• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill., Chris Anderson Column

Posted on: Wednesday, 23 November 2005, 18:01 CST

By Chris Anderson, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.

Nov. 23--Tons of vine-ripened tomatoes, shiny green peppers, succulent sweet corn and fragrant basil tied in bunches proved the stars of the growing season's downtown Bloomington and Normal farmers' markets.

And don't forget those juicy pork chops, smoked bacon, thick rib-eyes and plump chicken breasts straight off Central Illinois farms.

Miss the fresh fare? No need to wait until next spring. LeRoy farmer James Toohill has decided to extend at least a taste of farmers' markets throughout the entire year.

Toohill was one of the loyal vendors at Tuesday night's Trailside Market near downtown Normal. He regularly stood vigil at his refrigerated truck dispensing naturally-fed, hormone-free, Central Illinois homegrown pork, beef and chicken.

To extend the farmers' market, the owner of Toohill Seed & Beef Service provides hamburger, steak, brats, chicken and pork chops through the Garlic Press, the downtown Normal kitchen, gift and gourmet food show with an accompanying cafe.

He also arrives every Tuesday night at the business to deliver specific customer orders that can be placed at the Garlic Press or with Toohill at (309) 261-3602.

The year-round farmer's market concept really took hold one summer Wednesday evening while Toohill was selling his wares at the Downs market. Carol Hiebert, Downs resident and frequent Garlic Press cooking class instructor, stopped by Toohill's truck to purchase meat for a class she was preparing to teach.

It seems Hiebert got Garlic Press owners excited about the quality of the meat and got Toohill in touch with co-owner Jackie Pope-Ganser. The meat offering proved a natural for the shop. Pope-Ganser regularly purchases produce for the store's cafe from Blue Schoolhouse Farm owners Bill and Mercy Davison and longtime organic food producer Henry Brockman of Henry's Farm, both at Congerville. Both are Bloomington and Normal downtown farmers' market regulars.

Exposure at farmers' markets and the Garlic Press has Toohill joking these days about becoming the next Jimmy Dean.

"A year ago March, I had 80 customers. I've since gone from 400 customers to 800," said Toohill. "Raising source-verified products isn't easy, but it's fun."

Toohill's customers know exactly how his animals are raised. Toohill relies on two other area producers -- Dave Mills of Clinton and Merlin Kaeb of Arrowsmith -- who adhere to the same management practices from conception to plate to provide quality meat for customers.

SOY'S NO. 1: Soybean producers can chant the preceding headline with confidence. U.S. Department of Agriculture officials say U.S. producers remained the top world growers and exporters of soybeans for the 2004-2005 marketing year.

The nation exported 1.1 billion bushels of soybeans and 259 million bushels of meal and oil. That compares to 888 million bushels of beans and 194 million bushels of meal and oil the previous year.

China continues to be the top bean buyer at 435 million bushels versus 302 million bushels the year before.

According to the U.S. Soybean Export Council, there's more good news. Nutrition education and marketing paid for by U.S. soybean growers through checkoff contributions has gotten Mexican residents hooked on soy flour for tortillas.

Following suit, Southeast Asians favor soy flour for noodles and Middle Eastern cooks prefer soy flour in Arabic bread. Soybean oil remains the No. 1 vegetable oil consumed around the world with a 78 percent increase in U.S. soy oil exports last year.

Soy foods continue gaining popularity throughout the world. And the United States enjoys a 55 percent market share of all soybeans eaten for food.

Pantagraph Farm Editor Chris Anderson writes about agriculture every Wednesday. Contact her at canderson@pantagraph.com.

-----

To see more of The Pantagraph, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pantagraph.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.

More News in this Category