Local Flavors

The Illinois Stewardship Alliance announced a new dinner series, Local Flavors, that connects central Illinois growers and producers with local restaurants in Springfield. At Local Flavors dinners participating restaurants will offer a dinner special highlighting fresh, seasonal, locally produced foods. The series will open new markets for local growers and give restaurants an opportunity to work with local growers. If you live in the Springfield area, please join ISA in supporting local farms and local restaurants!

Local Flavors Dates and Locations: June 19: Maldaner’s Restaurant July 3: Ross Isaac July 17: Augie’s Front Burner August 7: Caitie Girl’s August 21: Augie’s Front Burner September 4: Maldaner’s Restaurant September 18: Sebastion’s October 2: Caitie Girl’s October 16: Sebastion’s November 6: Ross Isaac

The kick-off for Local Flavors will be held at Maldaner’s Restaurant on June 19 at 7pm. Reservations can be made by calling (217) 498- 9707 or emailing Lindsay@ilstewards.org. Please choose an entrée: certified organic chicken, local veggie pasta or humanely raised American Cut pork chop. The cost for the dinner is $30 and the price includes salad, entrée, dessert, soft drinks or tea, tax and tip. You can make your reservation with a credit card online or checks can be mailed to:

Rolling on the River Ride

Registration is Open for ISA’s Third
Annual Bike Ride Fundraiser,
Rolling on the River

Join ISA at Rolling on the River, Illinois’ Ride for the Environment on August 16, 2008, at the Kendall County Fairgrounds.   Enjoy the scenic Fox River Valley on your choice of five routes, ranging from a laid-back 15-mile ride to a 100-mile long haul for the serious cyclist.  Rest stops along the way feature live music, fresh fruit, cookies, etc., as well as a chance to meet others who share your appreciation for the environment, support for local foods and sustainable agriculture.  Riders conclude the day with a delicious post-ride meal, more music and fantastic fundraising prizes. This is a great family event that all ages can participate in. For more information, or to register, visit http://www.ilstewards.org/RonR.htm, or call ISA, (217) 498-9707.  Better yet, start a team to raise funds for ISA and ask your friends and family to join you. This is a FUN way to support Illinois Stewardship Alliance and healthy, local food systems. 

Illinois Stewardship Alliance Organizes Workshop on Cooperative Marketing and Forming a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC)

Marty and Kris Travis of Spence Farm and Stewards of the Land, LLC gave a fantastic presentation about cooperative marketing to a group of about 25 area farmers in Taylorville on May 13. The Travis's spearheaded Stewards of the Land, LLC to cooperatively market locally produced foods to area retail outlets, grocery stores and a home delivery service. They provided an overview of how their LLC was formed and how the members have worked together. The Travis’s noted that communication has been key to their efforts and members met to discuss and establish core values. Participants at the workshop noted that they appreciated the Travis’s knowledge and had plenty of questions about how to organize a cooperative marketing effort amongst themselves.

For more information about The Travis’s farm, go to their website at http://www.thespencefarm.com. If you are a local grower or producer in central Illinois and are interested in cooperative marketing e-mail lindsay@ilstewards.org.

Policy Corner:

Farm Bill Fun and the State Crunch

You can file this under Things You Didn’t Learn in Civics Class: when a bill is sent to the President for signature or veto, it is printed on parchment, wrapped in velvet, and tied with a bow. For the Farm Bill, somewhere along this process a few pages went missing, sending our legislative system into new waters. Long story short, we finally have a new Farm Bill, minus a couple of international programs that will be catching up soon.

While much of the media around the Farm Bill has been on its $300 billion price tag and its lack of reform, among its 1700 pages there are some great programs for sustainable agriculture and local food systems.

• The Conservation Stewardship Program (previously called the Conservation Security Program), received an additional $1.1 billion in funding. This program is designed to reward farmers who are using good conservation practices on their working lands, while providing them the funding to do more. Because of tremendous underfunding in previous years, this popular program has only been available to farmers in certain watersheds in certain years. With this new funding the Conservation Stewardship Program should be available nationwide.
• Interstate Shipment of State-Inspected Meat: For the first time, state inspected meat processing plants will be allowed to sell across state lines. To qualify, these plants must serve local markets, have 25 or fewer employees, and have state regulations equal to federal regulations. This change could have a huge impact on Illinois livestock producers by providing access to new markets and new processing plants.
• Local Foods Study: because everything starts with a study. The Department of Agriculture will undertake a local foods study to assess key indicators including market share, gaps in processing, marketing, and distribution, and nutrition, community, energy, and environmental impacts. Having USDA-backed research showing the benefits of local foods will help us push for more support.

Stateside, nothing has been tied up with a bow.

When crunch time came at the end of May, many popular bills were left on the table. They’re not dead yet, and may get passed during a special session this summer or during the veto session in November. Two bills that ISA is working on:

• HB 5776: Premises ID – This bill would prevent the Illinois Department of Agriculture from mandating that anyone has to register their premises for the National Animal ID Program. This bill passed unanimously out of the House and Senate, and is now tied up in rulemaking language. While it’s impossible to say when this bill will be passed, the overwhelming support behind this bill assures that it will be passed.
• SB 1992: Farmland Preservation – This bill would allow counties to decide, by referendum, if they would like to create a fund for farmland preservation. This bill is based on the model in Kane County where gambling revenues are used to purchase development rights from farmers, allowing the farmers to continue farming and protecting that farmland and all the environmental and esthetic benefits to the community. This bill received overwhelming support in the Senate and is waiting action by the House.