Illinois Farm Families Blog

My first family farm tour was to the Ward Family Farm in Sycamore, IL.  I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I’ve been on farms before.  My grandparents used to own a dairy farm.  Lots of extended family members also lived on farms.  I remember visiting and smelling the smell and wanting nothing to do with it!  My parents raised my siblings and I in a small town surrounded by farms & farmland.  We always dreaded getting stuck behind the combine on the highway.

Upon exiting the bus, we were filmed & photographed. A lot!  We went inside the farm’s machine shed.  It had been cleaned!!

The pig barns were really cool!  Having never been inside one before, I was impressed!  Very clean! 20-22 piglets in a pen seem like too many to me.  The nursery where the piglets are kept was empty on our visit.  Every 6-7 weeks new piglets arrive.  Farmers are busy!  The stalls have to be cleaned thoroughly with a disinfectant and a high pressure washer before new pigs are allowed in.

Piglets are given medicine while in the nursery.  Illness prevention & growth promotion are the reasons.  Wouldn’t pigs grow on their own?  We don’t give our children growth promoting medicines.

The second barn we visited was for finishing.   I thought 50 pigs in a stall was a lot until I saw them.  Pigs seem to always bunch together so there is lots of space to spare. Male & female pigs are separated and are fed different diets.  Ten stalls of each sex are on a side in the barn.  The farmer walks through the barn twice each day to check on the pigs.  He is looking for illness or misbehavior or equipment malfunctions.  Sick pigs are kept in a smaller pen near the entrance until they are well enough to be put back.

Pigs are fed a diet of corn, soy meal, dried distillers grain, bakery & other items at the Ward Farm.  The bakery products are unique to the area due to the close proximity to Chicago.  Leftovers from Pepperidge Farms, Kraft, Nestle, Azteca & Sara Lee are ground into a fine powder & added to the pig’s feed.  We were able to feel the different feed between our fingers.  It reminds me of almonds when I grind them in the food processor.  Anti-microbials are also given to the pigs to help balance the bugs in their guts.  Dried distillers grain is a co-product of ethanol production.  It is what is left after fermentation.  It can replace part of the corn in the pig’s diet.  Corn has higher costs & less availability.

The barn monitoring system is very high tech.  Pigs are kept at a comfortable temperature.  Sprinkler systems, fans, heaters all contribute to their comfort. 

When pigs are raised outside, their body temperature is hard to control.  The taste of the meat would also fluctuate.   To control the health & nutrition of the pig, farmers now raise them indoors.  When pigs are cold, their bodies require more feed because their thermo-neutral zone is challenged.  I now understand it is in the farmer’s best interest to raise them indoors.

Bio security was a term I never associated before with farming.  This was all new & fascinating to me.  Wearing the white suit was fun.  I do hope they aren’t too expensive as they are put in the trash much too quickly after being used for only a short time.

Sitting in the tractors is something my boys always do.  This time it was my turn.  The seats in the newer tractors are very high up off the ground.  A farmer should be able to see many miles while driving through the field.  I like the simplicity of the older tractors.

Lunch was yummy!  I’ve never had a pork chop sandwich before.  

Farmland Foods was very generous to donate pork tenderloin to each Farm Mom.  What Jay Hofer from Farmland Foods told us about the slaughtering processes was eye-opening.  They put their pigs to sleep instead of electrocuting them; a simple and very humane process.  All this effort is for the benefit of the consumer who wants great tasting pork.  After being killed, their throats are slit, blood is drained and intestines are cleaned.  Then they are chilled for 24 hours before cutting.  Pork tenderloin or pork loin comes from the neck/shoulder region.  Bacon, our family favorite, comes from the underside of the pig.  

Farmland is definitely a local food producer.  They work with farmers within a 150 mile radius of their plant.  They ship to local grocers in Illinois.  If you want to eat local food, this is one company that provides.  Their All-Natural brand means no vaccinations for the animals.  My family prefers to buy direct from the farmer, but if in a bind we will to purchase Farmland’s All-Natural pork.

Jammie Esker-Schaer, Elmhurst, IL

Last weekend, we ventured to the Old Elm & Dayton Farms in Sycamore, Illinois. The Farms run by the Ward family are currently being run by the 5th (John & Betsy) and 6th (Steve & Jolene) generations with a 7th generation on the horizon. The Ward family farm is a wean to finish pig farm which basically means that they receive pigs when they are about 12 pounds and then raise them until market.

Utilizing climate controlled buildings and a unique feed blend, the Wards raise pigs for their livelihood in addition to acres of grain. One of the more interesting facts was that the Wards actually lease their pork farm to Illini Farms which means that as part of the lease arrangement, the Wards provide the daily care for the pigs until they are sent to market for sale. Separating the process between two farms of breed to wean (sow pregnancies and piglets) and wean to finish is that the outcome is healthier pigs, smaller farms and allows for specialization so that caregivers can best utilize their area of expertise.

When we had the opportunity to tour where the pigs are held, Steve explained the process a bit more and I was amazed to see that the pigs seemed to recognize him and come to him for comfort. As he spoke to us, he took the time to touch each one that came up to him and you could tell he genuinely cares for his animals for the time that he has them.

One of the biggest questions in the days following the tour centered around why the pigs were raised inside. One of the primary reasons is that keeping the pigs indoors gives better control over the environment for the comfort of the pigs - shelter during bad weather days and breeze, climate-controlled for the other times of the year. Additionally, this ensures that the pigs are receiving the proper health and nutrition. When pigs are free-range or left outside, a herd hierarchy can develop causing some pigs to become weaker and malnourished compared to others. After seeing the pigs that were cared for by the Wards, you could tell that they were properly cared for and received what they needed.

Being a Field Mom, I have the unique opportunity to see where my food comes from and how some of it gets to my table. I had no idea that Farmland Foods pork products come from Illinois family farms which brings new meaning to the idea of supporting local businesses. Something that I can find in my local grocer very well may have come from a family farm. I also enjoyed learning more about the family behind the farm. As Steve Ward shared, he does it because he enjoys it and because he loves it. This bird’s eye view definitely showed that.

Five Take-Aways

• Farm life for many is a family effort that occupies much of the week. Whether it’s checking in on the pigs or taking care of the land, families have to work together to keep things moving!
• Equipment and machines, such as tractors and combines, can be a significant expense to farms and therefore, some farms choose to share equipment.
• The labels found on our food can be misleading. It is important to always read the labels, investigate what they mean and make educated decisions based on what we as consumers find.
• Education is the biggest asset that we as parents have to making decisions for our children and part of that education is learning more about what we put into their bodies and where it comes from.
• If you don’t know, ask. I never felt that the Ward family or any of the other farm representatives wanted to push information on us and they were willing to answer all of our questions, even if the questions may have seemed silly.

Samantha Schultz, Indian Head Park

Old Elm and Dayton Farms, owned by the Ward Family, was not what I anticipated when I envisioned visiting a hog farm. First, called a “finishing farm” the Wards don’t own the pigs. Illini Farms, who owns the pigs, supplies them when the pigs are 21 days old. Steve Ward, son and co-owner of the farms, explained that once the pigs come to his farm, he is responsible for everything involved in the daily care of the pigs including the administration of medicines and vitamins. Prior to my visit, my knowledge of pig farms was based solely on what I had read and seen in documentaries. I was concerned that I might see unclean conditions and animals contained in tight pens. Fortunately, these nightmarish images were far from the truth. In fact, I was in for quite a few surprises during my visit.  

I was impressed with the number of safety protocols established to maintain the health of the animals. Almost immediately, John Ward informed my group that there was absolutely no smoking permitted anywhere on the farm.  Prior to visiting the buildings where the pigs are housed, we were asked to cover our shoes with protective “booties” and our clothing with disposable “jump suits.” The farm owners want to ensure that there was little opportunity for our group to inadvertently transfer viruses or disease to their animals. In fact, Steve told us that the “swine flu” was a misconception. Swine (or pigs) didn’t transfer the flu to humans; it was the other way around--humans can give it to the pigs.

Steve led our group on a tour of both the West Building (or the Nursery) which houses the pigs until they are 6 weeks old and the East Building where the pigs live until they are 115 days old and weigh (on average) 280 pounds. Unfortunately, there were no piglets in the nursery.  But that didn’t stop Steve from showing us how clean and well ventilated the building was.  Through the use of a series of heaters and fans, Steve also demonstrated how he is able to maintain and monitor the temperature in both buildings: warmer in the nursery and well ventilated in both buildings.  Sincere, forthright and enthusiastic about sharing his livelihood, Steve encouraged us to ask questions (even about things that didn’t necessarily have to do with pork farming), take pictures, and invited us see all aspects of the production. He showed us the feeding system in the barns and how he monitors each animal’s health (segregating those who are either not growing at the expected rate or are not well.) I was surprised and delighted to learn that, unlike what is sometimes propagated in the media, the pigs eat what one would imagine pigs should eat: Dried Distillers Grain (DDG), Corn, Bakery Products (Jack’s Pizza anyone?), Soybean Meal as well as other dietary supplements like oil, calcium, vitamins and salt.

Yes, gone are the days of pigs living in outside pens burrowing in mud and eating the family’s left-overs.  The Ward’s pigs aren’t eating slop, that’s for sure.  And they are not rolling in their own manure either. These farmers truly love what they do and the animals that they care for.  This family business truly exemplifies what it means to “love what you do and do what you love.”

Five Things I Learned From My Visit

1. The difference between “farrow to wean” farms and finishing ones.  More importantly, why specialization may be the key to ensuring a farm family’s continued success
2. Eating pork labeled as “organic” may not necessarily mean that you are eating the cleanest and healthiest meat on the market.
3. The current method of butchering pigs is humane and does not cause stress for the animals.
4. Children raised on farms are encouraged to get involved in farm life but cannot do the same chores that their parents did at their age due to the sophistication of the machinery.

5. Approximately 50 pigs are housed in each enclosure.  Even as the pigs grow, there is still plenty of room for them to move and interact with each other without being shoved together due to lack of space.

 Renee Keats,  Highland Park

From the moment we stepped onto the Ward Family Farm and met our hosts, John and Betsy Ward and Steve, Jolene and Sarah Ward, I felt warm and at ease.  They opened their doors to us and were wonderful hosts.  I enjoyed learning about the original homestead of the Dayton Farm and the Old Elm Farms, dating back to the mid-1800’s and the early 1900’s respectively.  I also got a tear in my eye when John spoke of how proud he is of Steve and of Betsy, his city wife, being by his side all these years.

I enjoyed learning the in’s and out’s of the daily life and going on the hog barn and equipment tours.  I wasn’t aware that a litter of piglets was just under 4 months gestation and on average a litter was about 12 piglets, each sow having 2.2 litters per year.  I also thought it was interesting that the males and females were kept separate and that pigs are kept with the same ‘cage-mates’ for the entirety of their lives from wean to market.

The presentation from Illini Farms was interesting.  I am saddened that the cost of food for the hogs outweighs the price that farmers get for their product and if it weren’t for the futures market right now, the hog farmers would be losing money.

Also enjoyed knowing that a few of the Chicago corporate headquarters used product not fit for the shelves to go into pig feed, including:  Sara Lee, Azteca, Kraft, Nestle

Overall, a great experience and I look forward to the next one.

5 Take-Aways

• From The Wards – Behind every successful farmer is his spouse.
• From Farmland – Thanks for the recipe Jim, going to try it!  Also, IL is the #4 state in U.S. pig production.
• From Illini Farms – Learned and remain interested and slightly concerned about amino acids coming from Korea.
• From Pam – Farming as with everything in life takes dedication from the whole family.
• From Tom – Marinate a Pork Chop with a Rub for 3 days, the sandwiches were delish!

Kimberly Findlay, Chicago

A couple of weekends ago, I did something that I never imagined I would do in my adult life. I volunteered to go to a pig farm to see where all of the wonderful pork that the Houseful loves to consume comes from.

Boy did I get an eye AND nose full!

As part of my participation in the Illinois Farm Families, I visited the hog farm of Steve Ward and his family in Sycamore, Illinois. I wasn’t entirely sure of what we were in for, but I was open to the fact that I would learn something. You always should be, correct? I’m eternally grateful to Steve and his family, including his very gracious father and mother, for opening up their farm to us.

On the bus to the farm, we were given a talk by a couple of the farmers who were along with us on general farming concepts. Acreage (did you know that an acre is roughly the same size of a football field?) and the massive amounts that lot of farmers have. We’re talking 1200 acres of land to take care of on a daily basis. I think that I would faint with just one acre of land, and these families are taking care of 1200. Steve even let us know that if he worked from sun up to sun down during planting season, he would be able to get through one hundred acres of land. Catch me now as I faint from exhaustion. I did get to pretend to drive a tractor. The thing is massive. Literally. One wheel is taller than I am, and the cabin is so far off the ground that those of us who are a little afraid of heights may not deal well, but we pretend and take a photo anyway.

The learning process started immediately. We were told that Steve’s farm was a wean to to finish hog farm (meaning, they get pigs that have been weaned from their mothers and raise them until it’s time for them to be processed.) for Illini Farms. He has four hog houses – two for the smaller pigs, and two for pigs that are about 75 pounds and over. If you should ever get to this farm, as they do tours and the such, make sure you ask Steve how to wrangle a pig. It’s quite an art.

One thing that most city people would not really be prepared for would be the smell. It hits you before you even step foot in the door, however when you enter, you wonder where it’s coming from since the pens are literally spotless. Well thanks to modern innovation, the pens all have slotted flooring, so that all urine and fecal matter can drop into an 8 foot pit and not contaminate any of the pigs food. If you’re thinking that they shouldn’t care about the food being contaminated since it’s all slop anyway, you would be wrong my bacon loving friends. The food is delivered in a timing system, and consists of grains such as corn, soy and wheat. They eat from stainless steel troughs and they are quite happy with it.

I do remember learning when I was younger that pigs were social animals. I found out that my teachers did indeed know what they were talking about. As soon as our group walked through the doors, the pigs were pretty excited to come and interact with us. They also followed Steve around as he walked through the pens randomly petting or checking them.

The things that I really enjoyed learning were:

1. The pigs are kept in climate controlled housing instead of outside to fare in the very random Illinois weather.
2. Pigs are fed a diet that consists of grains and not random slop
3. Pig pens are not messy in the least. They are formatted to make sure that the pigs have sanitary areas to eat, sleep and live in.
4. Overcrowding is not an issue on this farm. All pens have enough room to allow the pigs to roam around as necessary.
5. The “processing” of the pigs are done with as little stress as possible. No electricity and no knives (which is what I always thought.) Farmers realize that food must come from somewhere, and everyone is not going to be a vegetarian. They want to make sure that those who do consume pork products are given the best product that they can find.
6. Pig scent stays with you for a couple of days. I know that Mr. Houseful loves me, because he kissed me BEFORE telling me that I was smelly.

Are there things that you would be interested in finding out about a hog farm? Ask your question below, and I’ll do my best to find out for you!

 Natasha Nicholes, Chicago

It’s been a long time since I have been on a field trip, and outings with my children do not count. I felt like a 6th grade girl again, giddy to be traveling on a bus full of newfound friends (a.k.a the other “Field Moms). My first trip with the Illinois Farm Families Field Moms program proved to be exciting, informative and sure, a little bit smelly.

When one thinks of a pig farm, naturally the pungent smell might come to mind and you are certainly not wrong in that assumption. But waiting for us beyond the ammonia-laced smell of portly pigs was the Ward Family. It was so evident that they were all proud of their vocation and not just because they were providing for their own families. I got the sincere feeling that they were proud to be contributing to mine.

Upon entering the building, I was pleasantly surprised to find the pens extremely tidy and the pigs well cared for. Did you know pigs are pretty clean animals? We learned that Illini Farms teams up with farmers like the Ward Family by entrusting them with the care and wellbeing of the pigs. The Illini Farms network contracts growers like the Ward family to take care of the pigs when they leave the nursery until they reach market weight (200-250 pounds). The pigs are then shipped off to be processed into Farmland Pork products in the Chicagoland area.

A large part of my interest in becoming a field mom was to wade through all the conflicting information being presented to me from the media. I was becoming quite disgruntled listening to report after report of farmers and agricultural companies “doing it wrong” out there.

“There has to be someone who cares, someone who takes care of their farm and their livestock,” I reasoned.

I wanted to know what goes on at a farm before my food hits my plate?

Here is what I learned…

• Sows have baby pigs every 5 months, which usually results in 6-7 litters.
• The sows are artificially inseminated with boar sperm.
• Male and female pigs are separated in the stalls. Why separate, you ask? For healthier pigs.
• Vaccinations are administered to each pig at birth and a documented paper trail of the health and any medication given to the livestock is reported.
• Boars can be up to 700 pounds and are aggressive!
• Instead of pooping in their pens, pigs saunter up to the side of the pen, press their behinds up against the bars and eliminate. (I saw this up close and personal.)
• Under the building is an 8-foot deep hole, which collects the manure, which is then swirled up and run through pipes under the farmland to be distributed as fertilizer for adjoining farmland.

It was fantastic to connect with the Ward Family, I will never give up consuming pork and I cannot wait for our next tour!

Take-aways from the Ward Family Farm Tour

1. I was blown away by the cleanliness of the stalls and the farm in general. I think pigs get a bad rap as being messy, but the Ward Farm was immaculately maintained and well cared for. I was very impressed.
2. I was touched by the sincere love for farming expressed by the Ward family. You could see the enthusiasm and passion in their eyes.
3. I was glad to hear that antibiotics are only used on pigs that are exhibiting a struggle or illness.
4. I was equally impressed with the respect both the Ward Family and Illini Farms had for the animals.
5. This might be a stretch, but the pigs responded in such a positive way to Steve, that it is worth mentioning. I think if the farmers treated the livestock in a negative way, the pigs would scatter from him, but they did not. I personally think animals are pretty smart!

Elizabeth Rago, North Aurora

Up until this January, for the past seven years, my family and I were vegetarians. After long, hard thought, discussion and exhaustive research we made the decision to fall off the wagon and get back on the meat. While we agreed on all the pros, my husband and I had different concerns about returning animal protein. The hardest thing for me to reconcile when deciding to readopt an omnivore lifestyle was that my food was once a living being.

So imagine my discomfort when I came face to snout with hundreds of little Wilburs that were being raised at Old Elm Farms.  A big part of why I began our vegetarian mission was because of animal welfare. I saw documentaries and read books and articles touting the inhumane practices associated with today’s modern meat industry. I knew that if I was going to readopt this lifestyle I could not blindly pick up my neatly packaged, ready to cook meats and never consider the chain of events that got it to my grocer’s meat case. I wanted to meet the animals that nourish my family and see the farm operations for myself. 

What surprised (and relieved) me most of all were the farmers themselves. I was spending a lot of time worrying about the poor little piggies in terrible conditions, but I never stopped to think that there are people out there devoting their life’s work to raising these animals.  While is was a bit sad to see all the pink pigs, with curious, playful personalities nudging at the sides of the pens,  it was reassuring to see Steve interact with them and seem to know them as individuals. The pigs I saw were clean, comfortable, alert and active. As social creatures, it was nice to see them together in large, open pens that provided plenty of room and access to food and water. It was clear that while a product, they were treated with care and respect.  Steve talked about how he monitors the facility conditions and makes necessary adjustments. He checks each pen daily and separates any pigs that seem to be struggling or ill. Antibiotics are given as a last resort and pigs are never sent to harvest with antibiotics in their system. His wife talked about being woken in the middle of the night when an alarm goes off indicating that there is a problem at the barn such as temperature or problems with the water supply. Farming is a 24-7, 365 day job. That is the nature of raising living beings and crops.

The bottom line is that whether they truly care about the comfort or mindset of the pigs or not, pork farming is a business, and like most businesses, it’s intent is to provide a product that consumers want to buy. John, Steve and his family want to produce the best quality of meat they can. I’m happy that they have adopted practices that they believe will do this and that just so happen to also be the right, humane things to do.

Five take-aways/surprises:

1.  Raising pigs is a very health consious/clean business. We were wore coveralls and boot covers when we toured the finishing barns. Not so much to protect us-but to protect the pigs from diseases and germs we might bring them! Less disease means less need to treat them with drugs or antibiotics.
2. And while it may seem unnatural or unfair to keep them inside-it’s actually better for them inside. When pigs live outside-they are exposed to the elements, which can alter how they eat and drink. Cold, shivering pigs, need more food. Hot pigs roll around in the mud, that they and their buddies also poop in, along with birds and rodents., which exposes them to diseases, which then have to be treated. Yuck! Indoors, everything is controlled for optimum piggy comfort-from temperature, food and water, ventilation, and best of all-their poop falls through slats in the floor.
3. The overall respect and care for the animals. Even if it’s just to produce a better product, I heard over and over, from the farmers, to the corporate reps, happier, healthier pigs make better meat.
4. That no drugs can be in their systems when sent to harvest. And the incredible amount of tracking and paperwork that is done to be accountable for this. Also that keeping them inside (see my #2) helps prevent the need for antibiotics in the first place!
5. It’s all somewhat green/eco-friendly! Using the manure to fertilize the crops and feeding them bakery crumbs and discards are two ways this process is participating in some serious recycling!

I love the smell of bacon or a wonderful glazed ham don't you?   I got the privilege of enjoying a trip to Old Elm Farm where some of your bacon may come from!  I assure you that we did not smell any great smell like ham or bacon while arriving at the farm.  The pigs lived up to their reputation and smelled like pigs. Many of you know my great love for pigs and my husband's cousins Glenn and Maryann invited us to the farm one spring when they had 2 piglets. I loved seeing them in their little pen and enjoyed taking pictures of these darling creatures wagging their tails and enjoying their time on the farm.   When I saw Maryann again at Thanksgiving I asked how the pigs are doing and she said, “Oh! They’re in our freezer.”  Seeing the horrified look on my face she replied, “You didn't know that's what we do with them?”  In my mind I DID know but the city girl in me didn't know they have such a short life span.   Plus stories like Charlotte's web and Babe give the animals human characteristics and make us forget that they are really being raised for food.

Old Elm Farm is a pork farm where pigs come after they are weaned from their sow and are cared for until they are finished fattening up to 270 pounds.  I enjoyed meeting the Ward family and admired their hard work maintaining the crops as well as their pork farm. They are contracted to be caregivers for the pigs from wean to finish while Illini Farms are the owners of the pigs. The Ward family takes great care of them and gets them ready for harvesting (the new term instead of the less amicable slaughter).   I learned that 6 months is the average life span from wean to finish so my previous experience at Glenn and Maryann's farm holds true.

Pigs are not fed spoiled food as we would think from seeing movies where they “slop” the pigs with a slurry of garbage and table scraps. Instead they are provided 16 different diets in the process of getting them to the average market weight. The way they formulate the feed for the pigs is innovative, cooperative and resourceful. They are fed a mix of corn, soy, DDGs, bakery products, and other ingredients.   The largest portion of the pig's diet is corn.  Due to the growing ethanol industry corn was getting more scarce and was driving up the price of feed for farmers.  Being resourceful, the two have learned to work together which resulted in the product called Dried Distillers Grain (DDGs). It is the corn co-product (what is left after the ethanol production) turned into feed. I enjoy seeing this cooperation between two industries needing this staple of corn!  In the cut-throat corporate world someone would try to put the other out of business.   

Another innovative use of a co-product is the use of bakery products to feed the pigs.    Wondering whether those carbohydrates will really make you fat?  Take it from the pigs' experience at the farm able to enjoy stuffing, crackers, pizza crust, and tortilla chips ground into feed to get them to the desired 270 pounds.  All these bakery products that were either damaged or inconsistent in production used to go to a landfill.  Thankfully someone thought of a better use of these products in a resourceful and eco-friendly way.

I was impressed by the entire process from birth to harvest. It was clear to me that the farmers truly care for the animals.  It is logical that there is nothing that would benefit them if they would mistreat the animals in their care.  It was evident by the way Steve interacted with the pigs that they genuinely care for the well-being of the animals. It is incredible how he uses his instincts and experience to separate a sick pig from the rest in order to treat them properly and preserve the health of the others.  The time they spend at the farm is entirely about eliminating anything that would jeopardize the pig's health or the quality of the finished product.  This is only a fraction of what I learned at this farm. I can't wait for the next farm visit!

 Susan Herold
Rolling Meadows

The Illinois Farm Field Moms had the wonderful opportunity to tour a Hog Farm at the Old Elm Farms in Sycamore, IL (February 23, 2013) 

Give them a label-Not a name

"Don't get attached, the hogs are our income and food." This is the advice Steve Ward, president of Dayton Farms of Sycamore, IL, gives his two children Sarah and Dayton, when a new litter of piglets are born.

It's in the Marketing

Of course it's in the marketing. Marketing is key; it is what sells the product. So from that said did you know that hog producers never give hormones to their hogs, EVER! So why does that packaged pork you just picked up today at the grocery store say NO Hormones Added? To clarify Steve Ward and other hog farms like his just are the wean to finish farms and have nothing to do with the label you see in the grocery store. The final destination (or grocery store) of each of Steve Ward's hogs is unknown to him. The big companies who sell the finished product may add that "No Hormones Added," label. According to the Ward family this is just a marketing scheme to make the buyer believe they are getting a healthier piece of pork for their family.

To Market to Market

To buy a fat pig. Two hundred and eighty pounds that is.  Free Range, Barnyard, Organic Pork? You might want to re-think this option next time you buy your pork at a grocery store especially if you are on a budget. Tim Maiers who works for the Illinois Pork Producers Association questions what exactly makes that choice of pork healthier. Tim, along with Steve Ward and his father John Ward, president of Old Elm Farms, described the possible uncleanly conditions of hogs raised in the outdoors and the added cost of grain needed to keep the hogs warm in the winter(hence the markup in price at the supermarket). We learned that these hogs have to share their living space with other rodents and birds that may carry diseases. Hogs raised inside such farms like the Ward Family Farm provide a more controlled environment which means less grain is needed for consumption since it is all climate controlled. The hogs living conditions inside the farm are very clean and the hogs definitely have more roaming room then I previously envisioned. However, what this all comes down to are choices for the consumer. Steve and Tim stress nutrition-wise, free range or not, they are both the same.

Five Key Observations

I’d like to recap my experience with five things that I learned and found to be very interesting.

1. The children who are born and raised on the farm willingly take on the responsibility at an early age to help their parents with much of the work on the farm.
2. The hog manure never goes to waste but instead is plowed into the corn fields.
3. Farmers recycle almost everything.
4. Hogs are killed by means of gas.
5. Old Elm Farms got its name from the oldest living Elm tree in Illinois. It lived to be 375 years old until it was cut down due to Dutch Elm Disease.

Christina Lee
LaGrange Park

Being a typical mom who wants to feed her family well, I was very excited when our Field Mom program officially started on February 23. I was determined to find out myself how our food is produced and by whom. It is not hard to panic in today’s environment when it comes to food production. Should I buy organic? Is the meat safe? Where did the meat come from? How do I buy locally produced food? And what does politics have to do with food production?

I joined the other field moms and a few farmers on February 23 when we started our year together, all full of questions. We had a lot of them answered on the bus on our way to Sycamore. Deb, Pam, and Jim were able to give us very concrete background information on farming in Illinois today.

While we were mostly talking about pork production, it was also obvious that all farmers have a lot in common: family farms are still the most common form of farming in Illinois where 94% of all farms are family-owned. Children join their parents from young age and learn to work on the farm. Some of them enjoy it and want to stay on the farm, some of them want to leave as soon as they are done with high school. But the common theme was the children’s attitude to work and their pride in growing up on a farm.

Our visit to the Ward family’s pig farm could not have been more informative. The farmers, John and Steve, were willing to answer all of our questions about pigs’ lives from birth to the slaughterhouse. How the pigs are fed, whether they are given antibiotics (only for medical reasons), are they given hormones (no), etc. We also had a long discussion on GMOs, why a farm is or is not organic (requirements on available space to access to organic feed), corn and soybean crops, the needed equipment, and the availability of land in Illinois where subdivisions are creeping closer and closer to farmland.

On our tour of the pig sheds, Steve was once more willing to answer all of our questions about the pigs. Why are the pigs kept inside (controlled environment, health and nutrition of the pigs); what the pigs eat (corn, soybean meal, bakery products); and how you make sure all of the pigs are doing well (an experienced farmer sees signs immediately). Yes, there is a smell in the sheds, but the pigs were surprisingly clean and they are able to move around. There were absolutely no signs of animals that had been mistreated (I expected chewed ears and tails as signs of stress).

My first visit to an Illinois farm (or any farm in the U.S.) was eye-opening. The amount of work, investment and time needed to farm is enormous. My guess is that even though there are differences between farms, the basic work and commitment to a lifestyle is the same for all of them. One of my reasons for joining the Field Mom program was to be able to tell my children where our food comes from and we have now been able to have several discussions on pigs and meat production in general. I’m looking forward to our next visit and learning about other farms.

I had an extremely informative day at the Ward farm, thanks to both generations of the family!

Five things I learned on our trip to a pig farm (there would be many more, but here are the first five):

• The price of farmland whether you buy or lease in Illinois is very high. It is hard for farm families to be able to buy more land to support more than one family.
• The life cycle of a pig from birth to slaughterhouse. I had no idea about the time it takes for a pig to grow to market weight, etc.
• The tour of the buildings where the pigs are raised was important. Heating/air-conditioning, cleanliness, etc. were important pieces of information.
• Information on how the pigs are slaughtered was informative and useful.
• Information on the use of hormones and antibiotics was useful.

Tanja Saarinen, Oak Park
Field Mom