Note: Online registration has closed. You may register onsite the day of the event.
Monarch butterflies, whitetail deer, honey bees, red tail hawks – these animals and insects are part of the diversity of wildlife that live on a working farm. This field day will showcase conservation practices that support wildlife species at R Wildflower Farm & Fields, owned by Sally Lasser. Dallas Glazik, Sally’s farm operations partner and Farm Bill Biologist with Pheasants Forever, will lead the farm tour and discuss the practices implemented at R Wildflower Farm. He will also explain programs offered by USDA to help farmers and landowners support wildlife on their land.
Agenda
4:30 PM – Presentations
- Sally Lasser is the sole owner of R Wildflower Farm & Fields LLC. After managing this farm since 2013, Sally recently purchased it from her family members.
Originally it was purchased by her father, Richard Lasser who had a vision and plan for the farm to “give back to nature”. Sally continues this vision by CRP
improvements and recently implementing organic practices to the cropland. - Dallas Glazik, Farm Bill Biologist at Pheasants Forever – how to establish and maintain wildlife habitat
- Noah Horsley, Master’s Student at UIUC in Avian Ecology and Conservation – Currently studying Common Grackle nest success and post-fledgling survival in agriculture landscapes in Champaign County
- Scott Clem, PhD candidate in entomology at the University of Illinois – Studies conservation biological control and environmental factors that hinder or enhance the winter survival of beneficial arthropods, namely natural enemies of pests. He has a special interest in hover flies (Syrphidae), but he also studies predacious beetles including ground beetles (Carabidae) and rove beetles (Staphylinidae).
6:00 PM – Farm tour showcasing historic and current wildlife habitat practices, wildlife/bird/insect identification, and a U of I research plot
7:30 PM – Adjourn
