Illinois Farm Families Blog

From Doug Anderson, farmer from Albion, Illinois:
The answer to this question is much simpler than it may seem.  Ask yourself, “Who owns and operates the farm?”  Is it owned and operated by relatives of the same family?  If the answer is “yes” then it is a family farm.  Do not confuse the designation of “family farm” with a business model.  Farming is a small business, and many family farms are incorporated or set up as a partnership.  One common reason for incorporating the farm is so that ownership can be transferred from one generation to the next.  Another reason may be that the farm is owned by several family members, but only a few of them are actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the farm.  Regardless of how the farming operation is structured, it is still a family farm. 

John Kiefner, Kiefner Family Farm, Manhattan, Illinois:
To meet my definition of a family farm, a family must provide more than half of the labor necessary in the farming operation.  It is becoming more difficult to meet this criterion and remain profitable, because modern farming involves a wide variety of skills.  
My individual farm operation requires me to act as a mechanic, truck driver, grain marketer, agronomist, entomologist, and accountant.  Occasionally, I also perform the duties of electrician, welder, carpenter, and veterinarian.  Other skills that are helpful are communication skills, political activist/lobbyist, and legal expert.  I perform many of these jobs on a daily basis.
The challenge that is involved is being proficient at this diverse skill set.  It is not enough simply perform these skills; they must be performed well in order to remain competitive and profitable in this business.

Cyndy Monier, an Illinois farmer:
Sometimes the difference between a family farm and an industrial farm is in the words alone.  Large farms are generally family owned and operated in much the same way as a smaller family farm.  One may think that a 5,000 or 6,000 acre farm is a large industrial farm, but that farm may be supporting five or more households in a family.  That makes the acreage per family around 1,000 acres, not a large farm at all by today's standards. 
The use of the term "industrial" farm conjures up, in most cases, a negative image of modern agriculture that is simply not accurate.  The overwhelming majority of farms, large and small, are family owned, family run and have remained in the same family for generations. Prudent farmers take care of land and/or animal assets because it is the right thing to do, the best way to stay in business, and the best way to preserve the farm for future generations.  Therefore, the size of a farm is irrelevant, in relation to sound farming practices.

From Jessica Zobrist, Downalane Dairy Farm, Madison County, Highland, Illinois:
While the term “industrial” seems cold, pressured, and unfeeling, the term “family” invokes warmth, understanding, and passion.  I’m not so sure farms can always be clearly divided into one of these two categories.

Oftentimes, family farms are farms which have been passed on from generation to generation to generation by people who have a deep passion for raising animals, growing crops, and carrying on the family name.  This passion is reflected by how much they care about their livestock and their concerns about the ways they work their ground.  Most “family farmers” chose this pathway because it’s truly in their blood; they would choose farming as a profession regardless of the yearly salary and so-called benefit package.  They are environmentalists to their acreage and caregivers to their livestock.  This passion is often transferred, through the blood, to the farmers’ kids — thus continuing the Family Farm.

If the Family Farm is such a beautiful, caring entity, then is the Industrial Farm the bad guy?  Not in my opinion.  Industrial farms are often run by people who also care about their livestock and their crops. They have just taken a different path and ended up at a farm owned and operated as a company versus a family-owned farm.  Many farms that could be considered “industrial” are promoted as being family-oriented simply because the term “family” makes the general population feel as though the farm is being run by people who care; not just an Average Joe trying to bring in a paycheck.  But remember, the Average Joe may have just grown up in the city, accidentally fallen in love with farming during college, and ended up running an industrial farm, because there was no family farm to return home to.  He will still nurture his animals and crops!

For those of us passionate about farming, we hope that all farms are being run by those who care as much about the cows and pigs and corn and alfalfa as we do.  It doesn’t matter whether the farm is a family or industrial farm as long as there are people carrying out everyday activities who love what they do.  Whether you’re a banker, or a baker, or a boxer… whether your paycheck is signed by Dad or Mr. Smith… whether your son follows in your footsteps or blazes his own path… it doesn’t matter where you work as long as you can honestly say you love what you do!

From Bill Johnson, Professor and Agriculture Production /Swine Coordinator at Joliet Junior College:
What I teach our students is that a family farm is any farm where the majority of the labor and management is provided by members of the family.  The capital and land can be provided by someone else or be borrowed.  An industrial farm in my mind is any farm that utilizes modern technology on any scale.  A pre-industrial farm would use animal and human power and primitive technology.  Neither of these terms imply anything about size or scale except you cannot operate a large farm without using modern technology.

From Lance Taraochione, farmer from London Mills, Illinois:
The term “industrial farm” was created for the purpose of portraying a negative and scary image of large-scale, modern agriculture.   In any industry, there are family businesses. Some family businesses have grown into large corporations while others fit the stereotype of a small “mom and pop” operation.  Farming is no different. Some family farms are quaint, small and idyllic, while others are very large, specialized and progressive.  They may be very different in size and scale, but one is not inherently better than the other. I know some very large farms operated by families, but none of these operations are truly industrial farms.  I think we run the risk of legitimizing false and negative perceptions when we try to draw distinctions between family farms and something that really doesn’t exist – the perceived “industrial farm.”

Before the question was even asked by the fourth grade class my husband and I adopted through the Adopt-A-Classroom program with the Illinois Ag in the Classroom, I took it upon myself to explain what a farmer does during the winter months.  Contrary to popular belief and children’s books, winter duties do not include darning socks, housing livestock in the kitchen, or falling into a deep Rumplestilskin-type sleep, although that does sound rather enticing.

I explained the importance of book work and record keeping, equipment maintenance and general winter care of livestock.  We sent pictures of my husband and his brother hard at work in the shop welding, greasing, organizing and keeping busy while winter weather swirled outside.

What I neglected to write was that the busy work eventually runs out and soon the farmers – the active, outdoor, workaholics they are – come inside . . . bored to tears.

So what does a farmer do on a snow day?  My dear farmer watched movies, spent a day catching up on my never ending honey-do list, and re-read a month’s worth of farm magazines.  I found him one afternoon on his knees praying for a good snow, so that he could rev up the snowplow and take to the township roads.

Well, God listened to him.  He left the house rather willingly at 3 a.m. and arrived home around 7 a.m. ready for a hot breakfast and a short cat nap.  That took an hour to accomplish and then the day stretched before him – long, cold, and empty of miscellaneous tasks to keep hands busy.  I suggested, half-heartedly that we could begin reorganizing the bedrooms and closets upstairs, an annual task usually completed half-heartedly by me.  To my chagrin – at first – he tackled the task with gusto.

With his work jeans cuffed to just above the ankle (his attempt to keep snowplow dirt off my floors), a pair of brown, sheep-skin slippers covering his feet, and his pliers and phone hooked solidly to his belt, my farmer began cleaning the house.  He went through closets with dust rag and vacuum in hand, sorting, organizing, folding and tossing.  I could hardly keep up.  We emptied our home of almost a dumpster full of stuff that day.  Tossed an entire bed frame, but together four large bags of clothes for Good Will donation and wiped down every nook and cranny of practically every room.

By night fall, he was happily putting the final touches on his newly reorganized work closet which now had specific places for work gloves and caps, jackets, boots and coveralls.  As he plopped next to me on the couch, pants still cuffed, pliers still in place, he said, “So is that what people do on a snow day?”

Nope.  Only a farmer.  

Katie Pratt
Grand Prairie Farms
Dixon, Illinois

 

Back to the pigs’ living conditions and comfort level:  during most of the sows’ time on our farm, they’re pregnant.  After all, they’re pregnant for almost four months, nurse for three weeks, are weaned, and usually are ready to be bred again about one week after weaning.  During the time they are gestating, or pregnant, they stay in a large building that has a slotted concrete floor.  This allows waste to fall through to the pit, or basement, and allows the sows to stay dry, warm, and clean.  The barn is heated to 72 degrees in the winter, and cooled as much as possible during the summer.  Using various techniques, we can usually keep it 8-10 degrees below the outside air temperature, so if it does get to 90 degrees, it’s still 80 inside.  The sows definitely don’t like it that hot, but it’s better than 90.

When the sows are due to farrow we move them to appropriately-named “farrowing rooms.”  They’re our version of Labor & Delivery.  These rooms have the same basic design, although the floor is woven stainless steel with much smaller gaps so the newborn piglets’ tiny hooves don’t fall through.  The sows are held within crates which allow them to stand up, lie down, eat, drink, and take care of personal business, but otherwise confine them in a fairly small space.  This minimizes the sows lying on the baby pigs, which have additional space to move around mama.

Because the sows like it cool and the piglets like it much warmer, we use rubber mats under and heat lamps over the piglets to help keep them warm and comfortable while maintaining room temperature at 72-74 degrees.  When it’s time to move the piglets to the next farm, we use a converted Jewel grocery store trailer.  Because the trailer is insulated, we can heat it and keep the piglets warm until they arrive at their destination, about 20 minutes away.

This system is fairly typical of a modern hog farm.  We can compare this to the good old days of sows farrowing in uninsulated huts in pastures, carrying straw through the snow drifts to bed the huts, breaking ice in frozen water troughs, and picking up frozen or laid on baby piglets.  Sows, piglets, and caretakers are all much happier with the current system.

Chris Gould
Gould Farm
Maple Park, Illinois