Growing degree days since April 1: 3520 GDD at Springfield (Average (11 year average 3476) (From the Illinois State Water Survey Degree-Day Calculator)
4 inch soil temp:57.5°F (10 am 4-inch soil temperature under bare soil) (From the Illinois State Water Survey Illinois Climate Network)
Check out USDA's new Local Food Directories. There are separate, searchable directories for farmer's markets, food hubs, CSA's and on-farm markets that you can use to find sources of local food in your area.
Food Safety Rule Update. The second public comment period for the Food Safety Modernization Act regulations on food producers and processors opened on September 29, 2014. This month, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition will be posting information on the changes which were made to the rule, and instructions for submitting comments on their website. For more information and to sign up for updates, go to http://sustainableagriculture.net/fsma/overview-and-background/
New Organic Farming Research Webinars. eOrganic is excited to announce our 5th season of webinars on organic farming and research! This season's program features many regional and national research groups and farmers working on organic weed and insect management, organic grain production, and organic plant breeding. All webinars are free and open to the public, and advance registration is required. Register for any of the webinars at the links below and check our schedule of upcoming and archived webinars regularly, because we'll be adding many more webinars and live conference broadcasts soon!
Source: University of Illinois