“Taking Organic Agriculture to the Next Level” is the theme of Western Illinois University’s 2025 Allison Organic Research and Demonstration Farm field day. The event will start at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12 in the Dakin Farm shop with presentations, followed by a complimentary lunch at noon featuring local farm products. The field day will conclude with a tour of the research and demonstration plots starting at 1:15 p.m. at the Allison Farm.
The keynote presentation will be delivered by 2012 WIU Ag alum Austen Etherton, who farms a mix of organic and conventional acres with his father in Sangamon County. The Ethertons began transitioning 500 acres to organic in 2014 and have 2,700 certified acres of corn, soybeans and wheat in 2025. They have made many changes along the way and Austen’s presentation will highlight the challenges and successes they have experienced in taking organics to the next level.
The morning will include several short presentations related to using drones on organic farms and new developments in corn breeding for organic farming, a panel discussion featuring organic farmers representing a range of scales and enterprises who will share how they have taken their farms to the next level and an overview of recent research at the Allison Farm by WIU Ag Professor Joel Gruver.
After lunch, the field day will transition to the Allison Farm, where Gruver will lead a walking tour of research and demonstration plots featuring organic corn, soybeans, alternative crops, including seed crops and alternative cropping systems, such as solar corridors and diverse cover crop mixes.
On-site registration begins at 8:30 a.m. To pre-register or obtain more information about the Field Day, contact Andrea Venturi, organic agronomist and research technician, at A-Venturi2@wiu.edu or the WIU School of Ag at (309) 298-1080. Pre-registration is strongly recommended for planning purposes.
Dakin Farm Shop address: 130 20th St., Roseville, IL 61473.
For more info about the Etherton farm, visit https://tinyurl.com/pbcm3r2x.
For more information about the WIU School of Ag, visit wiu.edu/ag.
***Courtesy of Western Illinois University***
