Prairie Crossing Farm offers open house and organic plant sale on May 18
Come to the Farm Connections Open House at the Prairie Crossing Farm in Grayslake from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 18. Purchase organic plants, meet the farmers, visit the chickens and baby goats, and support the farmers growing local food in Grayslake.
A wide variety of beautiful organic plants will be available for sale in addition to free-range eggs and other farm products from the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm, Gretta's Goats, Midnight Sun Farm, Radical Root Farm, Sandhill Family Farms, and Yaw-Ye Farms. Organic vegetable Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares will be available from several farmers, pastured pork CSA shares from Yaw-Ye Farms, and free-range turkey from Midnight Sun Farm. Purchase handmade goat milk soap from Gretta's Goats while visiting the baby goats born on the farm this spring. Come connect with the farmers at the Prairie Crossing Farm!
After you've made your purchases, take a stroll around the Learning Farm and visit the chickens and tractors. A special children's farm scavenger hunt will also be offered by the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm, and information will be available about the Learning Farm's educational programming including children's farm camps, suburban homesteading workshops, Prairie Farm Corps youth development program, and more. Weather permitting, visitors may bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on the south lawn of the Yellow Farmhouse.
Why are there so many farmers at the Prairie Crossing Farm? The Farm Business Development Center (FBDC) is a unique program of the Liberty Prairie Foundation that supports the development of successful family farm enterprises. The FBDC has become a national model for launching beginning farmers. This program allows new organic farmers to cultivate their farming skills and business acumen on a small acreage. Farmers then gradually scale-up to serve the local food needs of the region, focusing on the production and marketing of organic foods.
The FBDC provides land, farm infrastructure, and a positive learning environment that helps beginning farmers develop the entrepreneurial skills, farming knowledge and market networks needed to become successful professional farmers. The FBDC is currently working with seven independent farm enterprises at the Prairie Crossing Farm. Sandhill Family Farms serves as a mentor farmer at the Prairie Crossing Farm.
The Prairie Crossing Farm is located at 32400 N. Harris Road in Grayslake. Despite what internet maps indicate, Harris Road does not connect to the farm from Route 120. Enter Prairie Crossing via Route 45 at Jones Point Road and follow the signs to the Farm. Event parking will be along the side of Harris Road.
The Liberty Prairie Foundation is celebrating its 20th year of developing a sustainable local food system, and is nationally recognized as a leader in developing and supporting enterprises that build and strengthen our local food system while enhancing the natural landscape. The Foundation provides leadership and financial support for local food system development, social entrepreneurship, land conservation, environmental education, and civic engagement. The nonprofit envisions a world where people of all ages are deeply connected to their food, land and community, and therefore make choices toward sustainable systems in nature and society.