Illinois Farm Families Blog

I've eagerly joined the ranks of Field Mom's touring the Illinois Farm scene and our first visit was to the Ward Family Hog Farm in Sycamore Illinois. As I flip through my notes I can still smell the odor of my little piggy friends wafting off the pages, this visit was not for those with sensitive snouts and bellies...no babies allowed.

I joined this group of Moms so that I could better understand how crops and livestock are farmed and sent to market. I was hoping to dispel a few rumors that are currently pervading our society regarding food safety precisely because its these rumors that send me running to anything labeled organic...and walking away penniless. And while I can't say that my visit to the hog farm rendered me an expert on the processes of how 270 pounds of "little" piggy gets to market, I can say that it clarified a few things for me.

Contrary to what we might remember from childhood movies and videos, pigs no longer wallow around outside in mud devouring buckets of slop tossed into their pens from well meaning farmers with big yellow boots. Instead they are kept inside covered facilities with slats on the floors to collect waste matter. There is intricate piping in place to funnel food and water into their pens. The piglets are kept separate from their older counterparts and then shuffled along to other housed facilities as they grow older and larger. When they are newly born they receive vaccines similar to how human newborns are vaccinated and they receive antibiotics and other medicines similar to humans when they get sick. At a glance, everything seems in order. The pigs looked well taken care of and were happy to see Steve (the farmer and our host) and curious about his guests. The food that they eat is a mix of soybean meal, corn, dried distillers grain and bakery products (i.e. Triscuits,bread, chips). The facility was well maintained, the farmers were gracious hosts and very open to answering a barrage of well intended questions, but despite this, there are two core concerns that make it hard for me to reconcile some of the rudimentary practices of pig farming; pigs are artificially inseminated and they are fed genetically modified grains.

Artificial Insemination

I suppose until now I hadn't considered that artificial insemination is what allows pig farmers to keep up with the demands of human consumption. Piggy sex as we know it, or rather imagined it (if ever), is not financially savvy. Instead, there are 10-15 companies that are known for providing boar sperm to a multitude of farms. A quick Google search lead me to this website where one could peruse their online boar store and choose from which boar they would like to purchase sperm and the tools required for successful insemination. While this process is said to increase bio security (because the farmer is not bringing a mystery boar with the "potential of spreading disease" on the farm), and makes economical sense (because it reduces the time between pregnancy), eliminates the guesswork of stock numbers from week to week (a farmer could have upwards of 1000 newborn pigs per week), and eliminates the need to have feed and care for a boar (which can be a very aggressive animal at times); I'm curious as to how this might affect future hog farming to literally have the seed of the industry in the hands of just a chosen few (consider today's recession due to the merging and acquisition of a few large financial banks) or even genetic modification (i.e. enviropig study). Still, this same process of artificial insemination is also practiced by organic hog farmers leaving the biggest difference between the two practices being pig feed, GMO vs. non GMO

GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms)

Now that artificial insemination seems to be the standard in today's farming practices, one of the major things that differentiate organic farms from non-organic farms tends to be the feed. Organic farms supply animals with non-GMO products. GMO’s are in about 80% of the conventional processed food in the U.S. compared to nearly 50 countries including well developed countries like Japan, Australia and all of the European Countries,many of whom don't consider GMO's to be safe and have actually banned them, and at the minimum required that the products be labeled accordingly. Eeeek! Thus given that so much of U.S. produce is GMO, farmers are really hard pressed to find organic feed for their pigs at a reasonable cost. According to some farmers, going "organic" is not very sustainable given the volume of product that farmers must produce to even break even.

Furthermore, most pig farmers find that they aren't breaking even and are hedging their bets on the futures market through the Board of Trade! I would have never thought that my time providing tours at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange would come full circle!

So where does this leave me? It leaves me with a ton more questions…

1. What are the safety measures in place to ensure that boar sperm is really just boar sperm and not modified boar sperm?
2. What happens when the boar sperm bank decides they want to increase their prices?
3. Are we devolving the pig and boar relationship by suppressing their natural urge to pro-create? (Side note – newly born boars are castrated and then housed alongside their female counterparts)
4. Why is GMO the only way to go for so many farmers? If so,why are there so many organic farmers that are digging their boots in and prepared to take the financial loss for a product?

I know I've opened up about a dozen cans of worms...or whether cans of Spam (hee hee), but what an opportunity to begin to put the pieces together! I’ve been exploring food safety for so many years via books, articles, Netflix documentaries and a doting mother, that so much information is swirling around in my head. I’m so grateful for the Illinois Farm Family Organization for even offering such an opportunity to us Momma Bears. In the end, we’re all looking to do what’s best for our families and our friends. We all want to live long, healthy and happy lives and we know that it starts with what we put in our own little pot bellies.

A few more photos... 

 Do you know how your little piggy in the freezer made it to market?

Amina Nevels, 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.

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

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