SVM Ag Magazine - Spring 2024

Family business has the gear to keep things moving on the farm Rural Sterling farm welcomes some new kids on the block Success comes in all sizes for Mount Carroll business Two new leaders take the helm at the Illinois Farm Bureau State program honors families that have been in farming for the long haul

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PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 440 Sterling, IL 61081 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

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12 One big, happier family

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Publisher/Ad Director Jennifer Heintzelman

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There are some news kids on the block at a rural Sterling farm that’s home to some of the rarest goats in the world.

Magazine editor & Page design Rusty Schrader For Advertising Contact Jill Reyna at 815-631-8774 or jreyna@saukvalley.com Published by Sauk Valley Media 113 S. Peoria Ave., Dixon, IL 61021 815-284-2222 Have a story idea for Ag Mag? E-mail rschrader@saukvalley.com Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of Ag Mag may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

14 Keeping things running in the family

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Whether you need mechanical work, a restoration, or a crew that’ll dig in and get the job done, a Geneseo business can help keep things moving on the farm.

Getting in on the ground flora A Dixon woman is doing her part to make sure her backyard isn’t a weak link in the food chain — and she’s helping others do the same.

20 This old farm

A state program honors families who’ve been in farming for the long haul.

26 Success comes in all sizes

A Mount Carroll couple finds success thinking small and thinking outside the box.

35 Leaders in their field

An Ogle County farmer moves to the top spot at the Illinois Farm Bureau, and a Bureau County farmer steps up to vice-president.

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hen her garden’s in bloom, Dayona Smith relishes in her zeal for zinnias and delights at the sight of colorful cosmos. And when her toil in the soil bears fruits, and vegetables, she’s one glad grower. It’s a feeling she hopes future generations can share and enjoy.

It just all depends on nature taking its course. You know, the birds and bees — especially those bees.

Mother Nature’s winged offsprings may not be the biggest members of her family, but they play a huge role in the world’s ecosystem.

Without them, our food chain would lose a vital link. How vital? Experts estimate that more than 80 percent of land-based plants are pollinated by birds and insects. And according to the nonprofit group The Bee Conservancy, for every 3 bites of food we take, we owe at least one of them to a bee’s role in pollination.

Pollination — the process of fertilization that allows plants to reproduce — is at the heart of the flowers we enjoy and much of the food we eat. It’s also pretty close to Smith’s heart, too. That future generation she wants to see enjoy gardening as much as she does? Her two children are part of it Smith has made it her mission to help spread the word about the importance of pollination, and how nature’s flora and fliers work together to make it possible. The Dixon resident and Southern California native runs the Dayona Farm Foundation, a nonprofit that, according to her website, promotes small-scale agriculture and protecting pollinators through educational materials and workshops.

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A bee pollinates a cosmos. Inset: A bee covered in pollen.

DAYONA cont’d from page 5 It’s a mission Smith has brought close to home. Upon learning of the decline of the bee and monarch butterfly population in recent years, Smith set out to dedicate her own backyard to giving them a hand to help ensure they remain part of our planet for generations to come.

That mission didn’t stop in her backyard, though. As her garden grew, so did her passion, and she would tell anyone and everyone who would listen about the benefits of having a garden.

“We might not be able to change the entire world, but we can change what we do in our own back yard,” Smith said. “That’s what I’m here for.

I will go on and on and on about how to do it. I’m so passionate about it, and it feels so good when you’re out there with all of the flowers.”

In addition to squash and watermelon, establishing pollinator gardens can also lead to better quality zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkins, eggplant, okra and muskmelon — all by simply providing a platform to attract butterflies and bees and bring them closer to those fruit and vegetable flowers to aid in their growth.

DAYONA cont’d to page 7

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DAYONA cont’d from page 6

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Smith prefers the natural approach to helping out. While chemicals may give blooms a boost, they can also be harmful to butterflies and bees, Smith said. Killing off milkweed in ditches and other places has also taken a toll on pollinators; it’s the preferred plant for monarchs to lay their eggs.

Adding more cosmos and zinnias to the landscape helps promote pollination by giving pollinators a place to do their thing, and Smith’s foundation helps make that happen. She writes educational materials on how cosmos and zinnias — as well as peonies — benefit pollinators, tests how they grow in different settings on her property, and provides free seeds by mail to those who want to carve out a starter garden on their own property.

Her informational booklets can be found on her website, dayonafarm.com, with facts on each flower’s functions, how to properly take care of them, and things you can do with them once they’ve reached the end of their time in earth, using them in bouquets and other arrangements.

Dayona Smith’s Cosmos, she writes, children enjoy “are versatile annual spending time out in the plants. They are fields with her cosmos and best known for zinnias. It’s with an eye on future their delicate petgenerations that Smith has made als and whimsical it her mission to help spread the structure. Cosmos word about the importance of bloom in various pollination, and how nature colors, such as Orworks together to make U it possible.

BM ange, Pink, Burgundy, IT T E White, and Yellow. They DP H OTO S are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, are drought tolerant, and have low maintenance. Cosmos attract birds and pollinators and are a great cutting flower. The more you prune them, the more they bloom.”

DAYONA cont’d to page 8

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A bee pollinates a zinnia.

DAYONA cont’d from page 7

Dayona Smith was a regular vendor last year at the Dixon Farmers Market (left), where she educated people on the pollinator benefits of cosmos and zinnias and gave out flower seeds. She’ll also mail seeds to those who want to plant their own garden (see “More info” on page 11 to request seeds).

When it comes to zinnias, pollinators are attracted to them, she writes, “because of their colorful blooms that can be easily spotted from an aerial view. Bees and butterflies prefer to feed on the nectar of these flowers because of their uncomplicated, easy access. Pollinators are most drawn to taller Zinnia varieties with a clear yellow center.

One of the main reasons why Zinnias play such an essential role in the pollinator garden, besides their easily accessible nectar, is that they bloom from summer until frost.

She recommends deadheading (cutting off) spent flowers as they turn brown to keep the zinnias blooming.

“When you deadhead off the brown flowers, it signals the plant to keep blooming and not go to seed. Then, the plant will use the saved energy to produce more flowers.”

The best part of having cosmos and zinnias? There isn’t much work to be done after the seeds are planted.

“They are what I chose to really push because they are the most low-maintenance and do really well in our area,” Smith said. “Pollinators love them.”

There’s more to planting flowers than just digging a hole and dropping in seeds. In order for the flowers to prosper and do their job, growers should be familiar with their Gardening Zone to be better acquainted with how their soil works under certain temperatures; this is determined by the United States Department of Agriculture’s soil hardiness map (planthardiness.ars.usda.gov). Much of the northwest corner of the state falls under 5A, nearly all of the Chicago Metropolitan area is 6A, and the rest of northern Illinois is 5B. Areas can see changes in their zones depending on changes in the average winter temperature over time, and even just a few degrees can make a difference.

Where they’re planted can make a difference too. They should be somewhere that gets more than 6 hours of sunlight and in a well-draining area.

DAYONA cont’d to pages 10 & 11

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n A plant’s anthers produce and release pollen. n The pollen is carried to another flower’s stigma by an animal, insect, or wind. n The flower is pollinated; and in the case of flowering food plants, produces fruits and vegetables. n Plants eventually produce seeds. n The seeds germinate, producing a new plant, continuing the cycle of life.

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DAYONA cont’d from page 9 “You don’t want to plant the wrong thing, and then it dies and you think you’re a terrible gardener; you’re not,” Smith said. “People can be discouraged easily because they’ll plant something and then it died — but no; you just planted the wrong thing in the wrong place. If you plant the right thing in the right place, it’ll work.”

Smith has helped people start pollinator gardens both close to home and in her old stomping grounds of California, and has an active following on Facebook and Instagram. When she’s not in the garden, she’s digging in to more research on the subject.

She’s also attended gardening workshops and gave presentations.

Closer to home, she sets up at the Dixon Farmers Market during summer Wednesdays handing out seeds, distributing her informational booklets, and helping to plant the seeds in the next generation of growers to encourage them to carry on her work.

“It’s so fun,” Smith said. “There

SM-ST2136038

were some kids who came back and told me, ‘My seeds are growing, my seeds are growing!’ That feels so good.”

Smith heard about the benefits of pollinator gardens while living in California, but the soil where she lived wasn’t conducive to making them prosper and grow. That changed when she moved east, to Online: Dixon, in 2011 where the soil was more welcoming to a garden.

Find the Dayona “There’s about a thousand different vegetables that need polliFarm Foundation nators to grow,” she said. “Things that have a flower to them, like on Facebook and watermelons and zucchini, those things need the pollinators.”

Instagram, or go to She started to flex her green thumb even more during the corodayonafarm.com. navirus pandemic, when she needed something to pass the time Want to start at home. She spent more time gardening and learning about its planting cosmos and benefits, and the risks they face from a declining monarch and bee zinnias at your place? population.

Seeds can be obtained from “After learning about the monarchs, I really got into learning the foundation by sending about what I can do as a person, and what I can control [in the a self-addressed stamped garden], and that’s when I started planting zinnias and cosmos,” envelope to Dayona Farm Smith said. “I grew them and did it real well, and so I shared this Foundation, P.O. Box 51, Van knowledge and knew a lot of people who wanted to learn about it.”

Orin, IL, 61374. Seeds She said gardening helped keep her mind in a healthy, positive will be mailed during place, a feeling she hopes others will share.

May and June.

“During Covid, I really just doubled downed on my garden,” Want to help?

Smith said. “I really got into my garden, and then I got really mad The foundation also when I found out the monarchs got on the [endangered] lists. I don’t accepts monetary want to be part of a generation that kills off our animals, especially donations via mail or such a pretty one.” n its website.

Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

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endangered list.

“We’re excited for the newest additions and upcoming births as we work to conserve this rare heritage breed,” Abby said in an e-mail to Sauk Valley Media.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

Happy Little Hooves Farm recently welcomed two new Arapawa to its farm family.

A profile of Sweeneys’ farm appeared in the summer The lone breeders of the goats 2023 Ag Mag. Go to issuu. in Illinois, Happy Lives Hooves com/shawmedia/docs/svm_ first brought the agmag_071423 to read it). Arapawas to their farm last year, when six of them joined about 3 dozen other goats from various breeds on their farm.

The Arapawa is a medium-sized goat, predominately black, brown and white.

Does (adult females) weigh between 60 and 80 pounds and bucks (adult males) weigh up to 125 pounds. They’re not aggressive goats, and they become attached to their goat Online: hapfamily and human keepers. The breed pylittlehoovesis named for the Arapawa Island near farm.com or New Zealand, which was the goats’ find Happy home for centuries. They thrived there Little Hooves until the 1970s, when the New Zealand on Facebook Forest Service decided the goats were STERLING — A local family has Farm tours damaging the native forest and the a few more mouths to feed, and a are available herd had to be culled. few more little hooves to frolic on at Happy Little Today, there are only about an estitheir farm.

Hooves. The mated 500 or 600 of them worldwide.

Abby Sweeney and her husband, tours are free, The new members of the famShawn, recently welcomed twin but donations ily join Legacy, Evolution, Magnolia Arapawas to their growing famare welcome, (“Maggie”), Lucy, Finn, and Buster. ily at Happy Little Hooves Farm, with money Lucy delivered the doeling and buckthe three-acre spread on Freegoing toward ling in January, and as of press time, port Road outside of Sterling that the goats’ care the Sweeneys’ oldest doe, Maggie, was they’ve owned for about 5 years. and feeding. expected to kid shortly.

The two little tykes are the latest Contact info: “They’re beautiful,” Abby said of addition to their happy little herd: 309-230-7176 the Arapawas in the summer 2023 Ag They also recently acquired two or happylittleMag story. “They’re very inquisitive.

Arapawa doelings, and they’re exhoovesfarm@ Arapawa is a semi-feral breed, so they pecting more to join their family. gmail.com need a lot of human interaction.”

That’s good news for one of the They should get plenty of it on the rarest goat breeds in the world, and Sweeneys’ farm. it’s good news for the Sweeneys’ “[They’re] like our children,” she said. mission of getting the goat off the — Rusty Schrader/Sauk Valley Media Livestock Conservancy’s critically

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BY STORY

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Bos Farm Repair in rural Geneseo is a family-run business with Kevin and Karen Bos, and their children Aaron Bos and Amber Boelens, and son-in-law Curt Boelens. They are assisted by Spenser Coers.

Pictured are (front row, left) Karen Bos, office, and Amber Boelens, office manager; and (back row, left) Coers, mechanic, Aaron Bos, excavating, Kevin, owner and restorations, and Curt Boelens, excavating.

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Kevin Bos doesn’t have far to drive for work.

If he wanted to, he could just hop on a tractor for his daily commute — and if it broke down on the way there, he could fix it, too.

Living on and tending to the farm his parents bought in the early 1960s, Bos repairs new and old tractors and farm equipment at his nearby shop a few miles north of Geneseo, Bos Farm Repair, where he’s joined by his wife, son, daughter and son-in-law at the family business.

Every day is different in the repair and service world, and the business has tackled all kinds of services, repairs and restorations, running the entire gamut of machinery.

That’s not all: there’s also an excavation side of the business that helps with construction and land management.

The business is a natural fit for Kevin, who grew up learning that if something breaks down, you don’t pick up the phone and call someone to fix it; you pick up a wrench and do it yourself.

“I don’t ever remember growing up ever hiring a mechanic to do anything, ever,” Bos said. “You just didn’t waste money on that. My dad was a Depressioner, so everything you did, you did yourself. If you didn’t know how, you were going to figure out how.”

BOS cont’d to page 16

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BOS cont’d from page 15

Bos Farm Repair can handle repair projects big and small on all types of farm equipment, from tune-ups to engine overhauls.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

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After spending a couple of decades working for John Deere and Massey-Ferguson dealers in Geneseo, Bos started his business in 1999 on the farm he was living on in rural Atkinson, about a 10-minute drive from the current shop. When he got the chance to buy some land on the family farm in 2004, he moved his shop there, where it remains today.

Kevin takes on the restoration work, his son Aaron runs the general repair shop, daughter Amber Boelens is the office manager, and son-in-law Curt Boelens runs the excavating side. Kevin’s wife, Karen, did much of the office work before turning it over to Amber, but continues to help in the office as needed.

“It’s really great because it’s a lot more than a job to me,” Curt said. “There’s a lot of pride in what you do. I like the family aspect; and with a family of my own, having the flexibility to make them be included; and I can take time off whenever I need to be with them.”

As an independently owned service dealer, Bos Farm Repair is color-blind when it comes to brands.

John Deere green, Case-IH red, New Holland blue and others, they’ve all ended up at the shop, though they do tend to see more green due to the shop’s location: only about a 20-minute drive from the Quad Cities and its John Deere plants and world headquarters.

The staff is also trained to be able to work on different brands, Bos said, as opposed to techs who work on only one make or model, giving them a greater flexibility to be able to help customers.

“The mechanical skill is something that, what I’ve seen over my years, is something that you’re either have the personality to want to learn it, or you don’t,” Bos said. “I’ve had mechanics in the past that were poor mechanics to start with, but they knew what questions to ask and they wanted to learn and turned into good mechanics. You have to have a will to learn.

What we do, we’re not brand specific, so you have to have more of a clear mind and not so set in your ways.”

BOS cont’d to page 17

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BOS cont’d from page 16 Repair jobs range from minor to major, from simple servicing to extensive projects such as engine overhauls, and clutch and transmission repairs. Welding and hydraulic work also is done.

If something comes up during the repair process that warrants a discussion with the customer, they’ll get a call to go over what needs to be fixed and what it will take to get it done. The shop can also pick up equipment if customers can’t get it to the shop.

Like many of the skilled trades these days, finding good mechanics can be a challenge. Bos said he could really use another hand or two with repairs and restoration, and a couple more people to help with excavation. If you’re the kind of person who likes to do a little bit of everything, crossover work is offered, something Bos sees as a benefit to not only the employee — who gets hands-on experience in different job skills — but the customers too, who can deal with someone versed in various aspects of the operation.

“We’re small enough to where we’re flexible in hours, what you want to work on, or if you are flexible enough to work in the shop and go out on an excavating job, the benefit I can offer is some flexibility with not be-

Bos Farm Repair can also take on excavating work — land management, construction and demolition.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

ing stuck with the same, repeated thing every day,” he said. “Some people like [repetition], but I like change. It gives you more skills later in life and skill sets you may not have.”

The shop also sells tools and parts, including Baldwin brand filters, Chevron lubricants, Interstate batteries, battery cables, welding supplies, tillage parts, roller chains, hydraulic hoses and fittings and aftermarket tractor parts.

BOS cont’d to page 18

AG FINANCING made personal

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BOS cont’d from page 17

Kevin Bos (left) has fondness for the good old days. He and his brother, Chuck (right), run Bos Brothers Historical Farm south of Spring Hill. The farm hosts an old-fashioned fall harvest show in even-numbered years and an old-fashioned threshing bee in odd-numbered years, each featuring demonstrations of antique farm equipment.

This year’s harvest show is scheduled for Sept. 20-22. Go to bosbroshistoricalfarm.com or find it on Facebook for more information (their fall 2022 show was featured in the winter 2022 issue of Ag Mag; read it at tinyurl.com/bddzfdhd). Kevin also enjoys working on and restoring older equipment at the family business. “I kind of like the old stuff because it’s always a mechanical failure and there isn’t electronics,” he said. “... There’s something to be said about taking something that doesn’t look like it should run and make it run. There’s a great feeling of accomplishment.”

Above: Kevin works on one of his current restoration projects, a 1926 John Deere corn picker, one of the first manufactured by the company. His goal is to have it ready in time for this year’s fall harvest show.

On the excavation side, the crew can handle new constructions, demolitions, ditch cleaning, tile repair, tree removal, digging ponds and waterways.

Estimates are free.

Before it was a business, excavation was a project on the family farm. Bos would do projects on his farm in Atkinson, and it didn’t take long for neighbors to notice.

“Even before I started the business, I had opportunities to not just find something on my own farm, but also to do work for neighbors as well,” Bos said.

“When you have the equipment, you’ll find the neighbors will ask you, ‘Why don’t you do that for me?’ It diversifies us to give us another option of things; if we’re not busy at one place, we can be busy somewhere else.”

These days, Kevin has been focusing his own attention more on the restoration business, having given Aaron a larger role in the repair shop.

Projects can range from small to big — from finding a few parts to paint jobs to complete restorations — and can come from customers near and far.

Like the repair work, all makes and models are welcome.

Bos enjoys tackling projects involving the older workhorses.

BOS cont’d to page 19

Empowering members.

Connecting communities.

1939–2024 YEARS

G STRON

Generations strong.

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BOS cont’d from page 18 “I kind of like the old stuff because it’s always a mechanical failure and there isn’t electronics,” Bos said. “If there’s something wrong with it, it’s a mechanical issue. There’s something to be said about taking something that doesn’t look like it should run and make it run. There’s a great feeling of accomplishment with it.”

Kevin owns a number of vintage tractors and pieces of farm equipment himself, pieces that he’s restored himself. He brings some to tractor shows, and also showcases some at the annual Bos Brothers Historical Farm shows that he runs with his brother Chuck.

He’s also restored several pieces of Deere equipment that are on display at the John Deere Museum in Waterloo.

One of Bos’s current restoration projects is a 1926 John Deere corn picker, one of the very first manufactured by Deere. His goal

is to have it working in time for the Bos Brothers Historical Farm’s fall harvest show in September.

“I like the challenge of the old, old stuff,” he said.

Running a business isn’t without its challenges, but having family at his side has helped him over the rough parts, and Bos is thankful to have them around to keep him in line. “I need somebody to keep me focused on some of the more important things at times,” he said, “otherwise I’ll drift off into one of the antiques in the back and forget.”

That family atmosphere has not only strengthened the business, but family bonds, too. Where some families go their separate ways when they leave the nest, the Bos family goes to work together.

“I’ve always thought that if I didn’t work with my brother, I probably wouldn’t be able to see him,” Amber said. “It’s nice to still have that relationship, too.”

Amber is usually the first person customers greet in the shop or on the phone, a role in which she takes great pride.

“I enjoy seeing our customers,” Amber said. “Many of them are our neighbors, live close by or people we go to church with. I’ve made so many connections through the business and gotten to know people that I wouldn’t get to know otherwise. We have really good, loyal customers.” n Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

More info Bos Farm Repair, 27595 E. 1800th St (at its intersection with state Route 92) in Geneseo, is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Go to bosfarmrepair.com or call 309-945-1440 for more information.

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By Cody Cutter Sauk Valley Media

aying family farms are a thing of the past doesn’t have to a bad thing.

In fact, Illinois has entire program built on that idea — not that family farms are going away, but rather that they’re not going anywhere.

It’s the Illinois Heritage Farm Program, and it honors the farmers who’ve worked their land for generations and the farms they’ve kept in the family.

Though factory farms and corporations have found a foothold in the America’s farmland, they haven’t uprooted family farms. Those farms are here to stay, and some of them have been here a long time, planting their first seeds when our presidents and Founding Fathers were one and the same.

They’re the kind of farms with greatness in their past — great-grandfathers, great-great-grandfathers, great-great-great grandfathers, and yes, even great-great-great-great grandfathers. Farms that have weathered the times and weathered storms, facing droughts and depression, floods and falling prices, good times and bad, surviving and thriving through the centuries.

HISTORY cont’d to page 22

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HISTORY cont’d from page 21

SHAW MEDIA FILE PHOTO

Bruce Flatness holds a sesquicentennial recognition sign from the Illinois Department of Agriculture designating his rural Seneca farm in La Salle County an Illinois Sesquicentennial Farm. The farm has been in his family since the Civil War.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture’s Heritage Farm Program honors centennial farms that have been in the same family for 100 years, sesquicentennial farms that have been in the family 150 years, and those that have achieved bicentennial status at 200 years old. To qualify, the farm must be owned by the same family of lineal (such as a child or grandchild) or collateral (such as a sibling, uncle/aunt, nephew/niece, or cousin) descendants.

Recognized farms don’t need to have the same surname associated with it throughout the entire time, as ownership could have been passed down to a married daughter, sister or niece at some point.

Farms honored by the program receive an official certificate of recognition signed by the Director of Agriculture and the Governor, a road grade sign to post or affix on their property, media recognition through a press release sent to their local media outlets, and invitations to Agriculture Day at the next Illinois State Fair after official recognition. There is a $50 fee to offset the cost of the road sign.

Recognition as a century-long family farm also has its advantages in local notoriety and inspiration to continue their lineages.

The Centennial Farm Program was established in 1972 and since then has recognized more than 10,000 family farms. Among those farms, 1,000 of them went on to be recognized as sesquicentennial farms since 2001.

The bicentennial program is far more elite. So far, only around 15 farms have achieved bicentennial status, which was first bestowed during Illinois’ own bicentennial observance celebrations in 2018 to the family farm of Jerry and Betty Brown of Jonesboro in Union County; it was originally farmed by Abraham Brown II in 1816.

HISTORY cont’d to page 23

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Signs of longevity Farms honored by the Illinois Heritage Farm program receive an official certificate of recognition signed by the Director of Agriculture and the Governor, an invitation to Agriculture Day at the next Illinois State Fair, and a road-grade sign to post or affix on their property. There is a $50 fee to offset the cost of the road sign. The signs, clockwise from top left, designate centennial (100 years) ownership, sesquicentennial (150 years) ownership, and bicentennial (200 years) ownership; and the recently added centennial agribusiness category. Right: The sign as it appeared during the program’s inaugural year.

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Northwest Illinois was the last part of the state to see an influx of white settlers, with the Sauk and Fox Native American tribes largely controlling the region until the Black Hawk War of 1832.

In the 13-county area of Illinois’ northwest corner (Bureau, Carroll, Henry, Jo Daviess, La Salle, Lee, Mercer, Ogle, Putnam, Rock Island, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago), around 1,800 family farms have reached centennial status, about another 220 sesquicentennial status, and only one so far has earned bicentennial status.

At 204 years old, Sturtevant Feedlots in Shannon is the area’s oldest family farm. British Canadian immigrant William Boardman homesteaded it in 1820, when James Monroe was president; the Sturtevant name came to the farm in the early 1900s. The next-closest bicentennial farm from northwest Illinois is the Evans Farm near Stronghurst in Henderson County, which was recognized in 2023 and has been in the family since 1817.

Of the first 10 family farms in the 13-county area to earn sesquicentennial status since the program began, nine of them remain family farms, today ranging in age from 187-194 years old: the Sturtevant farm, along with the Trumbo farm in Ottawa, La Salle County (1830); the Brown farm in Polo, Ogle County (1833); the Cummings-Bill farm in Buda, Bureau County, and the Gilmore farm in Compton, Lee County (both 1835); the Williams-Hart farm in Farm Ridge, La Salle County (1836); and the Glenn farm in Magnolia, Putnam County, and the Lobdell and Macomber farms in Lena, Stephenson County (each 1837).

HISTORY cont’d to page 24

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HISTORY cont’d from page 22 VING OUR HER SER ITA E R

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HISTORY cont’d from page 25 The next oldest family farms in the region have been around for at least 175 years, ranging in age from 176 to nearly 186 years old: the McCaw farm in Preemption, Mercer County (late 1830s, exact date unknown); the Kemmis farm northeast of Geneseo, Henry County (1842); the Greene farm in Durand, Winnebago County (1843); the Chamberlain farm in Lyndon, Whiteside County (1844); the Townsend farm in Stockton, Jo Daviess County (1848); and the Kimball farm in Buffalo Prairie, Rock Island County (1848).

Bureau, Jo Daviess, La Salle, Lee and Ogle counties have the

Hatch Estates in rural Sublette received its sesquicentennial status in 2022. The farm has been in the family since 1845. Pictured are owners Amy Palmer and her son Dalton Grossmann, along with Dalton’s son Lucas.

Read more about the farm in winter 2022 issue of Ag Mag, at issuu. com/shawmedia/docs/ svm_ag_111122

greatest concentration of sesquicentennial farms in the northwest corner, with more than 20. In Jo Daviess County, about 20 percent of its centennial farms have also been recognized as sesquicentennials, the highest figure among the 13-county area.

In some cases of sesquicentennial and bicentennial recognition, a farm’s county of origin is different than its current one. The five oldest area family farms were established when they were under the jurisdictions of what were then different counties: Gilmore (first Ogle, now Lee), Cummings-Bill (first Putnam, now Bureau), Brown (first Jo Daviess, now Ogle), Trumbo (first Putnam, now La Salle) and Sturtevant (Pike then Putnam then Jo Daviess, now Carroll).

The last of Illinois’ 102 counties were established in 1859, and no changes have been made to their boundaries — and thus no farm properties have switched counties — since 1869, when changes along the Rock Island and Whiteside border along Meredosia Creek were made.

HISTORY cont’d to page 25

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HISTORY cont’d from page 24 Centennial Agribusiness Recognizing the impact and importance that agribusiness has in the farming community, the Heritage Farm Program also recently began recognizing longtime farm businesses — businesses that have been in operation for more than 100 years — in its Centennial Agribusiness Program.

The honor was introduced last year and so far, its lone member (as of 2023) is Farm Credit Illinois, based in Mahomet and founded when the United States Congress passed the Farm Credit Act in 1916 to increase credit to rural family farms.

Agribusinesses qualifying for the program, according to the IDOA, are those that “have worked to produce, process, and/or distribute agricultural products in Illinois” for 100 or more years. Businesses must also have either the same name or the same family ownership during that time.

SHAW MEDIA FILE PHOTO

The Gilmore farm in Lee County has been in the family for nearly 200 years. The family farm was profiled in the summer 2021 Ag Mag, at shawmedia/docs/svm_ag_magazine_070921

Have some heritage?

Is your farm approaching, or qualifies for, The Illinois Heritage Farm Program?

Do you have an agribusiness that’s been in business for a century or more? Go to agr.illinois.gov/assistance/illinoisfarmprograms.html for more information and printable application forms — click on the Centennial Agribusiness, Centennial Farm, Sesquicentennial Farm or Bicentennial Farm links on the left of the page.

The certification process can take up to 8 weeks. Signs will come without the family or business name on them; it is up to the recipients to attach their name.

Many family farms post their centennial, sesquicentennial and bicentennial signs near the driveway to their home or farm buildings. Those who travel by can get a glimpse of centennial green, sesquicentennial gold or bicentennial red, and can acquire a sense of appreciation for the many decades and hard work the generations of family members have put in to keep the nation’s food supply rich and growing. n

Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

More info Go to agr.illinois.gov/assistance/ illinoisfarmprograms/centennialsesquicentennial to learn more about the Illinois Department of Agricultre’s Heritage Farm Programs. A list of recognized farms also is available at the link. Email agr.centfarms@ illinois.gov for further questions.

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Big Miniature Farms own CODY CUT TER/CCU T

ers Travis

and Cami Y enney.

TER@SHA WMEDIA .C

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ravis and Cami Yenney didn’t think that some horseradish grown at their Mount Carroll home was going to change their lives all that much.

Just a few years later, that crop not only grew into a thriving business, but one of the reasons people come to Carroll County’s seat on Saturday mornings throughout the summer and fall.

What started with a few jars of horseradish jam on the Yenneys’ first Mount Carroll Farmers Market table has turned into two tents of all sorts of jams and desserts at the market, as well as a creative kitchen on historic brick-paved Market Street, and a business with a name that’s proof positive that opposites attract, and they attract customers.

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CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM

ily has used for generations, to better capture flavor and give their food a richer, deeper taste. While some might just take a can of mushroom soup and throw it on a tater tot casserole, the Yenneys make their own beef cream sauce to compliment the comfort food.

“We don’t cheat with opening cans and boxes; everything that we can possibly do is made from scratch and is as locally sourced as we can,” Travis said. “Some of the places, it seems like these days, think it’s all about the speed, but you’re losing some of the quality and you can tell it’s not ‘theirs.’

So our goal is to definitely bring it back to where I’m using methods that I learned from Mom, that she learned from my grandma. There’s just no better way to extract flavors than the old school ways that people are kind of getting away from.”

Among their more popular jams are jars you won’t find on your supermarket shelves, the kinds of flavors that set them apart. There’s the one that started it all, horseradish, along with sweet rhubarb, jalapeño, cucumber marmalade and a Carolina rhubarb that’s sure to heat things up.

SUCCESS cont’d from page 27 The Yenneys are the farmers, and the cooks, at Big Miniature Farms, where they turn out a wide variety of jams, cheesecakes, leafy greens and even biscuits and gravy, all using ingredients that travel from their farm to their kitchen, and ultimately to customers’ tables throughout northwest Illinois and beyond.

The Yenneys believe in quality over quantity, preferring handmade and homemade, using tried and true methods that Travis’ fam-

SUCCESS cont’d to page 29

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Travis attended culinary school as a young adult and learned how different kinds of jams can compliment various dishes. He was particularly fond of the horseradish jam that he would make to set off a roasted pork loin. A few years ago, Travis decided to make a batch of horseradish jam and sell it at the fledgling farmers market in town. At first, just a few jars sold, but it didn’t take long for word of mouth to spread, and the Yenneys soon added jalapeno jam and cucumber jam.

“It was something I had made a long time ago,” Travis said. “We decided to make some of those and take it to the farmers market.

We had a tiny little tent with one jam, and everyone enjoyed it, so I thought, ‘Let’s keep making this.’”

As the couple spent more time in the garden, Cami became interested in learning more ways to make it more productive. She learned about microgreens from an online farming group and became fascinated with them.

Microgreens are tiny sprouts of vegetables and herbs that are packed with health benefits and grow relatively quickly — anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks. Though they take less time to grow, they require more attention than conventional greens. They need to be checked on throughout the day, a task the couple stays on top of, and when they’re out of town, they enlist friends and family to keep an eye on them.

PHOTOS: CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM

SUCCESS cont’d from page 28

SUCCESS cont’d to page 30 There’s more than just microgreens and a menu of handmade goods to the Yenneys’ farm. It’s also home to a Jersey cow, donkeys and chickens. Someday, the couple would like to open a petting zoo on their farm. “City folks could bring their kids to pet some donkeys and maybe learn a little something,” Travis said.

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SUCCESS cont’d from page 29

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM

It all started with a jam ... The Yenneys’ business started with a few jars of jam and a farmers market, and has continued to grow from there, along with their selection of jams.

While they may be small in size, they’re big on nutrients. Microgreens are high in fiber, are packed with beta-carotene and lutein for better vision and immunity, and are good sources of potassium, iron, zinc, magnesium, copper and vitamins C, E and K. It didn’t take long for Cami to realize how beneficial microgreens can be for people, and they soon found a place alongside their jams at the farmers market table.

“I started looking into them and thought: They are so interesting,” she said. “I didn’t know anyone around here that grew them and I had never heard of them before. I just got a trial thing and started growing them. It took a lot a time of effort.”

Don’t like broccoli? You might like a broccoli microgreen: One ounce of a broccoli microgreen is the equivalent to one pound of the fully grown version as far as nutrients are concerned, Cami said. It’s facts like that that Cami enjoys sharing at the market, and she’s come to know many repeat customers who not only come back for more but also introduce their friends to microgreens.

“We’re able to educate people in town about them, and they love them,” Cami said. “We really can’t keep them around.”

SUCCESS cont’d to page 31

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SUCCESS cont’d from page 30 Getting kids to eat their vegetables is easier with microgreens as well.

“It’s great if you want better nutrition for kids, you can hide those in things such as sandwiches and smoothies, and you can put them in salads, too,” Travis said. “The health benefits are great, they’re delicious and they taste great. A lot of people who buy them are focused on the nutritional value.”

The Yenneys put more on their plate, and customers’ plates, — when they opened their downtown kitchen in November 2020. The additional space led to more food offerings, including full-size and mini cheesecakes and parfaits.

The crusts used for the cheesecakes are more of a cookie texture than a typical graham cracker style, and the eggs come from the Yenneys’ chickens, which are fed microgreens, making for healthier chickens that produce better eggs.

While a rich and creamy cheesecake may be a guilty pleasure, the Yenneys can you make you feel a little less guilty about enjoying it. “We use better ingredients, and real ingredients such as organic cane sugar and our own eggs,” Travis said.

“While we’re not providing health food [in that instance], we’re sourcing better ingredients for our foods.”

Their biscuits and gravy are big sellers, too. They fly off of the farmers market table after only a couple of hours — “If you don’t get there early, it’s gone,” Travis said. The gravy is gluten-free, but it wasn’t like that when the Yenneys began selling it. The change eventually was made with no fanfare, and no one really noticed.

SUCCESS cont’d to page 32

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SUCCESS cont’d from page 31

WM CODY CUT TER/CCUTTER@SHA

From salads to soups to desserts in a jar, to a customer favorite, biscuits and gravy, the Yenneys source as many ingredients as they can from local vendors. “We don’t cheat with opening cans and boxes; everything that we can possibly do is made from scratch and is as locally sourced as we can,” Travis said.

Biscuits and gravy

FOOD PHOTOS: BIG MINIATURE FARM FACEBOOK PAGE

Blueberry chicken salad

Mini-cheesecakes

Parfait in a jar

Apple crisp, with homemade caramel and apples from Center Hill Orchard. in Mount Carroll.

“We were going to make an announcement that we were going to switch it over to glutenfree gravy, but we decided to just wait because it tasted the same and we wanted to see if anyone noticed,” Cami said. “No one noticed at all. Then we let everyone know that it was gluten-free.

Some people think that just because it’s gluten-free it may not taste the same, but it’s just some minor tweaks and changes.”

Big Miniature’s items can be purchased year-round on their website, and specials are occasionally announced on its Facebook page. Pickup is available at their downtown kitchen Wednesday evenings. In addition, Big Miniature Farms also is part of the Jo Daviess Local Foods online farmers market network of vendors from northwest Illinois; pickup of products from it and other vendors in the network is from 5 to 6 p.m. every Tuesday at their kitchen.

When Mount Carroll’s farmers market first began, the Yenneys were one of just a few vendors. Since then, the farmers market has grown, and the Yenneys’ business has grown right along with it. Today, the market is one of northwest Illinois’ largest, with about 30 vendors on most Saturdays, and nearly double that on holiday weekends.

When the market returns for the season in May, the Yenneys will be back, right where it all started.

The Yenneys saw 1,122 customers this year at their tables, Cami said, a big difference from their early days.

SUCCESS cont’d to page 33

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SUCCESS cont’d from page 32 “We used to get excited in the beginning when we would sell 12 jars,” Cami said. “We’ve tried to go to other farmers markets, but we did not miss a single Mount Carroll Farmers Market this year because our customer base is so loyal. Even if people don’t come to the market every week, we have a lot of people who come and get four or five of their favorite jams, or biscuits and gravy. It’s not worth it for us to go anywhere else because we do so well here.”

A patch of the Yenneys’ five-acre farm on Mill Street near Point Rock Park is dedicated to the assortments of vegetables used in their products, while the microgreens are grown under lights indoors. The farm also is home to a Jersey cow, appropriately named Jersey, and three donkeys: Lily, Hee-Haw and Wilbur. They envision their small farm being a petting zoo one day, where kids can visit and get to know the animals; also among the Yenneys’ future plans: a pumpkin patch and you-pick vegetable offerings.

When it comes to the idea of a petting zoo, Travis was keeping residents of Lake Carroll in mind, especially those who have kids who may have never seen farm animals up close.

“I’ve done some work there in the past and I know that there are quite a few part-timers from the City who come in, and how many of those people have kids who haven’t seen these kinds of animals,” Travis said. “City folks could bring their kids to pet some donkeys and maybe learn a little something.”

Turning peoples’ tastebuds on to new flavors, and making it fun to teach them about their benefits — learning to enjoy and enjoying learning — it’s all part of the Yenneys’ growing business.

“There are people who come by that are genuinely grateful that we have all of this, and it feels real good to offer something where people will say, ‘I’m so glad you have this because I once had this gluten-free and it tasted bad,’” Travis said. “When they’re genuinely grateful that it’s there, tastes good, and know that we put the time into it to make sure that it was good; that’s very valuable.” n Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

Big Miniature Farms offers its foods online year-round at bigminiaturefarms.com, and sets up at the Mount Carroll Farmers Market from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays from May through October.

Orders are available for pickup at its kitchen, 120 West Market St. in Mount Carroll, from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Find it on Facebook, go to the website or email bigminiaturefarms@ yahoo.com for more information.

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By JEANNINE OTTO | Shaw Media Agrinews CHICAGO — Brian Duncan took a minute before he stepped to the podium.

His title was just a few hours old when he was introduced to media as “the president of Illinois Farm Bureau, Brian Duncan.”

“Wow, it’s going to take a little time for me to get used to the way that sounds, ‘president of Illinois Farm Bureau,’” he said.

The new leader of the state’s largest farmer member organization was elected Dec. 4 by delegates at the IFB’s annual meeting in Chicago.

Previosuly, Duncan had served for six years as vice president under retiring president Richard Guebert Jr. “I had to keep pinching myself. It’s been an incredible six-year run and now to be selected as the next president of Illinois Farm Bureau.

This organization stands on the shoulders of giants, men and women who have come before and plotted a course for this organization,” Duncan said.

DUNCAN cont’d to page 36

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DUNCAN cont’d from page 35 “I look forward to navigating and charting that course, along with our members, county Farm Bureaus, and board of directors.”

Duncan is a grain and hog farmer near Polo. He served as president of Ogle County Farm Bureau from 2004-17. He and his wife, Kelly, operate a wean-to-finish pork operation and raise corn, soybeans and wheat. They also have a custom cattle feeding operation. They are the parents of Levi, Sarah and Emma, who all are involved with the farm operation, and Molly, who is employed by The Nature Conservancy at Nachusa Grasslands in Franklin Grove.

Duncan said he is ready to get to work on policy issues and other projects at IFB, including the Organizational Member Strategy.

“We will be continuing to work hard on charting the course for the direction of the organization, as we work to really determine and lean into what our members want and expect,” he said.

Duncan said his priorities as president include focusing on issues of concern for grain and livestock farmers.

“For me — again, I’m still a hog farmer — regulatory concerns surrounding Prop. 12, trying to craft a solution there still, if one’s available. Working with AFBF to do that,” he said, adding that he’ll also be keeping an eye on trade and farm income with the American Farm Bureau Federation.

“I am always, always going to have a close eye on farm income. I feel very passionate about making sure there is market access for individuals and that the markets we navigate as producers or sellers are fair and competitive,” he said.

Duncan expressed the need to get a farm bill done sooner

rather than later: “We’ve got an extension, but we need to get to work on a farm bill,” he said.

Duncan said he is interested in the work being done on the Organizational Member Strategy and wants to explore how the Farm Bureau can add specific value for its members.

“That is going to be one of the questions I want to try to pick apart and see what we can do for them that situates them uniquely in their business model because they are a Farm Bureau member,” he said.

“Farm Bureau does a lot of things that I would call — I’m a Presbyterian Sunday School teacher — I would compare it to common grace. We do legislative work. It benefits all of agriculture, whether they are members or not, like everybody benefits when the sun shines and the rain falls.

“I think if we could do more specific, strategic grace for our members, that would encourage and drive membership and place them in a position to be successful.”

Philip Nelson, who held the office of president for 10 years prior to Guebert’s tenure, was also nominated for president by delegates but Duncan dismissed any suggestion that Nelson’s nomination signaled a rift within the IFB membership or delegate body.

“It was his right to do it. That is our process. At the end of the day, we worked through our process and the delegates chose the next president and I am honored to be that president,” he said.

“I set about the work of the organization and I work for every member, period. That is how I view that.” n

Jeannine Otto can be reached at jotto@shawmedia.com

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Shaw Local News Network

A Princeton grain farmer has been elected vice president of the Illinois Farm Bureau.

Evan Hultine joins new IFB President Brian Duncan at the helm of the organization.

“Just as our crops flourish with proper care, so does an organization thrive when it nurtures and invests in its members,” Hultine said during his candidate speech to the delegate body.

“Whether you know it or not, you’ve been investing in me for many years now.

“Now you’re cashing in on your investment in me to see the policies, the values and the vision that resonate with each of you and to create the Illinois Farm Bureau that you want to be a partner with. It is an incredible privilege to work alongside the team we have at IFB.” Four new members also were elected to two-year terms on the IFB board of directors: LuAnn Matejcak of Will County, Rick Edwards III of Adams County, Paul Beisiegel of St. Clair

County and John Howard of Jefferson County.

The IFB’s 329 voting delegates elected the new leaders during the organization’s annual meeting in Chicago, Dec. 2-4.

The IFB is a nonprofit, membership organization directed by farmers who join through their county farm bureau.

Hultine had served as Bureau County Farm Bureau president since 2017. He previously served as Bureau County Farm Bureau Young Leader chair, an IFB Young Leader Committee member from 2013-16, IFB Young Leader chair from 2016-17, and American Farm Bureau Federation Issues Advisory Committee member from 2017-21.

He is a recipient of the 2022 IFB Young Leader Achievement Award. In 2023, he placed third in the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award competition. He holds a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from the University of Illinois.

Hultine is a sixth-generation farmer in Princeton, where he grows corn, soybeans and seed corn. n

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