Tour "A"

Prairie Fruits Farm

Urbana, IL

Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery, LLC is Illinois’ first farmstead cheese making facility. On the rich prairie soils of Central Illinois, Wes Jarrell and Leslie Cooperband have begun to transform the landscape from cash grain agriculture to diversified perennial fruit trees and berries, goat pastures, hayfields and prairie. They emphasize a forage-based diet for the dairy herd of Nubian and La Mancha goats—seasonal and diverse pastures and locally grown alfalfa and grass hay. The milk goes into their small batch, hand-crafted artisan cheeses marketed locally.

UI Meat Lab

UIUC Campus

On the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, the Meat Sciences Department operates the Meat Sales Lab. The lab is a retail outlet selling meat to public, but is also used to train people in the making and selling of high quality meat products. This stop on the tour will feature Floyd McKeith, Professor of Animal Science at UIUC, and Penny Shaw, from Flying S Ranch, Palestine, IL. Penny is a regular contributor to the Grassfed Gazette, and Flying S produces and markets grass fed beef directly to the public. The theme of this panel discussion will be optimizing meat quality and marketing meat effectively.

Jake Sanders will be speaking at this site. Jake is a Mahomet, IL native and is the head chef at Buttita's restaurant in Champaign. He has been an advocate of sourcing local foods for restaurants for many years, and will discuss his experiences in this area

Tour "B"

Kilgus Dairy

Fairbury, IL

At the Kilgus Farmstead, milk is produced on grass, all-natural, without added rBST, in small batches and delivered at the peak of freshness. At this stop you will tour Central Illinois' only farmstead milk bottling creamery, and sample products from their All-Jersey Creamline milk. See the process from pasture to bottle. Hear the story of how the Kilgus family went from a conventional dairy to a natural, grass-based system marketing wholesome, healthful dairy products directly to surrounding communities.

Mint Creek Farm

Stelle, IL

Mint Creek Farm is owned and operated by Harry and Gwen Carr, with the help of their children, Jonathan and Raya. The Carrs started with 50 acres in 1992 and have grown to 220 acres. When first starting out, the Carrs studied Biodynamic agriculture at the Michael Fields Institute and learned that planting perennial grasses and legumes is the first step in revitalizing farmed-out land. The sheep were originally part of their plan to enliven and enrich the soil. Sheep raised on grass is their main focus. Harry learned to plant mixes of legumes and grasses suited to the different conditions of the farm through trial and error and by talking to area farmers. Soil tests showed great improvement in soil fertility and texture after having the sheep rotationally graze in a particular area. Come see Harry’s pastured sheep and learn about his system of rotational grazing and sustainable management.

Tour "C"

Triple S Farms

Stewardson, IL

Stan Scott Schutte has been farming his 200 acres in south central Illinois for 30 years and his farm slogan says it all: “We Grow Taste.” At Triple S Farm the goal is to raise the best tasting, highest quality meats and produce without using drugs and chemicals. All the pastures are certified organic and all the animals are drug free since 1998. The produce is certified organic, the poultry is free range and no GMO grains are used. For Stan it is all about the farm philosophy: Animals are what they eat. They are fed only healthy grains. The all vegetarian diet produces a healthier, tastier finished product. Learn first-hand from Stan about his multi-species grazing system and the business he has built supplying quality animal products directly to consumers.

Goldmine Farm

Pana, IL

At 2000 acres, Jack Erisman is one of the largest organic farmers in Illinois. The 200+ head cow/calf herd he keeps mostly on pasture except for a few steers that are on feed. The animals are integrated into the system. “If we can successfully keep the animals on grass, it enables us to use longer rotations,” Jack says. This makes the farm less dependent on cash from grain yields. Jack sees the good-quality perennial pasture as a key component of his farm, and gives it the potential for long-term sustainability. On this stop you’ll learn how Jack manages his herd, including his breeding program.