Area Organic Farms -- August 19, 2010

Twenty OLLI members enjoyed a mid-August trip throughout Peoria County to visit local farms and business owners dedicated to organic growing practices.

The original itinerary was changed due to the June 5 tornado that hit Elmwood, Illinois, and damaged Basil's Harvest. As a result, we changed the tour to include lunch at Kickapoo Creek Winery in Edwards, then tours of Hart's Honey and Twisted Chicken Acres in Brimfield.

Janet Hart of Hart’s Honey gave a tour of her apiary in rural Brimfield. She discussed her beekeeping techniques, demonstrated how colonies are built from beeswax, and gave a (non-graded) quiz about bee facts and figures.

Leslie Schenkel, owner of Twisted Chicken Acres, was our second host of the day. She explained her growing techniques and her involvement with the Good Earth Food Alliance. In addition, Scott Wallace, District Conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, was in attendance to explain how Leslie was awarded federal funds to construct two hoophouses.