Nine years ago, when BSE first appeared on U.S. soil, I wrote in my column for Prairie Farmer how the timing was really quite horrific for us. My husband recalls sitting on the couch, watching the news when the story broke on Christmas Eve. We were to sell our entire calf crop three weeks later and as he so colorfully recalls, "I thought I was going to throw up." The fear, of course, was the outbreak would spark food safety fears, ravage markets, slam exports and bring the reality of horrible prices all the way back to rural Illinois, where we would then get very little for our calf crop at the Fairview Sale Barn. An entire year's worth of work, down the tubes. Money, gone. Income, gone.

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As a tax-paying adult, anything that requires my money generally is “too expensive.” Gas. Cell phone plans. Taxes. Insurance. New minivans. Taxes. Our children’s future college education. (Shudder.)

Last week was my reminder that food should NOT be among them. It was Food Checkout Week – the week when an average family of four like mine earned enough money since Jan. 1 to pay for a year’s worth of food. We as Americans spend less of our disposable income on food than any other country in the world. And fewer than 2 percent of Americans produce it!

In other words, our food is the most affordable on earth in part because of the productivity of farmers and ranchers. That puts my grocery bill in perspective.

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Ask me about farming, and my face might momentarily look like a TV screen test.

Let’s just say my basic knowledge of tilling the soil and raising livestock is limited to Old MacDonald, the Amish, and bottle-feeding calves on childhood petting farm field trips. But as a parent, I feel it’s my responsibility to pay more attention – to learn about the origins of the foods my family eats, and the processes that raise/grow/harvest them.

The flagship Field Mom program focuses on sharing that farm-to-family information with an open door policy. A hand-picked group of 10 Chicago-area moms have been given the opportunity to visit working Illinois farms and meet the folks who run them with the expectation that what we learn will be shared through social media.

Who knew that a lot of the food I cook up and feed my children was coming from just a few counties over?
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I took off from my alley and garage on the northwest side of Chicago on a sunny Saturday morning to jaunt out to Larson Farms, wondering what the day had in store for me. Would I really learn anything? Was I going to be bored out of my gourd by the slow pace of farming? Was leaving my kids and husband for eight hours on a Saturday worth it?
 
As I drove, I thought of all the questions I had, and whether any of them would unknowingly put off my gracious hosts. I certainly had my suspicions on whether there were things hidden about the way our food is grown and harvested. Once I met Mike and Lynn Martz, I knew I was with good people. We discussed the grain operation and all the technology that goes into analyzing yields and creating a best output to maximize the harvest. We discussed the time and energy it takes to have a successful harvest. We discussed hormones and antibiotics and the crazy misinformation circulating out there. During lunch I got a great understanding of the passion and dedication that it takes to be a family farmer.
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Chicago is known to be quite the urban metropolis. It's a city full of sleek glass, cold steel, bright lights, rich culture and a balanced mix of modern and historic energy. Here in Chicago, we take our food seriously and knowing where our food comes from is a growing interest for many. Just a few miles from the bustling city vibe are farms. Quite a few of them and of various kinds. These are farms that supply some of the food our hungry city enjoys. But what are they really like? What does it really take for food to come from the farm and onto our dinner table? For me, I became more interested in the idea of 'farm to table' as soon as my son began eating solid food. I guess my interest came about by thinking back on my own childhood.
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In the week or so since my first official farm tours as a Field Mom, it seems the idea I keep coming back to is what an awesome educational opportunity this program will allow me over the course of the year.  My very antiquated view of “life on the farm”, which in reality is less than 100 miles from my “city” home, was basically blown away in the hours I spent visiting with the Martz and Drendel families in Maple Park and Hampshire, IL.
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A week after my first IL farm tour day my mind is still reeling with everything I learned! I wanted to be a field mom so I could get out and see my food at its source. Assuming I knew at least the basics of how corn was grown, I was most interested to see the cattle and dairy cows being raised by the Martz and Drendel families. My biggest concerns were regarding their daily routine, level of care and learning about hormones and antibiotics used and how they may impact my family.  I definitely learned a lot about the animals, but learned so much more about topics I didn’t even consider. Overall it was a great day to learn and experience a day on a farm—combine and grain cart rides included!

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