State funding allow small Illinois farmers deliver fresh produce to local food-sharing networks

Sola Gratia Farm and other recipients used LFIG funding to improve post-harvest handling and delivery of fresh produce.

by Tom O'Connor & Maggie Dougherty
Capitol News Illinois

URBANA - It’s a cold and overcast day in November, but Sola Gratia farm in Urbana is teeming with life. The last leafy greens of the season are lined up neatly in the field, while delicate herbs and flowers have been moved inside plastic-walled high tunnels to weather the cold winter months. To arrive on Thanksgiving dinner plates and in food pantry fridges, the produce from the 29-acre farm must be loaded into a refrigerated delivery van and spirited off to distribution sites.

That delivery vehicle was purchased using funds Sola Gratia, which means “by grace alone,” received under Illinois’ Local Food Infrastructure Grant, or LFIG, program. The grant also allowed the farm to purchase much of the equipment used to clean and package produce prior to sale or donation. Traci Barkley, the farm’s director, told Capitol News Illinois that infrastructure like this is important for farms to grow but can be difficult to fund independently.

“So the grant, all of a sudden, allows dreams to come true,” Barkley said, smiling.

Sola Gratia was one of 19 LFIG recipients that received a collective $1.8 million in funding awarded in 2024 after passage of the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Act.

The law created funding to support small farmers and food distributors — those with fewer than 50 employees — in producing locally grown food for Illinois communities. The General Assembly found that 95% of the food consumed in Illinois is imported from outside the state.

Shifting just 10% of that purchasing to local farms could generate billions of dollars in economic growth for Illinois, according to the law. But for Illinois to move toward purchasing more local food, farmers and food processors need adequate infrastructure to ensure the food reaches consumers predictably.

That means refrigerators and freezers to keep fresh produce and meat at peak quality; facilities where fruits and vegetables can be uniformly cleaned, sliced and processed into products like jams and jellies; equipment to package goods for sale and vehicles to transport them.

‘It makes an enormous difference’

The Illinois Stewardship Alliance, a local food and farm advocacy group, administered the program in its first year, 2024. The next year, the state appropriated $2 million in fiscal year 2025 to the Department of Agriculture to administer the grants, though the program faced implementation delays.

Between the unspent funds and an additional $2 million allocated to the program in the fiscal year 2026 budget, there will be $4 million available for the upcoming cycle. While small relative to the $55.1 billion in spending measures in Illinois’ fiscal 2026 budget, farmers said the grants of up to $75,000 for an individual project and up to $250,000 for a collaborative project have a significant impact on the recipients.

The Department of Agriculture will continue to administer the LFIG grant cycle in 2026 and expects the application process to open in early January.

Jeff Hake gestures to an antique grain combine on his family’s McLean County farm.

Jeff Hake is a partner at Funks Grove Heritage Fruits and Grains in McLean County, a small family operation growing wheat, corn and fruits. The farm received an LFIG grant to help dry, clean and store grains it processes into flour, cornmeal, pancake mixes, popcorn and more.

Hake summarized the impact of the grant on an overcast winter morning at the farm, where trains frequently pass on the nearby track running along Old Route 66.

“It makes an enormous difference,” he told reporters. “And the impact expands dramatically with these small, thoughtful investments.”

Among the purchases Funks Grove made with the support of the grant were a gravity table and a seed cleaner, or eliminator, affectionately called Ellie. Hake said the first wheat crop to run through both machines was the cleanest the farm had ever produced.

Filtering on density and size, the two machines strain out debris, leaves and dirt. The gravity table even allows farmers to filter out infected grain, which becomes lighter when consumed by disease.

Hake said the family identified a need for the gravity table after they almost lost a crop of corn to a grain-born toxin. The corn tested above the safe threshold for consumption, meaning the entire batch would have been wasted — and revenues lost.

Luckily for the farm, another grain farmer two hours north near Rockford had a gravity table. She ran the Funks Grove corn through, removing enough of the infected crop to effectively save the harvest.

Ripple effect

Hake and other LFIG recipients say the grants have had a ripple effect.

For example, a flower farmer near Lexington to the north cleans her harvested popcorn using the machines at Funks Grove, while a farm-based distillery in Paxton to the west is exploring doing the same for this year’s corn crop. Neither has the infrastructure to clean grain at that level, so collaborating with Funks Grove improves efficiency.

“We’ve learned so much and we’ve acquired all these things. And I very much don't want to be gatekeeping,” Hake said. “I don't want anyone else to have to go through this if we have it within an hour of where they're farming.”

FarmFED Co-op president and grain farmer Tom Martin talks with reporters in the Mt. Pulaski building purchased by the co-op with the Local Food Infrastructure Grant.

That same collaboration is core to the missions of the LEAF Food Hub in Carbondale and the FarmFED Cooperative in Mount Pulaski, also former LFIG recipients. While they differ in structure, both provide small farmers with post-harvest infrastructure and assist with distribution.

FarmFED provides produce to local food banks and opens its kitchen to a nearby bakery. Tom Martin is the cooperative’s board president and a grain farmer whose family has lived in the area for over 200 years.

Martin outlined the impact of the support from LFIG on a rainy afternoon at FarmFED’s site on the main square in Mount Pulaski. The grant allowed FarmFED to purchase a building and food processing equipment for local farmers.

“We’re not trying to become a great big co-op,” he said. “We’re trying to provide healthy food, support farmers and support our communities.” Similarly, Sola Gratia reported that several other farms and organizations benefitted from being able to transport produce in the van they purchased with the LFIG support.

Sola Gratia Director Traci Barkley watches on as farm staff load produce.

“The state invested in us and that’s shared with others,” Barkley said at Sola Gratia. “There’s a huge camaraderie that we try to contribute to.” Sola Gratia also regularly hosts gardening workshops, farm yoga sessions and educational events with local schools and community groups.

Global networks

Part of the challenge of increasing Illinois’ share of locally produced food, regional farmers say, is the barriers to competing with larger businesses that sell food cheaply and in large quantities.

Blayne Harris is the operations manager and an owner of the Carbondale-based LEAF Food Hub, also known as the Little Egypt Alliance of Farmers. LEAF received an LFIG grant to help reduce waste for their network of farmers and food processors, who distribute food through an online marketplace to a dozen local sites.

Working together allows LEAF farmers to focus less on making money and more on farming, according to Harris. “The core issue to all of this is just like the economy of scale, and it’s really difficult to compete with the global economy at a regional food level,” Harris said. “The hope behind this is that if we have collective marketing, aggregation, processing and distribution, then farmers can farm.”

LEAF Food Hub in Carbondale helps local small farmers.

However, Harris said, collective distribution models face limitations when there’s no avenue for selling food to larger institutions, such as schools, hospitals and correctional facilities, which serve hundreds of thousands of meals daily.

“Something that I would have as an input towards future infrastructure grants is that they should be paired with some sort of a grant that enables purchasing,” Harris said.

Illinois law mandates that state public institutions must purchase food from the lowest bidder, often larger companies from out of state. The Department of Corrections, the state’s largest purchaser of food, awards nearly 70% of its contracts to just two distributors, according to Investigate Midwest.

A bill proposed in the General Assembly’s spring session would have changed that, allowing public universities to award contracts to local farmers using criteria for sustainability and ethical growing practices. It stalled in committee.

Farmers also face barriers getting local food to underserved communities, according to a 2024 report on food access commissioned by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

A member of the team at Sola Gratia chops produce.

Larger corporations are not incentivized to open chain grocery stores in low-income or rural areas where profit potentials are low, and small, independent grocery stores that fill the gap struggle to meet the low-price expectations set by large competitors.

When grocery stores close, people lose access to healthy foods, creating food insecurity. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported in 2021 that nearly 3.3 million Illinoisians, about 1-in-4, lived in communities that lacked access to fresh, nutritious food.

Growing local

Countering that food insecurity is core to the mission of many of the LFIG recipients interviewed, with multiple farms donating large shares of their produce to local food pantries.

Just Roots, a half-acre urban farm nestled beside the Green Line on Chicago’s South Side, donates up to 50% of its fruits, vegetables and herbs to local food pantries and mutual aid organizations. The rest they sell at an affordable price on a sliding scale to local residents. The community farm received an LFIG grant to purchase a refrigerated van and expand on-site refrigeration capacity.

Standing in deep snow earlier this month, Sean Ruane, director of operations and development at Just Roots, discussed the role of local farms, especially in urban areas where green spaces are less common.

“Everything that we're growing here is being distributed within a five-mile radius of the farm,” Ruane said. “That’s very intentional on our part. And part of that is we're distributing all the food that we grow within 48 hours of harvesting it, so it’s as fresh and nutritionally dense, really, as food can be.”

Just Roots also hosts educational events, inviting local residents and children to come see where their food is grown. A teacher by training, Ruane said exposing kids to fruits and vegetables when they are growing up will make them more willing to eat those foods later.

“Our hope is that we can try to kind of help bring people back to, you know, much simpler times in terms of how food is produced and distributed and consumed,” Ruane said.

Upcoming grant cycle

Before applying for a 2026 LFIG grant, applicants will need to complete three pre-registration steps, standard for all grants administered under the Ag Department. The department also recommends preparing documents including payroll logs and tax forms to show proof of eligibility. A full checklist of the necessary forms can be found on the LFIG website.

“We don’t want anybody to get held up this time of year trying to get paperwork from their bank or from their payroll departments or anything like that,” grant administrator Heather Wilkins said. “So always continue to look at the Department of Ag website for those updates as we begin to launch this program.”

Local Food Infrastructure Grant program supported Sola Gratia’s purchase of much of the equipment in its washroom.

Recipients will be expected to match 25% of their award with a comparable investment unless the project is classified as “high need,” meaning that it fills a critical infrastructure gap or serves underserved farmers and communities.

Points will be awarded to proposals that have community support, are led by historically underserved farmers and owners, increase affordability in underserved communities and more.

A list of allowable expenses and other information about the application are detailed in the LFIG administrative rules.

The farms and food processors who were awarded LFIG funding when it was administered under the Illinois Stewardship Alliance will be eligible to reapply this year, but future projects under the Department of Agriculture will be ineligible for the grant in the subsequent funding cycle.

In the first year of the program, 247 project proposals were submitted, from which 19 were selected. The applicants collectively requested over $23 million in funding. The Stewardship Alliance said this indicates that LFIG fills a major gap.

“There’s still a very, very high need for local food infrastructure in Illinois,” Alliance Policy Director Molly Pickering said. “We’re still trying to move the needle on Illinois farmers being able to feed Illinois, and that is only possible when they have access to infrastructure.”

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Tom O’Connor is a freelance multimedia journalist. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism.

Illinois Local Food Infrastructure Grant impact, small farm infrastructure funding Illinois, local food distribution Illinois farms, Illinois agriculture grants for farmers, improving food access through local farms Illinois, state funding for local food systems Illinois

Flesh-eating maggots reappearing in the U.S, farmers brace for impact on livestock

A fly that was once wiped out in the U.S. is back. Screwworm flies return in Mexico and pose a risk to U.S. farms. If untreated, animals die in weeks from flesh-eating maggots.

Air National Guard C130 in flight — A USDA study estimated that a screwworm outbreak could cost Texas alone nearly $2 billion each year. The US government plans to fight the pest from the air by dropping billions of flies over Texas and other states where the larvae has been detected.

SNS - The hum of the cargo plane’s engines was steady but distant, drowned beneath the weight of anticipation. Dr. Lena Mireles leaned against the cool fuselage, eyes fixed on the pale glow of morning rising over the Gulf of Mexico. Below them, a swath of farmland, scrub brush, and winding rivers awaited the release. Behind her, row after row of aluminum canisters held billions of sterile male flies — tiny, winged soldiers bred in a lab, irradiated, and readied for war against a flesh-eating parasite that once again threatened to crawl northward.

She tapped her tablet, reviewing the flight path as the countdown ticked closer. In just minutes, the belly doors of the aircraft would open, scattering the living payload across the borderlands of southern Texas and northern Mexico. The plan was simple, almost elegant: drown the wild screwworm population in a tide of infertile mates. But Lena knew it wouldn’t feel elegant if they failed. The New World screwworm was already burrowing into livestock flesh in Chiapas and Campeche. If it crossed into U.S. herds, the economic and ecological damage would take decades to undo.

The cabin lights dimmed as the pilot radioed clearance. Lena stepped closer to the viewing port, watching the earth spin slowly beneath them. It was strange, she thought, to fight something so ancient with something so engineered. The flies would be gone in days, their work done in silence. No guns, no poison — only radiation, instinct, and time. Yet the stakes couldn’t be higher. This wasn’t just pest control. This was containment. Survival. A race between biology and biotechnology, she was flying at 12,000 feet over the front line yet again.

This sounds like a scene from a made-for-Netflix science-fiction movie, right? Actually, billions of irradiated male flies will soon rain from airplanes over southern Texas and northern Mexico as the U.S. government accelerates efforts to contain the alarming resurgence of the New World screwworm — a parasitic fly species that threatens livestock, wildlife, and food security across North America. This scenerio might actually happen in the years ahead.

The plan, announced this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), represents the latest escalation in a long-running battle against a pest that was once eradicated from the United States but has now breached containment lines and advanced to within 500 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The U.S. government is preparing to drop billions of flies from airplanes over southern Texas and northern Mexico to stop the screwworm. This flesh-eating fly lays eggs in animals' wounds, and its maggots eat living flesh. If not treated, the infestation can be fatal in just two weeks.

A swarm of flies feasting — The United States plans to drop billions of flies in the southern US to stop the return of flesh-eating screw worm maggots.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is using this strategy to stop the insect from spreading into the United States. The pest was once eliminated from North America, but in recent years, it has returned, moving north through Central America and into Mexico.

The economic and health risks are growing, especially in Texas, where cattle populations are the highest in the country. Officials are increasing efforts to contain the spread before it reaches U.S. herds.

What is the New World Screwworm?

The New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) is a type of fly that attacks warm-blooded animals. Female flies lay eggs in open wounds or body openings. When the eggs hatch, the maggots dig into living tissue. As more larvae grow and feed, the wounds get larger and deeper. Untreated, this infestation can lead to death.

This parasite affects livestock, pets, wildlife, and people. Animals that have given birth, had surgery, or have open wounds are most at risk.

The adult fly is slightly larger than a housefly, with orange eyes, a metallic blue-green body, and three dark stripes on its back. Maggots can often be seen in wounds, and animals may act restless, stop eating, or isolate themselves.

Eradicated before, but now it’s back

The U.S. removed screwworm from the country in 1966 using a process called the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). This method involves releasing large numbers of male flies that have been sterilized using radiation. These sterile males mate with wild females, but no larvae hatch. Over time, this lowers the pest’s population.

SIT worked well for decades. A biological barrier was created in Panama to stop the screwworm from moving north again. But in 2023, that barrier was broken. Since then, screwworm has spread through Central America and into Mexico.

New scientific models show that screwworm is most likely to enter the U.S. through southern Mexico. Areas with warm climates and large livestock populations, such as Texas and Florida, are at the highest risk. The fly can travel up to 12 miles to find a host.

Cold weather limits its survival, but summer weather and the movement of animals or wildlife can carry the pest into new regions, including northern states.

Serious threat to farmers and the economy

Texas has about 12.5 million head of cattle — the largest number in the country. A USDA study estimated that a screwworm outbreak could cost Texas nearly $2 billion each year. This number includes lost livestock, lower meat and dairy production, higher veterinary costs, and labor shortages during an outbreak.

If the pest spreads to other states, the economic damage could rise even more. Past outbreaks, such as the one in 1976, required a large number of workers to manage. Today, there are fewer workers in agriculture, making it harder to handle a crisis.

The screwworm is also a threat to food supply chains and public health. The pest does not only harm farm animals — deer, wild hogs, pets, and even humans are at risk.

What the U.S. is doing now to fight back

To prevent an outbreak, the USDA is building a new sterile fly factory in southern Mexico, expected to open in July 2026. Until then, a fly distribution center in southern Texas will help deliver sterile flies from an existing factory in Panama.

Sterile flies will be dropped from airplanes over high-risk areas in Texas and Mexico. The goal is to stop wild screwworms from reproducing by filling the environment with sterile males. This method is safer for the environment than chemical spraying and only targets screwworms.

At the same time, Texas has begun forming state response teams to monitor and respond to new cases. These efforts are focused on protecting livestock and keeping the pest from crossing into U.S. herds.

Livestock in Texas are threatened by NSW — Response teams focusing on protecting livestock will monitor herds in Texas, hoping to block the spread of screwworm swarms.

Early signs and what to watch for

Farmers and veterinarians are key to spotting screwworm early. Watching animals closely is the best way to catch an infestation before it spreads.

Common signs include:

Foul-smelling wounds with visible maggots
Animals licking or biting at their wounds
Lesions at dehorning or branding sites
Unusual behavior such as restlessness or not eating

By the third day after infestation, there may already be hundreds or thousands of maggots in a wound. If untreated, the wounds grow deeper and cause major damage.

Government agencies and agricultural groups are sharing guides and training materials with farmers to help identify and report possible cases quickly.

A Race against time

The reappearance of the New World screwworm shows how quickly old threats can return. While the USDA and its partners work to stop the pest, experts warn that control will take time and constant effort. Warmer months increase the risk of spread, and infected animals can quickly spread the larvae across large areas.

While the method of dropping sterile flies is proven and safe, it works slowly. It requires months - sometimes years - of regular releases to lower populations. But doing nothing is not an option. Without action, the pest could take hold again in the U.S., harming animals and causing long-term economic loss.

Stopping the screwworm now may save American farmers and ranchers billions in the future.

Jon Seevers takes the gavel as president of the Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association

CHAMPAIGN - In January, the Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association (ILICA) elected Jon Seevers as the 43rd President at the association's annual meeting in Champaign. Seevers, following in his father's footsteps decades later, replaces outgoing President Eric Layden of Hoopeston.

Seevers is a second-generation drainage contractor from Argenta and an active ILICA member for 40 years, currently serving on the Executive, Education, Budget, Picnic, Convention, and the Show & Other Income committees. He has or currently chairing or co-chairing the majority of committees he has been a member.

A primary goal of his presidency, Seevers said in a released statement, "is for all of our contractor members to be more profitable and safe by encouraging each of them to utilize the safety trainings and business benefits provided to them as members of Illinois LICA."

Currently residing in Cisco, Seevers has served as a volunteer fireman for 40 years and serves as the department’s president, a founding member of the Piatt County Habitat for Humanity and serves as construction co-chair, Trustee chair for his church and serves on the Administrative Council, and serves on the Board of Directors at Tatman Village.

In addition to volunteering a great deal of time to his community, he also is serical blood donor.

"I’m most proud of donating 178 units of blood, initially giving back the 4 units that I received during surgery to repair a broken femur from a high school play-off football game my senior year," Seevers said.

His family business, Seevers Farm Drainage, Inc. (SFDI), was founded in 1975 by his father, Stan Seevers, who is Life Member of Illinois LICA who also served two terms as Illinois LICA’s President in 1986 and 1998.

Seevers started working for his family’s business at an early age when the drainage pipe of choice was either clay or concrete. He vividly remembers his early years in the business tiling with a used Speicher 600. It was powered by a 147 hp Chevrolet 292 c.i. gas engine with three, 4-speed manual transmissions back-to-back-to-back to allow the traction speed to be slow enough to install 12” tile 6’ deep using targets for grade control.

"I’ve not only seen but have personally experienced some of the greatest advancements within our industry," Seevers says reflecting on his decades of drainage experience. Today, SFDI installs tile with a 450 hp diesel machine capable of installing 30” pipe 8’ deep with GPS grade control.

IDPH reported bird flu outbreak in Illinois flocks, here's what you should know

by Matt Sheehan
OSF Healthcare

PEORIA - Last month, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has reported the state’s first bird flu cases in poultry flocks.

In a health advisory sent to long-term care (LTC) facilities, farm bureaus and local health departments, the IDPH reports large commercial poultry flocks in central and southern Illinois have recently tested positive for the H5N1 virus. Farm owners are now in the process of “de-populating” the birds.

Photo provided

Doug Kasper, M.D.
OSF Infectious Disease Specialist

Several counties in northern Illinois have reported events where many ducks and geese have died, referred to as “die-offs.” The reason LTCs received the notice is because many are located on retention ponds that attract waterfowl and wild birds.

No human cases have been reported in Illinois yet. But health officials continue to warn those who interact with potentially infected animals that if they don’t wear the proper personal protective equipment (PPE), they are at higher risk of developing the novel influenza A virus due to H5N1.

Doug Kasper, MD, an infectious disease specialist with OSF HealthCare, says bird flu has really hurt local American farms.

"Avian flu is a different strain of Influenza A. It's a strain that has been circulating in bird and cattle populations for over two years. It has been devastating to those populations, like poultry and dairy farms across the country," Dr. Kasper says. "What was unique was that in the calendar year 2024, was the first confirmed testing where the spread from an animal to a human occurred of this specific strain of influenza."

In early January, the Louisiana Department of Health reported the first-ever human bird flu death in the United States. The patient was reported to be over 65 years of age and had underlying medical conditions. The patient contracted H5N1 after exposure to sick and dead birds in a backyard flock.

Currently bird flu is only transmitted from animal to animal or animal to person. There have been no reported cases to have transmitted from human to human, but Dr. Kasper says there is always a concern about that possibility.

"Whenever there is an animal strain of infection that's not typically found in humans, we worry about the impact of if it were to cross over," Dr. Kasper says. "We've seen this with other infections throughout history. Even within COVID-19, there was the initial thought that it was an animal strain of infection."

The current flu vaccine does not protect against avian influenza, Dr. Kasper says.

"Each year the influenza vaccine, which is made up of three or four strains of influenza virus, is reexamined and matched up to a variety of factors to try and predict which strains will be most prevalent the next year," Dr. Kasper says. "Right now, avian flu cases in humans are so low that it doesn't warrant a different strain that would be much more likely to be found."

IDPH’s guidance to LTCs is to have residents tested for the flu if they are suspected of having acute respiratory illness. Don’t touch dead or sick birds, only trained staff in appropriate PPE should handle with caution.

"The average person who does not interact with poultry or dairy farms is at very low risk of avian flu," Dr. Kasper says.

There is concern that bird flu could enter the food production and distribution across America. This is why the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is closely monitoring dairy and poultry farms, to try and limit any possible contamination of dairy, meat or poultry products.

The bird flu continues to be rarely seen in humans, as only 67 cases (as of January 15) have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most cases have been mild, Dr. Kasper says.

Seeds online; just because they're easy to buy doesn't mean they’re safe

NAPSI - Online shopping and e-commerce have opened new doors for gardening enthusiasts, offering unprecedented access to rare and exotic plants and seed products from around the world at the click of a button. But before you buy plants or seeds online from overseas sellers, you should know they could pose a significant risk to U.S. agriculture and natural resources, because they can carry harmful plant pests and diseases.

It’s The Law

It’s illegal to import plants and seeds from overseas into the U.S. without the appropriate paperwork indicating they’re pest-free. Just because it’s easy to buy them online, does not mean they’re safe and you, the buyer, are responsible for checking the origin and import requirements.

The Problem

Invasive pests and plant diseases are often not visible to the buyer and, if left unchecked, can easily and rapidly spread. Plant diseases, for example, can be carried in common garden staples grown outside the U.S., such as tomato and pepper seeds. Not only do invasive pests cost the U.S. an estimated $40 billion a year in damage to trees, plants, crops and related eradication and control efforts, they can have a significant effect on America’s food supply.

An Answer

Fortunately, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has put together clear guidance on the steps online buyers should take to protect U.S. gardens, landscapes, agriculture and forests from this threat.

Six Steps To Safe Seeds And Plants

Here’s what you need to do when buying plants or seeds online from another country:

1.Check whether you need an import permit for the plants or seeds you wish to bring in. If required, apply for and get an import permit from APHIS, which specifies the import requirements before the plant or seed species is allowed entry into the country.

2.Request shipping labels from APHIS, if required under the permit conditions.

3.Inform the seller about the labeling and shipping requirements detailed in the permit.

4.Instruct the seller to include an invoice detailing the scientific name and quantity of plants or seeds in the shipment.

5.Ensure the seller has a phytosanitary certificate from the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of the country of origin. This means the NPPO has inspected the plants or seeds and found them free of plant pests and diseases.

6.Instruct the seller to use labels provided by the buyer to ensure plants or seeds are delivered to an APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine Plant Inspection Station.

Everyone plays an important role in protecting U.S. food, gardens and trees. If you’re planning to buy plants or seeds online from foreign sellers, take the appropriate steps to make sure you are following U.S. import laws.

Learn More

For questions about importing and exporting requirements, call APHIS at (877) 770-5990 or e-mail plantproducts.permits@usda.gov. To discover how to stop the spread of invasive plant pests and diseases, visit www.HungryPests.com.

IDOA cover crops discount application now available

Applications for the Fall Covers for Spring Savings Program became available online yesterday. Funding of eligible acreage will be on a first come, first serve basis according to a press release from the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA).

This year, applicants will be required to certify that their cover crops are approved through their local Farm Service Agency office before applying. Applicants will also need their current FSA-578 and federal crop insurance policy number(s) for the 2021 application process which can be downloaded here. Applications will be available until January 15, 2021.

Ag and crop news The goal of the program is to encourage farmers to plant additional acres of cover crops that are not covered by other state or federal incentives. It allows eligible farm operations to receive a premium discount of $5 per acre on the following year's crop insurance for every acre of cover crop enrolled and verified in the program. The program is only applicable for those with coverage through the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency (USDA-RMA) crop insurance program.

"Cover crops are a great way to keep soil anchored, salvage nitrogen, capture carbon and create weed suppression," said Jerry Costello II, IDOA Acting Director in September. "In the long run, cover crops will help Illinois farmers reduce the need for fertilizer and reach the goals of the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy."

The discount program debut last year to promote additional acres of cover crops that are not covered by other state or federal incentives. The IDOA will to verify that acres applied for through this program are planted in cover crops.

Confirmed applications will be forwarded to the USDA-RMA for processing and for application of premium discounts to 2021 crop insurance invoices.

For more information interested parties can contact IDOA at (217) 782-6297.

State funding allow small Illinois farmers deliver fresh produce to local food-sharing networks

‘It makes an enormous difference’

Ripple effect

Global networks

Growing local

Upcoming grant cycle

Flesh-eating maggots reappearing in the U.S, farmers brace for impact on livestock

Other articles that might interest you ~

Jon Seevers takes the gavel as president of the Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association

IDPH reported bird flu outbreak in Illinois flocks, here's what you should know

Seeds online; just because they're easy to buy doesn't mean they’re safe

IDOA cover crops discount application now available

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State funding allow small Illinois farmers deliver fresh produce to local food-sharing networks

‘It makes an enormous difference’

Ripple effect

Global networks

Growing local

Upcoming grant cycle

More on Illinois politics

Flesh-eating maggots reappearing in the U.S, farmers brace for impact on livestock

Other articles that might interest you ~

Jon Seevers takes the gavel as president of the Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association

IDPH reported bird flu outbreak in Illinois flocks, here's what you should know

Seeds online; just because they're easy to buy doesn't mean they’re safe

IDOA cover crops discount application now available

Editor's Choice

Illustrious - Showcases and the stories behind Illinois’ most iconic high school gyms

More Sentinel Stories

Sentinel Prep Sports

On This Day

Photo Galleries

Varsity Snapshot

Search the Sentinel

Top stories this year