IHA board members Liz Fiorenza and Kay Carnes spoke on diversification and flexibility in the herb industry and making herbs work for you, respectively. Dianne Noland (U of I) finished the day talking about designing with herbs.

Pumpkin Workshop Recap