By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent

GOLCONDA, Ill. — The University of Illinois Dixon Springs Agricultural Center in southern Illinois serves as a knowledge base for local farmers. Whether they produce livestock, grain or fruits and vegetables, the center is a place to turn for answers.

Producer assistance is only part of the center’s mission. Ag center staff conducts extensive research and provide training for university students too. The center sets on 5,000 acres with 4,500 carved out of the Shawnee National Forest.

The center is comprised of three departments, animal science, crop science and natural resource environmental science within the college of ACES. The College of Veterinary Medicine that is now at the center but current plans are that they will be gone later this summer after a consolidation. “The Dixon Springs Ag Center was started in the 1930s to show the benefits of lime and fertilizer,” said horticulturist Jeff Kindhart. “The pH and native phosphorous levels are very low here.”

Southern Illinois is historically significant for the fruit and vegetable industry.

“Although the first time refrigeration was used was with meat, the first time it was used with fruit was with strawberries in creation by Parker Earle from Cobden, Ill.,” Kindhart said. “Earle even had a strawberry variety named after him.

“There have been fruits and vegetables here (at the center) since 1960. We do research on both fruit and vegetable crops such as blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers and other varieties. The center has become a leader in the Midwest production of plasticulture strawberries.

“We have several tomato projects this year including some pesticide trial work. The worm in the tomato is often the same as in the sweet corn.”

Kindhart pointed out how valuable these crops can be. “An acre of tomatoes is worth a great deal more than dent corn,” he added. This allows for the formation of an economically sustainable enterprise on much smaller acreage than would be required for traditional row crops. This cutting edge research can make the difference between success and failure to a farmer.

“If you pick the wrong variety, the difference is not hundreds, but thousands of dollars,” Kindhart explained. “There is another Ag station in St. Charles, Ill., but what does well in one area, is not necessarily what does well in another. That is one of the reasons we need regional research.”

The center boasts a full weather station that Kindhart and a fellow agronomist are using for research.

“We are doing projects with tomatoes, soybeans, pumpkins and wheat varieties using rotations,” he said. “We are looking at some with pesticides and some without - growing them organically.”

Besides those crops mentioned above, tobacco is another crop under research. The center does sometimes sell their produce and collects data from the clients when they have u-pick. Part of Kindhart’s job is working with the public. “We have a fruit and vegetable newsletter,” he said. “We attend a lot of grower meetings and provide programs.”