I have so many friends who are making the leap to non-GMO foods and grass fed beef and all sorts of different eating habits. I know that I’d like to know more. I’d like to know what it’s like to be a farmer, how they can keep it up all year long! Heck, I can’t even keep a garden alive for a summer! If you follow along with me the next year, I’ll be telling you more about Illinois Farm Families.
We’re Illinois farm families and we would like to introduce you to the people who grow your food. Farming looks different today – and you may wonder how it all works.
So we’re opening our doors to give you a look at who we are, what we do and how we grow food for all our families.
We host groups of moms from the Chicago area (we call them Field Moms) on our farms. They bring along their cameras and notepads and share with you, right here on Watch Us Grow, what they see, hear and learn on the farm.
Be our guest!
Our doors are always open and we love to share what’s happening on our farms. Join us for the journey to see what we do, from planting to harvesting to raising animals.If you’re a Chicagoland mom interested in visiting one of our farms, learn how here. If you’d rather just follow the Field Moms as they explore our farms, you can watch what happens on Watch Us Grow. You can keep up with their farm tours and learn about future opportunities by subscribing to our e-newsletter with the subscribe button here.
I know that I can’t wait to learn more. What kind of questions would you have for farmers if you could ask? What would you like to see covered in the Illinois Farm Families series? Follow me along here and you can also follow Illinois Farm Families on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
What an interesting series! Looking forward to reading more. Since we live in a rural area it isn’t too hard to buy local thankfully.
Growing up where I did in Michigan we were surrounded by fresh produce so I really appreciate this series so much. I wish I lived over there so I could see this all with my own eyes. Guess I’ll settle for seeing it through yours!
I have a *hard* question for farmers, especially conventional farmers. I want to know, if they are not organic, have they considered the effects pesticides have? Is their decision to remain conventional a monetary one?
I have the same question as Kimberly – we have such a need for organic and GMO-free food!
Ooohhh, that is a good question. I bet most care about the money.
I love growing my own vegetables and buying locally. This is a great series. I wish I could watch.
I’m really interested in reading this series!
I wouldn’t even know what to ask, at this point I don’t really think about non-GMO much.
I would want to ask what they use on their crops to get rid of bugs and such.
Very cool! I really need to focus on buying locally! We have a ton of farms around here.
Interesting! We love buying fresh produce that was grown locally, but that isn’t always feasible.
My f-i-l grows a HUGE garden and he doesn’t use pesticides. I get tons of veggies and fruits from him. I also buy from our local farmer’s market.
There is so much about farm living that fascinates me. I think that’s because I am born and raised in Las Vegas, and a true city girl. I would love for my kids to learn more about farming and where their food comes from!
I want to know if their crops care genetically modified and if so, why.
How neat, for the kids be able to go there and learn too. I wish they had something like that around here.
I have so much respect for the hard work it must take to run a farm. I can’t even imagine. I’ll be interested to see what else you share.
hubbys uncle owns a farm. He was out there last weekend. Havetsing is such a huge process
I can’t wait to hear what you have to share about these farm families.
I would love to do a staycation at a farm. My husband found one in Georgia but I’m sure they’re all over.
I would love to do a staycation at a farm. My husband found one in Georgia but I’m sure they’re all over.
Farmers must consider the effect every decision has, especially when applying pesticides. I am a 7th generation Illinois farmer. My family farm chooses ‘conventional ‘ methods of crop production to produce a safe and sufficient food supply. Organic crop production requires intensive labor and we simply do not have the personnel to maintain our acreage.
I would invite anyone with more questions to contact me or apply to be a 2014 IFF Field Mom and see for yourself first hand. (http://www.watchusgrow.org/about-us/apply-to-be-a-field-mom)
I’m a farmer too, like Adam. We use “IPM” (Integrated Pest Management) on our farm. We constantly scout the crops during the growing season and use pesticides only when needed to prevent a crop failure. My husband has a license to apply the chemical and is careful to follow directions. After all, we live and work here and want to make sure that we’re being responsible by protecting the environment so that one day we will be able to pass the farm along to our son. To answer a question asked, yes, it’s somewhat a monetary decision – we do need to ensure that we have a crop so that we will be able to pay our bills and support our family.