Illinois Farm Families Blog

• Most farms in Illinois are family owned, only six percent are Corporately owned.
  

• The Ward's farm is family grain and pork farm.
  

• Prior to receiving a new litter of piglets at six weeks of age, the Wards pressure wash with hot water to clean the pig pens for the new arriving piglets to prevent diseases. 
  

• All boy pigs are castrated and all the piglets get their
  tails cut off.
  

• They are held in nursery until four months of age.
  

• Every farm has a personal Veterinarian because all pigs need to be vaccinated just like humans.
  

• Farmland has standard which regulates the Trucker Quality Assurances how many pigs on a truck.
  

• Older pigs are used to produce Sausage. 

• I was surprised to learn that Sow could have 6 to 7 different litters of piglets and pigs can't sweat. 
  

• The purpose of raising pigs indoors is the Wards are able to control the environment for the comfort of the pigs, using natural resources, monitoring health and nutrition of the pigs.

Helen Kolodynski, Chicago

Since I am a bit late joining the Field Moms, they brought me up to speed last night on a call.  Last month they went out to a pig farm near DeKalb.  The latest update is the farm owners dedicated a litter of piglets, baby pigs, to the 2013 Field Moms.  The mother, a sow, gave birth to 17 of which 2 were still born. The remaining little ones are so cute.  The mom and piglets stay at the sow farm, think labor and delivery for pigs, until the piglets are 20 days old. The farmer was explaining the extensive biosafety measures in place to ensure the health of every pig at the farm. One example is they needed to take showers in and out of the sow farm with special clothes just to visit their pigs.  Their camera needed to wiped down with a bleach wipe. Wow!!  I never imaged the sanitation level a farm needs to go through for pork.  Kind of always thought it was a lower quality meat since some religions ban it in their diet.

Getting back on the pig track........  When the piglets are a few days old their tails are removed to prevent fighting within the pen.  It was explained that they can be very agressive to one another and this reduces the likelihood of picking on the smaller animals.  The detailing makes everyone equal.  Who knew?

The biggest takeway from the call was how concerned the farmer was with her sow and new piglets.  She explained the safety measure for the mom and little ones.  The sow stays in a confined pen with her piglets to prevent her from laying on the little ones.  The pen gives the piglets enough warning the mom is moving and to get out of the way. I never realized how small piglets are in comparison to a full grown pig.  Now, it makes sense.  In years past, piglets were known to die under their mother's own weight. Kind give new motivation for a human to lose the baby weight.

Revin’ Up Roger's Disney Piglet is cute, but not as cute as the 15 piglets we saw last night.

On a side note, the other field moms explained on their blogs that pigs are never given hormones. Hence, you never need to buy hormone free pork, it already is!

Sharon Blau, Des Plaines

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

I admit I did not know what to expect when visiting the Ward family farm, we have all seen the media coverage of the horrific scenes from pig farms. I ended up learning a lot and really enjoyed the experience.  The Wards were very open and willing to share all their knowledge about farming and how their farm is run. Though the Ward’s keep their pigs in climate controlled barns, for many reasons I still do not agree with keeping pigs indoors their entire lives. 

While speaking with the farmers, the representative from Illini Farms and the representative from the slaughter house the topic of GMOs and organics was discussed many times and the discussion often ended by them saying that there is no visible difference in GMO and non-GMO food and that they all feed it to their families and think it is safe. In these discussions the research showing that our bodies can detect the difference between GMO and non-GMO foods was never mentioned. 

Mike Woltmann from Illini Farms presented us with a slide show and in it he educated the group about breed to wean farms. From that discussion I learned that I am not in agreement with those practices. The sow’s lives at a breed to wean farm consist of artificial insemination, being put into a small pen to have her piglets, nurse them for 21 days and then repeating that process continually for a few years until she is sent to market but not the regular market because her meat is now not as good, her meat is now only used for sausage and the like. 

The Ward’s veterinarian and slaughter house representative explained how the withdraw times of antibiotics and random testing done at the slaughter house ensures that there are no antibiotics in the pigs system at time of slaughter. I do believe that to be true but have also read many scientific research studies that conclude the use of antibiotics in livestock creates antibiotic resistant bacteria, which is being passed to humans when they consume the meat.   

 While I may disagree with a lot of the practices used on the Ward’s farm their family farm is run with passion and the Wards care for the pigs using the methods that they believe to be the best. Seeing how the Wards farm is run gave me a brighter look at conventional farming in Illinois and if I were to buy conventional pig meat I would want it to be from the Ward’s farm.

5 Things I Learned or Experienced on the Ward Family hog farm:

1. The farmer himself walked us thru the entire farm and explained what happens from the time the piglet arrives to the time they are sent to slaughter.
2. Whether I agree with the practices of this farm or not, the farmers do think that they are doing what is best for the pigs.
3. I experienced the smell of waste produced from thousands of pigs, it is an awful smell and I can’t imagine it not being toxic to those inhaling it.
4. I learned about the breed to wean farms and that artificial insemination is the process they use for “mating” them.
5. A representative from a slaughter house explained how the pigs that come to his facility are processed.

Amy Buffardi, Darrien

My quest to further educate myself {and my family} about local Illinois farmers started when I recently enjoyed an insider's journey into Wards Farm in Sycamore, Illinois. The Wards Farm is a family grain and pork farm located 55 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois. I was able to learn all about the Wards Farm's history, agriculture, land preservation and sustainable food production from their family.

Agricultural roots run deep in this father-son Ward team as the 7th generation runs the farm today. Raising hogs has been a family business for over 150 years. The Wards Farm is a wean to finish hog operation. I was able to take a personalized tour of the finishing buildings with Steve Ward -- not open to the public -- where I was able to feel like a privileged insider peeking inside to witness the hard work that goes into the hog operation.

Before I arrived, I just assumed the hogs would be free-range. I never considered that the hogs would be kept in finishing buildings. These buildings are quite elaborate and there is a delicate balance between the nursery and the finishing buildings that house the hogs until their ideal weight is met. I was informed of the purpose of each building as well as how the Wards have changed their buildings throughout the years in order to improve the life of the hog. The Wards have created an environment that is the best for the hogs.

Because of bio-security issues, I couldn't simply just go walking about these buildings at my leisure. I was suited up and properly covered to insure the health of these hogs. I was able to fully grasp why pens are used on the in-depth tour of these buildings.

After the informative tour of the finishing buildings, our small group headed inside to have a chat with Illini Farms and Farmland^®. Illini Farms actually birth the piglets and keep them with their sows until they are ready to move to Wards Farm for finishing. The piglets arrive at approximately 12-14 pounds and leave at approximately 250-300 pounds. This all takes place in a six-month span.

Farmland is the end of the production line for the hogs. Farmland processes quality all-natural pork products that are locally born and grown. Farmland's excitement for the pork product and enthusiasm at creating new and inventive dishes utilizing the entire animal is truly fantastic.

I think that as adults we take the concepts we have as children to keep a visual alive in our heads. In our perfect visualized stories we hear of pigs frolicking about with rats, geese and spiders and we forget these animals are not cute, cuddly pets to be coddled, nurtured and loved. Instead, these hogs {on Wards Farm} are valued, cared for and provided with the best conditions to be raised as food for consumption.

We are not going to quit eating and there are more people everyday. The Wards Farm will continue for generations and we need to support local farmers in our local economy and most importantly, remember that our local farmers have the highest possible standards of animal welfare.

Teresa Buse, Streamwood

Meet the Sturtevants - a family farm for five generations

Our family has farmed in northwest Illinois for five generations. One part of our land has belonged to the Sturtevants for 150 years! This ground has seen the desperation of the great depression and was once planted with three-horse hitch teams. Now it’s farmed using huge four-wheel drive John Deere tractors and equipment (yes, had to say John Deere, it is a big deal to us farmers what color our tractors are!).

And, our farm continues to be a family affair. Our boys, Bryson and Jaxson, love to ride our gator (a small farm utility vehicle) around in the fields to pick the big rocks and boulders that work their way to the surface in the spring thaw, so the rocks don’t damage machinery later in the season.

When my husband Brian and I first started farming with his family, we had a sow-to-finish hog farm. By 1998, we decided to switch to a wean-to-finish facility, and we moved all of our pigs to indoor facilities. By doing both of these things, we drastically cut down on sickness and death loss on our farm. Controlled-temperature buildings that keep the pigs out of the elements and a good balanced diet have made our animals happy and healthy. 

 

Now, our piglets are born at a sow farm called Elite Pork near DeKalb, Ill. This is a farm that many family farms own together. This type of collaboration is very common among Illinois pork producers. The sow farm has the perfect set-up and expertise for taking care of sows (mother pigs) and baby piglets, while our farm can provide the best care for pigs as they grow. When the pigs “move in” to our farm, they will stay with the same group of animals as they grow. They develop social relationships with the other pigs and enjoy their space to run around together. You can follow a group of pigs on our farm through the Field Moms’ Acre and Pen.

Farming teaches patience. You have to work hard, and it humbles you. But most of all, farming makes us thankful every day for what we have.

Jen Sturtevant
Hog and grain farmer
Lanark, 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

Spring is right around the corner!  There are so many things to get excited about in the springtime.  The grass growing, flowers blooming, and a new crop of sweet little calves running around.  It won’t be very long before we we’ll be planting corn.  It will be time for meals in the fields, tractor rides, and fixing the guys supper at 10:00pm.  The kids will be daydreaming at school about being outside in the beautiful weather and enjoy being in it when they get home.  We’ve moved the clocks ahead and the longer days will begin.

To start off the busy spring season we have hogs that are ready to ship. This week we weighed the hogs to allow us to know which ones are ready to go.  We got these pigs in as 15 pounders last October.  My daughters spent a great deal of time playing with them when they were little. It’s a little more difficult to roll around with 200 pound pigs, so the girls don’t hop in with them now.  They enjoyed us having wean to finish hogs this time.  For the last 14 years we have raised feeder to finish hogs, which arrive at 50 pounds.  Although it was a little more work, it was fun to have the babies to raise.  

The most exciting part of spring on the farm from my point of view is new calves.  One group of our cows calved this fall, but our heifers should start calving around April 1st.  The heifers are the cows that are having babies for the first or second time.  Even though they are new moms, they know just what to do.  Watching those little calves run around the pasture is one of the best views.  They are so darn cute.  The warm weather and the sunny days make for a great time for calving.  Our daughters are great helpers when it comes to tagging the new calves and keeping track of their births.

We are about three weeks away from planting corn.  A load of seed corn was delivered this week and is in the shed awaiting going in the ground.  The guys are working on the planter to make sure that it is fully ready to go, that all parts and systems are set.  There are many, many decisions that go into each planting season, so we are always trying to stay educated on the latest technologies to make each crop the best it can be.

Right now it is cold, windy and snow, but hopefully in a few weeks the weather will have made a turn for the better and we’ll be hot and heavy in the spring farming season.

Stacy Schutz is is a farmer, wife, and mother of two daughters located in central Illinois. She farms with her family; raising corn, cattle and hogs. She loves her animals, food and is happy that they go hand in hand!  You can find out more about her at her blog, From Our Farm to You.

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