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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My 5-year-old daughter couldn’t wait to get off the bus recently and head to the corn field our family was harvesting. In fact, after a quick hug, she asked me to confirm our evening plans in the field and bounced with joy at the affirmative response.
Greetings from Maple Park, IL. The Gould Farm is located exactly 50 miles west of the Loop, and situated roughly between St Charles and DeKalb. On our farm we grow corn, soybeans, winter wheat, and hogs. I farm with my parents, Eldon and Sandy, and wife Dana. Dad focuses mostly on the hogs, while I focus on the crops. Dana helps in the office with bookkeeping. Dana and I have three children – Kelsey, 17, Vanessa, 13, and Andrew, 11.