Agroforestry and Perennial Crops

8900 U.S. 14,Crystal Lake IL 60012

12 November, 2022

Description

Agroforestry and Perennial Crop WorkshopSATURDAY OCTOBER 299:00 am - 1:00 pm $25, Includes Lunch Center for Agrarian Learning at MCC, Room A229 In this workshop, the Savanna Institute will provide an overview of agroforestry (farming with trees) and promising perennial crops for the Midwest. These include: Hazelnuts, chestnuts, Elderberry, Aronia, and Black Currants. The agronomics and marketing of each crop will be discussed. We’ll also cover propagation protocols for each crop and participants will take home chestnut seed nuts and supplies for growing their own trees. Farmers who practice agroforestry integrate trees, perennial crops and animals together in farming systems in ways that benefit each species, creating exceptionally productive farm ecosystems. Agroforestry is a systems-based way of farming with trees that help farmers regenerate soil, capture carbon, filter water, shelter livestock and wildlife, and grow healthy local food. Savanna Institute Educators Bill Davison, Value Chain Development Manager Bill grew up in Amish country in northern Ohio, where he worked on dairy farms through high school. He served in the Army and used the G.I. Bill to pay for college, graduating with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana and an M.S. in Biology from Eastern Illinois University. Following graduate school, he worked for The Nature Conservancy as a Land Steward and then spent seven years as an organic vegetable farmer in central Illinois. He transitioned from farming to working as a Local Food System Educator with University of Illinois Extension where he developed programs to support staple crops and agroforestry. He currently works for the Savanna Institute as the Value Chain Development Manager. Kaitie Adams, Community Agroforester Kaitie leads the Illinois Demonstration Farm program and helps build community through agroforestry education across the state and beyond. Her background in anthropology (MA 2015, SIUC) helps illuminate the deep ecological and social connections created through agriculture and informs her work in building bridges between landowners, farmers, industry builders, and researchers. Kaitie is drawn to agroforestry for its powerful reimagining of a future that is abundant, perennial, and beautiful. In addition to planting trees and talking about pawpaws, she teaches community classes on seasonal cooking, fermentation, and canning and runs Red Crib Acres, a small apple orchard on rented land, with her husband John Williams.