URBANA, Ill. - Aspiring Illinois farmers, new growers with less than five years’ experience, commodity farmers interested in diversifying to include fruit or vegetable production, and high school and community college agriculture teachers are invited to apply now for the next session of a free training program offered through the University of Illinois crop sciences department.
“Preparing a New Generation of Illinois Fruit and Vegetable Farmers” opened the application process for its third session on July 1. The application period will be open through October 24, 2014, or until capacity is reached. Participants can apply for the program at http://www.newillinoisfarmers.org/new_generation_app.php. There is no fee for participants who complete the program.
The program, which features classroom, hands-on, and in-field instruction on essential skills and information, is offered at three locations in Illinois: the UIUC campus in Urbana, U of I’s Dixon Springs Agricultural Center in Simpson, and at the Kane County U of I Extension office in St. Charles. Classes for this session will be held one Saturday a month at each location from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., running December 2014 through November 2015.
A Spanish language program is also offered through a partnership with the Illinois Migrant Council. Mary Hosier, project manager for the program, said that the format of the Spanish program will be tailored to the needs of the participants at each location, which will likely include four months of instruction from start to finish with shorter meetings on weeknights and a few, extended “hands-on” field trips, she said. Sites will be determined based on enrollment. Sites last year for the Spanish language program included Harvard, Kanakee, and Anna.