URBANA, Ill. — What if corn and soybeans did not have to be replanted every year, and instead could take carbon out of the atmosphere, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and still provide the food and fuel products for consumption? Saturn and Vulcan Farms are experimenting with perennial fruit and nut alternatives to annual crops such as soybeans and corn. Plants include Chinese chestnut, black currant, hazelnut, gooseberry, raspberry, and more. Perennial crops, like hazelnut trees/shrubs and raspberry plants, live and produce for many years after being planted just once.
Join us July 30th from 12:00 – 3:00pm for a Field Day hosted by Kevin Wolz of Saturn Farm (2797 County Rd. 1700 N., Ogden, IL 61859) and Vulcan Farm (1123 County Road 2300 E, Sidney, IL 61877). Come see these crops first hand and learn how these fruits and nuts could support alternative local and regional markets with a smaller environmental footprint.
Saturn Farm is the first large scale, private diverse perennial cropping farm in Central IL focusing on mechanically harvestable perennial alley cropping with fruits and nuts. This farm offers an excellent example of high-value cropping systems using Chinese chestnut, black currant, and European hazelnut in establishment phase. Additionally, it includes productive windbreaks, pollinator habitat, and other up-and-coming diverse cropping practices.
Vulcan farm has 254 species, 559 varieties, 1.5 acres windbreak, and .5 acres of pollinator habitat growing on just 10 acres of land. The variety trials being conducted are asparagus, shrubs like juneberries and serviceberries, and currants and gooseberries. Other research projects are hybrid hazelnut growth based on genetics well as integrating sheep into pasture where trees are becoming established (Silvopasture).
About the Savanna Institute: The Savanna Institute is a nonprofit organization working to empower industry stakeholders to support, adopt, and enhance the incorporation of trees in agriculture via research and education. Among other benefits for the farmer, community, and world, growing more trees and other perennial crops works to improve soil health and pull carbon from the atmosphere.
— Savanna Institute
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