A passion n for excellence: : White e Hall couple e meeting g daily dairy y demands
Dawson/Journal-Courier
In addition to holding full-time jobs, Scot and Jennifer Robertson operate DoeEyed Dairy and Farm on the southern edge of White Hall. Here, they check on one of their cows, who they consider to be pets.
4...Young farmers wait in the wings
6...Drowning tomatoes in the name of science
8...Hunting up a good meal
9...USDA launches online debt consolidation tool
13...Low river a problem for farmers
14...Climate threats raise concern over delta's future
16...Farm to fork: The seasonal produce dilemma
A passion for excellence
White Hall couple meeting daily dairy demands
By Dave Dawson ASSISTANT EDITOR
WHITEHALL—There may be precious little free time, but there is plenty of satisfaction for Scot and Jennifer Robertson as they live their dream of operating their own dairy farm.
The couple has been producing and bottling milkfromtheirsmalloperation, DoeEyed Dairy and Farm,onthesouthernoutskirts of White Hall for almost a year.
“What started out as a hobby has become a second job,” Jennifer Robert-
son said.
Both have day jobs to go along with their farm duties. Jennifer works for the state of Illinois, while Scot manages a feed mill near Chapin.
There was never a question about whether they would get the dairy off the ground.
“Wegotonecow.Thenit became two cows, then three, then four cows,” Scot said. “Now we have seven cows, but we are milking only five because two are dry. But this is a seven-day-a-week busi-
Dairy continues on A3
Jennifer Robertson shows some of the finished product from DoeEyed Dairy and Farm on the southern edge of White Hall. They process and bottle about 40 gallons of milk every day in 15-gallon batches. Aside from caring for the cows and processing the milk, they also are the distributors who make it available for purchase around west-central Illinois.
Dave Dawson/Journal-Courier
Dave
DAIRY
From page A2
ness.Wehavetofeedthem andmilkeveryday,though we only process every other day.”
Neither is complaining because they love what they do, which is processingandbottlingthe40gallons of milk the cows produce each day in 15-gallon batches and making it available for purchase around west-central Illinois.
Scot spends about three hours a day tending the cows. Jennifer does the processing, which takes fromsixtoeighthours,depending on the number of batches, with each batch taking four hours from cow to bottle.
They also view their small herd as pets rather than farm animals. Each
has a name, and each seems to crave attention when someone, even a stranger, approaches their pens.
“We raise them like pets sincewe’vehadthemsince theywerebabies,”Jennifer Robertson said. “They are playfulandalwayslooking for scratches. I always say they are more like dogs wearing cow suits.”
They also can be mischievous like dogs, she said. If the water is not running into a trough, odds are one of the cows has managed to get ahold of the hose and chew it off. But that only makes them morelovabletotheRobertsons.
Demand is large Jenny Sauer-Schmidgall, who owns Grab ‘N’ GrowGreenhouseinRiggston, was DoeEyed Dairy’s first customer.
“Scot works where I get feed for my fat cattle,” Sauer-Schmidgall said. “We had been discussing this in the spring of last year and it didn’t come to fruition until October. It was hard because I had to keep it quiet about it.
“What is special about their milk is it is not homogenized. I tell my customers it is as close to raw milkasyoucanlegallyget. They restock almost every singleday.It’sniceforus— unfortunately for them, they don’t have 50 employees to help them out. Even though they have expanded, it is getting harder for them to keep up with the demand. People like their milk and want more.”
Distance is no issue.
“We have one family that comes from an hour away because it is the only milk that doesn’t make
Dairy continues on A18
In addition to holding full-time jobs, Scot and Jennifer Robertson operate DoeEyed Dairy and Farm on the southern edge of White
they check on one of their heifers, Reba, who they hope will be the third generation to provide milk for their dairy. They process and bottle about 40 gallons of milk every day in 15-gallon batches and make it available for purchase around west-central Illinois.
Dave Dawson/Journal-Courier
Hall. Here,
Young farmers wait in the wings as ag population ages
By Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree REPORTER
It can be difficult for children growing up on a farmtoestablishevenlimited influence over family farming decisions as they age.
In large part because an older generation remains active and making any final decisions.
But a changing of the guard is inevitable — and soon — as the average age of American farmers is 58 years old, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
For Rudy Pate of Murrayville, stepping into the role of farmer after graduating from Illinois College was a bit easier because his father didn’t simply takePateonasanemployee of the family farm.
“My father encouraged me to have some skin in thegame,somerisk,”Pate said. “I started off by purchasing some calves, feeding them, raising them, then reselling them. Instead of paying me hourly to work, I rented some land from him and made my own way.”
Now 31, Pate has helped expandthelandheandhis family work from about 1,000 acres to about 2,700 acres. They also have tripled the number of cattle they raise.
By working with retir-
ing farmers to rent land, networking with other farmers to learn about new practices, getting tips on new equipment, and with some help from his father, Pate has been able to earn his own way, he said.
Pate makes the decisionsontheacresherents fromhisfatherandhasexpanded his acreage by renting from other landowners. He shares equipment with his dad, but decisions about his land are his to make.
“It was a blessing and it all fell into place,” Pate said. “That’s not the case foreveryfarmerandoperation.”
Many young farmers find themselves returning to their family farms to work under a parent or grandparent.
Joseph Ratliff, president of Cass-Morgan Farm Bureau’s Young Leaders program, said many family operations have two or three generations working together on afarm.
Because the family is working together, the primary producer on the farm often is in their 50s or older, Ratliff said.
“We do see a lot of the older generations making the choices for their farms, but I think there are a lot of young people waiting to take over,” Ratliff said.
The average age of producers is showing a decline, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
About 290,000 farmers were under the age of 35, 1.9 million were between 35 and 64, and 1.15 million were65orolder,according to numbers from the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
By the 2022 Census of Agriculture, the number
of farmers in the 35 to 64 age range declined by 9% to 1.78 million, while the number of farmers under 35 increased slightly, to about 300,000, and those over the age of 65 increased to1.29 million.
Organizations such as Young Leaders, operating through county Farm Bureaus, are helping younger people find their way
Young continues on A5
Photos by Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree/Journal-Courier
Joseph Ratliff, president of Cass-Morgan Farm Bureau Young Leaders, works in the ag industry with Bartlett grain in South Jacksonville.
Rudy Pate of Murrayville stands in one of his soybean fields near Murrayville.
YOUNG
From page A4
into the ag industry, whether it on the farm or in ag-related businesses.
“We provide tools, networking, opportunities for anyone between18 and 35whoisinterestedinag,” Ratliffsaid.“Somediscussions include how to find markets and opportunities in agriculture and in their family operations.”
Part of the reason older generations are staying longer is because of the technological advances in equipment, Ratliff said.
“The technology we are seeing in agriculture is making the job less laborious,soitallowsfarmersto work later in life,” he said. “Modern tractors can be pleasant places to work.”
Eric Schneit, leader of Greene County Farm Bureau Young Leaders, said many farms are overseen andrunbyanoldergeneration. He doesn’t believe it’s a cause for concern.
“I don’t think the problemisfindingyoungfarm-
ers,” Schneit said. “I think there are plenty of guys who want to come back to the farm. I think a lot of it is that the older generation isn’t ready to let go of the reins. In many cases, the dad might be 70, the son 40 and the dad is just now slowing down.”
Macy Wellhausen, manager for Jersey and Greene County Farm Bureau, said family farming, especially, contains a lot of tradition and pride.
With increased technology and new processes, the younger generation is getting more opportunitiestoprovethemselvesas they adapt their farm operations, she said.
“I think with the new technology available there is an opportunity for young people to really contribute,” Wellhausen said. “I do think the population will eventually get younger.”
While the farming population has tended to be older, Schneit doesn’t believe it will lead to a shortage of farmers, he said.
“My whole life I’ve
heard the population in ag is getting older,” Schneit said. “It’s always been a thing. But farms are only getting bigger.”
Ratliff agrees the push foryoungergenerationsto join the family operation could lead to an increase in operation size as fami-
U.S. Rep. Bost learns about soybean industry during West Union farm visit
By Ben Singson REPORTER
WEST UNION — A U.S. Congressman stopped by an Illinois farmaspartofaneffortto learn more about the state’s soybean industry.
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, RIllinois, visited Rainbow Acres Farm guided by Brad Daugherty, owner andoperatorthefarmand vice president of the IllinoisSoybeanAssociation.
The visit included a tour of the farm led by
Daugherty, followed by a discussion by representatives of the association about the issues that matterforsoybeanfarmersin Illinois and how they could receive the necessaryresourcestocompete in the modern economy. The visit was part of Illinois Soybean Association’seffortstocollaborate with federal legislators, soybean industry leaders and the agricultural communitytoproduceanideal farming environment for the state’s soybean farmers.
“Tours like the one at Rainbow Acres helps better equip me to fight for a farm bill in Congress that provides the support needed to grow our farmingoperations,”Bostsaid. “With Illinois being the top soybean producing state in the country, I know there are stories similartoBrad’sallacross our state.I appreciated all inputwereceivedfromIllinois Soybean Association representatives on hand today.”
lies take on more acres or livestock operations to support more family members. “Ithinktherearealotof young people on the farm or in ag who are willing to take over the acreage,” Ratliff said.
Rudy Pate inspects the soybeans in his field during harvesting.
Drowning tomatoes — all in the name of science
By Diana Yates UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS NEWS
IcanbarelyhearEsther Ngumbi over the roar of greenhouse fans as she shows me around her rooftoplaboratoryinMorrill Hall. The benches are full of tomato plants, and the tomatoes don’t look good.Halfoftheplantsare submerged in bins of water.Theirleavesareyellow andwithering.Someofthe dying tomatoes have flowered.Iseeoneortwobaby tomatoes on a couple of spindly plants.
This isn’t the only torture inflicted on the tomatoes. Someone has tied little baggies to their stems. Inside the bags, fat green caterpillars are chowing down on the tomato leaves.
UniversityofIllinoisentomology professor Ngumbi has questions — lots of them — and this is howshe’ssetouttoanswer some of them. She is purposely flooding the tomatoestoseehowtheymight respond to flooded conditionsinfarmers’fields—a scenario that is becoming more common as a result
of climate change.
“In nature, there are many stressors on plants during flooding,” Ngumbi says. “Once the tomatoes get flooded, they’re already weak, so most likely they will be attracting insects, which like to eat weaker plants. We’re investigating how the plants deal with the combined stress of flooding and herbivory.”
This explains the caterpillars.Theyarethelarval form of Manduca sexta, the tobacco hornworm. Theyarefeastingononeof the two heirloom tomato varieties Ngumbi is using in the experiment: Cherokee purple and striped German.
Half of the tomato plants in the greenhouse are not flooded, allowing the team to compare the stressed plants with those grown in more common conditions. But there are more investigations going on here.
“Also,withinthisexperiment,we’relookingatthe microbes,” Ngumbi says. “We want to understand how the microbial communitychangesinflooded conditions.”
into how soil microbes contribute to plant
investigating how inoculations of soil
influence tomato growth, drought tolerance and resistance to insects. Ngumbi also founded organizations that empower farmers and youth in Kenya, as well as serving on the Clinton Global University Initiative and President Obama’s Young Leadership Program.
Ngumbi holds a sample of soil in her cupped hands.
One of Ngumbi’s key focuses is how soil microbes influence plant health and productivity. She’s fascinated by mycorrhizal fungi,whichformintimateassociations with plant roots,offeringessentialelementslikenitrogentothe plantsinexchangeforglucosesuppliedbytheroots.
The tomato plants are all growing in soil from an Illinoisfarm,buthalfwere also inoculated with mulch from a local farmer who has developed his own recipe for nurturing
mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. Ngumbi wants to see if this inoculation makes any difference to the plants’ ability to defend themselves from the fat caterpillars.
To measure plant defenses,Ngumbi’steamcollects samples of gases emitted by the plants and screens them for volatile organic compounds, the chemicals plants use to ward off bugs that would eat them.
Two years later, Ngumbi publishes the results of theseandotherlaboratory experiments. She found thatthetwotomatovariet-
iesdifferedingeneexpression and in the volatile compounds they emitted beforeanyintervention. And when flooded, both varieties of tomatoes had very different chemical emission profiles than when grown in normal conditions. Herbivory influencedtheproductionof these volatile compounds, but not as much as flooding did.
Today, the experiments continue,andNgumbi’sinterest in the effects of flooding has only intensified. In a new review published in the journal
Fred Zwicky/University of Illinois
Professor Esther Ngumbi works on plantings in the Turner Hall Greenhouse as she continues her research
health. Ngumbi is
microbes
TOMATOES
From page A6
Trends in Plant Research, she spells out the many changes that occur when plants are inundated with water for days or weeks at a time.
“Flooding is different fromotherclimate-related stressors because it deprivesplantsofoxygen,an essential and indispensable element and substrate for plant growth anddevelopment,”Ngumbi writes. Flooding disrupts plant metabolism and energy generation. It interferes with photosynthesis. Flooding kills beneficial bacteria and promotes pathogenic microbes in the soil. It also can compromise plants’ ability to defend themselves from disease and
harmful insects like the tobacco hornworm.
Ngumbialsowarnsthat increasedfloodingcanundermine decades of research aimed at making plants more resilient to climate change. Flooding may thwart efforts to build soil quality and microbial health to make crops more resilient to stressors such as heat and drought. Flooding also may eliminate gains derived from genetic engineering or plant breeding. With flooding intensity and frequency predicted to increase by roughly 7% for every 1 degree Celcius increase in global average temperatures, Ngumbi writes, scientists must consider the impacts of floodsto“protectthemonumental gains made in building climate-resilient crops.”
Tour looks at importance of soybeans
By Ben Singson REPORTER
A visit to a Chicago tofu shop highlighted the important role that soybean farming plays for Illinois.
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois, took a trip to Phoenix Bean Tofu Plant for a discussion on the state’s soybean farming industry. Schakowsky was accompanied by Jenny Yang, owner and president of Phoenix Bean, and representatives of the Illinois Soybean Association. Phoenix Bean has been
using Illinois-grown soybeans to make tofu and other soy products since 1981.
The discussion touched on Illinois’ soybean farming industry and its importance to both the agriculture and food processing sectors, as well as how soybeans reduce the carbon footprint of the food life cycle while maximizing its economic impact.
“Ihadafantasticvisitto the Phoenix Bean Tofu Plant,andIcommendJenny Yang for her tremendous work and leader-
Illinois Soybean Association/Provided
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (middle) takes a trip to visit Phoenix Bean Tofu Plant in Chicago for a discussion on the soybean farming industry's importance to the state.
ship,” Schakowsky said. “Illinois is a leading exporter of soybeans, and I willcontinuetodoallIcan to support our farmers and food producers.”
Entomology professor Esther Ngumbi studies how two varieties of tomato plants and tobacco hornworm larvae respond to flooding. The hornworm caterpillars are enclosed in plastic bags affixed to the tomato plants.
Photos by Fred Zwicky/University of Illinois
A view inside the greenhouse, with some flooded tomato plants with their leaves turning yellow.
Hunting up a good meal
Program that pairs hunters with landowners also connects food pantries with meat
By Angela Bauer
LIFESTYLES EDITOR
A program that connects deer hunters with owners of property where deer can be hunted is entering its 19th season of helping stock food banks in four west-central Illinois counties.
“We saw this resource, saw this need, and thought it was a perfect combination,” said Brenda Middendorf, executive director of the Two Rivers Resource Conservation and Development Area board.
Two Rivers is a 501(c)) (3) nonprofit organization that works to boost rural economies in Adams, Brown,Calhoun,Pikeand Schuyler counties by improving and conserving
local natural resources, according to its website at 2riversrcd.org.
Access Illinois Outdoors began in 1994 as a waytomatchIllinoislandowners with visitors interested in pursuing a range of outdoor activities,fromhiking,camping and bird watching to trail riding, photography, fishingandhunting.Thatprogram has more than 600 landowners with more than 250,000 acres of land in 54 Illinois counties and attracts visitors from acrossNorthAmericaand internationally.
“It’skindoflikeadating service,” Middendorf said of the program’s matchmaking.
But even the best of relationships can encounter problems.
“We started seeing a lot of interest in non-residents coming here to hunt deer,” she said. “But the people coming are more concerned with racks. It’s almost a burden to figure out how to get the meat home.”
Enter Access Food, which encourages hunters to donate unwanted deer meat to food pantries in Pike, Brown, Schuyler and Scott counties.
“We thought if we removed any barriers — which was the processing cost — that would enable food pantries to offer proteins,” Middendorf said.
“Theydon’tgetproteinordinarily.”
In 2023, Access Food handled roughly 30 tons of meat — approximately 120,000 meals worth —
across the four counties, Middendorf said.
Items such as chili seasoning packets and instructions on how to safely cook deer meat became popular items at the pantries, she said.
“It’s a very needed program right now,” she said. “Even though unemploymentnumbersaren’thigh, there are a lot of people still working minimumwage jobs that can’t afford meat in the store.”
But going without can be debilitating, she said.
“Children under 5 suffer long-term effects if they don’t have protein,” Middendorf said. “Seniors have limited income and, with medicine prices increasing along with food prices, they’re more likely to cut back on meat (than medicine). Those are two very vulnerable populations that need this protein.”
Hunters interested in donating to the program can bring legally obtained and tagged deer to a participatingmeatlocker.The locker processes the meat —atnochargetothehunter — and Access Food then distributes it to participating pantries
Meat locker options include Hilltop Custom Meats in Pittsfield, Houser Meats in Rushville, Farmhouse Meat Co. in Carthage and Dawning
Day Deer Processing in Clayton.
The program isn’t only open to visiting hunters needing a way to lighten their luggage on the trip home.
“Wealsohavealotoflocals who just want to do a good thing,” Middendorf said. “Their freezer’s full but they still enjoy hunting and helping out.”
The program gets a good deal on processing costs and benefits from grants but still finds processing 30,000 pounds of deer meat to be a tad pricey.
“We’re looking at around$65,000to$70,000 for processing,” Middendorfsaid.“Butwe’regoing to get a lot more meat” — for under $2 a pound — than that money would buy at a grocery store.
Those wanting to donate deer meat during the upcoming deer hunting seasons should contact a participating meat locker. Those wanting to donate money to help offset the price of processing can do sobycontactingAccessIllinois Outdoors’ Pittsfield office at 217-285-2464.
Extreme Photographer/Getty Images
A program that connects deer hunters with owners of property where deer can be hunted is entering its 19th season of helping stock food banks in four west-central Illinois counties.
USDA launches online debt consolidation tool
BY TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
TheU.S.Departmentof Agriculture is announcing the launch of the Debt Consolidation Tool, available through farmers.gov that allows agricultural producers to enter their farm operating debt and evaluatethepotentialsavings that might be provided by obtaining a debt consolidation loan with USDA’s Farm Service Agency or a local lender.
“Providing producers with options to structure theirdebtinamannerthat affordsthemeveryopportunity to meet the goals of their agricultural operation is the best way to ensure the nation’s farmers and ranchers build financialequityandresilience,”
FSA administrator Zach
Ducheneaux said.
A debt consolidation loan is a new loan used to pay off other existing operating loans or lines of credit that might have unreasonable rates and terms.Bycombiningmultiple eligible debts into a single, larger loan, borrowers may obtain more favorable payment terms such as a lower interest rate or lower payments. Consolidating debt may also provide farmers and ranchers additional cash flow flexibilities.
TheDebtConsolidation Tool is a significant addition to FSA’s suite of improvements designed to modernize its Farm Loan Programs. The tool enhances customer service and increases opportuni-
ties for farmers and ranchers to achieve financial viability by helping them identify potential savingsthatcouldbereinvested in their farming and ranching operation, retirement accounts, or college savings accounts.
FSA recently announced significant changes to Farm Loan Programs through the Enhancing Program Access and Delivery for Farm Loans rule. These policy changes, which tookeffectSept.25,aredesignedtobetterassistborrowers to make strategic investments in the enhancement or expansion of their agricultural operations.
FSA also has a significant initiative under way
to streamline and automate the Farm Loan Program customer-facing business process. For the over 26,000 producers who submit a direct loan application annually, FSA has made several impactful improvements including:
• The Loan Assistance Tool that provides customerswithaninteractive online, step-by-step guide to identifying the direct loanproductsthatmaybe a fit for their business needs and to understanding the application process.
• The Online Loan Application, an interactive, guided application that is paperless and provides helpful features including an electronic signature
option,theabilitytoattach supporting documents such as tax returns, complete a balance sheet, and build a farm operating plan.
• An online direct loan repaymentfeaturethatrelieves borrowers from the necessity of calling, mail-
ing, or visiting a local USDA Service Center to pay a loan installment.
• A simplified direct loanpaperapplication,reduced from 29 pages to 13 pages.
• A new educational hub with farm loan resources and videos.
‘Land Rich Cash Poor’ looks at future of family farms
By Jeff Rowe ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brian Reisinger’s “Land Rich Cash Poor” emerges as an anthem to the family farm in America, romanticized despite the never-ending work even in good times, which have been sparse in the last century.
The book follows a procession of efforts by other authors laboring to explain America’s farm troubles but few are as lyrically written or as deeply and personally detailed.
Reisinger was destined to become a fourth-generation farmer until he went off to college and decided his calling lay beyond the cows and fields of his family’s Wisconsin farm.
Increasingly since the first machines started to revolutionize agriculture, farmers have been driven to expand or
sell, find niche products for their output, get second jobs in town or diversify their farm.
An Irvine, California, farmer, forexample,builtaneventcenter on his property and now hosts weddings and other gatherings. Absent the diversified income, the farmer would have been land rich but cash poor.
Thebookiswellsourcedand bogs down only in the early going when Reisinger laments the loss of “our way of life” at least five times.
But that’s a small nick on an otherwise polished takeout on what ails American farming outside the view of most consumers who only see the end result of farmers’ toil: Full grocery shelves. And despite the inflationary pressures in recent years, the book notes that Americans generally paid just
10% of their income for food in 2020, down from 40% in 1910.
The book also links the demise of the family farm in America with the rural-urban rift in America; small towns that supported groups of family farms often have shrunken asland-richfarmerssoldoutto escape becoming cash poor.
Here are some of the steps Reisinger prescribes to pull Americanfarmingoutofitscycle of perpetual crises.
• Startaresearchanddevelopment revolution
• Remake government policy around competition
• Reorganize farms around new market opportunities
• Revitalize rural communities
Reisinger is disciplined in veering into any political discussion of agriculture but politics clearly has been damaging
totheAmericanfarmer.Forexample, the Nixon administration’s negotiation that opened the Soviet Union to American grain sales turned into another punishment for farmers when President Jimmy Carter embargoed sales to the Soviet UnionaftertheSovietsinvaded Afghanistan.
Less compelling is Reisinger’s argument that the loss of family farms is destroying our capacity to feed ourselves; modern American corporate agriculture lacks the image of the happy family farm but bigcompany farms clearly produce food in great quantities.
Still, the farm challenges that Reisinger chronicles remainseriousandworthyofour elected officials’ attention.
Don’t expect much though this coming election, given the volume of other issues we face.
Skyhorse Publishing "Land Rich Cash Poor: My Family's Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer" by Brian Reisinger.
Conservation program funding opens
By Ben Singson REPORTER
The USDA is opening up funding for landowners and other entities preserve the country’s natural resources.
Thedepartmenthasannounced new funding for the Agricultural ConservationEasementProgram for the 2025 fiscal year. The program helps entities conserve natural resources like wetlands, agricultural land and grasslands at risk of being converted into something else.
This coming fiscal year, theprogramhas$500millioninInflationReduction Act funding to give to those who qualify.
Thedepartment’sNatural Resources ConservationServiceacceptsapplications for agricultural land easements and wetland reserve easements year-round. However, the service is encouraging those interested in securing an easement to apply by either Oct. 4 or Dec. 20 to be considered for stateled funding cycles.
For agricultural land easements, the Natural Resources Conservation Service is prioritizing the security of grasslands at high risk of conversion and agricultural land under threat of conversion, as well as state-specific goals such as rice cultivation and subsidizing organic soils.
For wetland reserve easements, the service is prioritizing land with high-carbonsoil,landthat will be restored to and managed as forests and existing forests that will be managed as such, as well as geographically specific goals.
Low river a problem for farmers moving beans and grain
By Jim Salter ASSOCIATED PRESS
The water level of the Mississippi River has been unusually low for the third straight year, forcing barge companies to put limits on how muchcargotheycancarry and cutting into farm profits.
Itwasjusttwomonths agothatmuchoftheMississippi River was above flood stage north of St. Louis.Afterthen,theriver level dropped steadily. The area south of St. Louis was hit especially hard, mirroring low-water concerns that began around this same time of year in both 2022 and 2023.
As part of the fallout, barge companies are forced to limit the soybeans, grain and other cargo they carry to prevent barges from potentially getting stuck. That
means less profit for farmers.
About 60% of U.S. grain exports are taken by barge down the Mississippi to New Orleans, where the corn, soybeans and wheat is stored and ultimately transferred for shipment to other countries. It’s an efficientwaytotransport crops — a typical group of 15 barges lashed together carries as much cargo as about 1,000 trucks.
With cargoes limited, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent Grain Transportation Report showed that fortheweekendingAug. 31, 480,750 tons of grain movedonbarges—a17% drop from the previous week.
Meanwhile,costswere up sharply. Freight rates originating in St. Louis were 8% higher than the same period last year
and up 57% compared to the three-year average. Freight rates originating in Memphis were 10% higherthanlastyear,and 63% higher than the three-year average.
Consumers won’t necessarily feel much impact, but farmers will, saidMikeSteenhoek,executivedirectoroftheIowa-based Soy Transportation Coalition.
“When you’ve got a transportation cost increase in any industry thequestionis,‘DoIpass those costs onto the customer in the form of a higher price?’” Steenhoek said.
But farmers usually don’thavethatoptionbecause their product that moves on barges is being sold internationally. If American soybean prices rise, the foreign buyer can purchase from another country, Steenhoek said.
It was just July when the Mississippi River reached major flood levelsinplaceslikeIowa,Illinois and Wisconsin, forcing some people to get around by boat.
All that water flowing down from the upper Mississippi River was offset by drought in states along the Ohio River, which feeds into the Mississippi at Cairo in Illinois. Rainfall in places like Ohio and West Virginia was minimalthroughoutthesummer, worsening in August.
“Thatdroughtisgrowing,” Michael Clay, chief of the Hydraulics and Hydrology Branch of the Corps of Engineers’ of-
ficeinMemphis,Tennessee, said at a news conference Wednesday. As a result, the Mississippi River south of Cairo is just a few feet higher than the record low levels reached in several places last year — and dropping.
Donny Davidson Jr., a deputy engineer for the Memphis District of the Corps, said dredging operationsarebeingmoved around on a frequent basis as worrisome spots pop up.
“Over the last few years, we’ve really got very good at looking ahead and applying those resources in a very strategic manner,” Davidson said.
Jeff Roberson/AP Barges float in the Mississippi River as a portion of the riverbed is exposed in St. Louis.
Climate threats raise concern over Mississippi River delta’s future
By Cassandra Stephenson, Illan Ireland and Phillip Powell
A smorgasbord of bright red tomatoes and vibrantvegetableslinethe walls of Michael Katrutsa’s produce shop in rural Camden, Tennessee. What began a decade ago asaroadsidefarmstandis now an air-conditioned outbuilding packed with cratesofwatermelon,cantaloupe and his locally renowned sweet corn — all picked fresh by a handful of local employees each morning.
The roughly 20-acre farm west of the Tennessee River sells about half of its produce through his shop, with the rest going to the wholesale market.
Farms like Katrutsa’s make up just a sliver of roughly 10.7 million acres of Tennessee farmland largely dominated by hay, soybeans, corn and cot-
ton. Specialized machines help farmers harvest vast quantities of these commodity “row crops,” but Katrutsa said the startup costwastoosteepforhim. While specialty crops like produce are more laborintensive, requiring nearconstant attention from earlyJulyupuntilthefirst frost in October, Katrutsa saidhetakesprideinfeeding his neighbors.
The World Wildlife Fund sees farms in the mid-Mississippi delta as ripe with opportunity to become a new mecca for commercial-scale American produce. California grows nearly three-quarters of the nation’s fruits and nuts and more than a third of its vegetables. But as climate change compounds the threats of water scarcity, extreme weather and wildfires on California’s resources, WWF’s Markets Institute isexploringwhatitwould take for farmers in West Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas to embrace
and equitably profit from—specialtycropproduction like strawberries, lettuce or walnuts.
Specialty crops make up only 0.19% of the region’s farm acreage, but their higher sale value allows them to generate 1.08% of the region’s agriculture revenue, accordingtoWWF’sMayreport, called “The Next California,”spearheadedbyMarketsInstituteseniordirector Julia Kurnik. She arguesthatthere’sanopportunity to proactively create more inclusive, higher-yield business models on existing farms, preventing natural ecosystems from being unnecessarily transformed into farmland.
But shifting produce growth to the Mid-Delta comes with hurdles: it requires buyers willing to try new markets, understanding of new crops’ diseases and needs, specialized equipment like coldstorageandlotsofexpensive hands-on labor.
“It is not as simple as a farmer simply putting new crops in the ground,” Kurnik said.
Early adopters put idea to the test
Sixth-generation Arkansas farmer Hallie Shoffner is putting WWF’s models to the test throughanonprofitcalled the Delta Harvest Food Hub. The hub works with Blackandwomenfarmers to pilot the scalability of growingspecialtycropsin the Delta region, starting with specialty rice.
Shoffner grows basmati,jasmine,sushirice,sake riceseedsandmoreonher 2,000-acre, century-old farm located in an unincorporated town outside Newport, Arkansas. She’s skeptical about a full switch to produce, but sees specialty rice products as “low-hanging fruit”easilyadoptedinthe mid-Delta, where commodity rice is already widely grown.
The United States is the fifth-largest rice exporter in the world, and Arkansas is the country’s top
producer, with other MississippiRivervalleystates not far behind. But the majorityofspecialtyriceis growninCaliforniaorimported from East Asian countries.
“Weareforward-thinking farmers who want to change, who want to do something different,” Shoffnersaid.“Wewantto make more money, because we know we cannot make as much money as small farms in the current agricultural economy.”
The commodity farming that dominates Delta agriculturemakestheeconomic success of farmers largely dependent on the marketpricesofrice,corn, soybeans,wheatandother crops, Shoffner said. This incentivizesfarmstogrow larger to ensure they turn a profit even when prices are low, like they are now. But smaller farms struggle to stay afloat.
Shoffnersaidhervision for developing specialty crop markets in Arkansas will be through more collaboration between many smaller farms to diversify crop production and pro-
duceforlargecontractstogether. She’s also exploring possibilities for expanding chickpea, sunflower, sesame and pea production in Arkansas.
And while she’s at it, Shoffner is working to makeagriculturemoreequitable.
“As a white farmer who isasixthgenerationfarmer, I realize that I have inherited a large amount of land that systematically disenfranchised Black farmers,” Shoffner said.
“And it is my responsibility to acknowledge that, and leverage what I’ve beengiventohelpothers.”
Her project, Delta Harvest, has a contract to grow specialty rice with a large company and she’s working with several Black farmers. She was too small to do it by herself,sotheyaredoingitcooperatively.
Finding the right markets
In Mississippi, efforts to shift some of California’s sprawling specialty crop industry to the Mid-
John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout
Michael Katrutsa walks through rows of tomatoes on his 20-acre produce farm in Camden, Tennessee. His crops also include sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, peppers, cucumbers, okra and more.
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Delta drew skepticism from some farmers—even those with established specialty crop operations.
For the past 20 years, Don van de Werken has co-owned a 120-acre blueberryandteafarminPoplarville, Mississippi, distributingmuchofitscrops to buyers in his county and nearby cities.
Van de Werken questioned whether there would be enough regional demand to sustain a scaled-up specialty crop industry in Mississippi, noting that the success of his own enterprise hinges on targeting hyper-local marketslikeNewOrleans.
Shipping vegetables, fruits and other produce to buyers outside the Delta region would quickly become cost prohibitive for local farmers, van de Werken said.
“The problem we have, not just in Mississippi but the mid South in general, is we just don’t have the populationbase,”saidvan de Werken, who is also president of the Gulf South Blueberry Growers Association. “We don’t wantourblueberriestogo to Maine or Seattle. We wanttofocusourproduce in a regional market.”
To make growing specialty crops worthwhile, Mississippi farmers would need to identify nearby buyers willing to purchase the new products on a consistent basis, van de Werken said. While selling goods directly to retail grocery chains like Kroger is often difficult,farmerscouldreduce financial risks by signing purchasing agreements with regional brokers like Louisiana-based Capitol City Produce.
“Anybody that puts anything in the ground is already taking a risk, but
youwanttominimizethat risk,” he explained. “If you can prove to the brokers and the buyers that they can make money doing this, then the farming will come.”
TheWWFreportinvestigates ways to distribute risk across the supply chain to make selling to new markets easier on farmers, and works to connect buyers with MidDelta farmers.
AgLaunch, a Memphisbased nonprofit that guides farmers in innovation,estimatesthatadding specialtycropstotheMidDelta region could spur $4.6 billion in added revenue and 33,000 jobs. But while commodity crop prices are readily available on the Chicago Board of Trade, the specialty crop market is generally not so transparent. Large, vertically integrated companiesusuallydictatecontract terms, AgLaunch PresidentandfarmerPete Nelson said.
AgLaunch helps build “smart contracts” that allow multiple farmers to produce on a contract, helpingthemsecurehigher quantity deals with proper compensation as a collective.
PurdueCollegeofAgriculture professor Fred Whitford said the idea of farming cooperatives that help smaller farmers carve out space in a largequantity market is more than 100 years old. Whitford compared commodity producers to retail giants like Walmart, which make money by selling in bulk. Small producers are more like Ace Hardware, he said.
“Maybe the smaller folks have an ability to make more off their land by going to a specialty crop,” he said.
New challenges need new solutions
Farmers who embrace
specialty crops will face hurdles before they make it to the market.
Growing produce can be more profitable but “easier said than done,” Whitford said. “It’s nice on paper … but boy, in reality, you’re going to have tokeepaneyeonthiscrop, whatever you’re growing, becauseoneslipup…then you have lost a lot of money.”
In Tennessee, Katrutsa grewstrawberriesinaddition to his other crops for 10 years, but last April, a hail storm pulverized his entire field, leaving him with nothing. He’s not growing strawberries this year, and he might not plant them again — he’s not sure if he can find enough labor to make it work.
Hegrowsmanytypesof produce so if one fails, it’s less catastrophic. He
sources seedlings from a neighboring state (it’s cheaper than growing from seed) and plants five timeseachseasontomaximize yield.
He works with a consultant to help identify diseases and how to treat them. Tomatoes are the
most challenging, Katrutsa said. Some of his tomato plants withered this year due to bacterial wilt that flourishes in wet soil and high temperatures and has few effective chemical remedies.
Chemical treatments pose other challenges. In
Shaw, Mississippi, Michael Muzzi relies on a range of herbicides to grow soybeans and other feed grains on his 2,000acre farm. Once sprayed, herbicides like Liberty and Dicamba remain in the ground and can drift intheair,whichishazardoustospecialtycrops,like tomatoes,thataren’tresistant.
“You’re not going to be able to spray [those herbicides] on specialty crops,” Muzzi said. “You’d have to have something that’s chemically tolerant.”
Growingfruitsandvegetablesonafarmwithprevious heavy herbicide use would require insulating thosecropsfromchemical runoff—a feat that could only be reliably achieved by leaving whole acres of land unused for years, he said.
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John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout Ukrainian farmer Mike Katrutsa grows over 20 acres of produce in Camden, Tennessee. Carolyn Peebles takes money from a customer at Mike’s Produce.
Farm to fork: The seasonal produce dilemma
By Tara Gerner WEALTH OF GEEKS
As of 2022, there are 1.9 million farms across America’srurallandscape. About95%areoperatedby families. Yet, only around 6% of those farms market foods to locals through direct-to-consumer sales. The rest travel distances, some much farther than others.Lastyear,$174.9billion of American agricultural products were exported to the rest of the world.
Fortypercentofthefood grown and produced in America is never eaten. And25%ofwhatwebuyto eat gets thrown away.
ThegulfbetweenAmericans and the farms that produce their food has never been wider.
It’s not just about where produce is grown, but also when. For the most part, most produce has a growing season in which it’s at its highest quality. Apples, forexample,arebestwhen picked during autumn, while fresh corn is a summer vegetable that may lose some of its sweetness when grown in the winter.
Itcanbeatiringgameof trying to find the best of a fruitorvegetable,especially since seasonal produce is sold well beyond its season, creating a difficult relationship with consumers. Big-name grocery
svetikd/Getty Images
Some 40% of the food grown and produced in America is never eaten. And 25% of what we buy to eat gets thrown away.
storesdon’tpullbushelsof strawberries just because they were sourced outside of spring, so it’s up to the buyer to be well-informed of when produce is in seasonand,justasimportantly, whether it is being sourced locally to make it easier to track its seasonal growth.
America has it all
Many U.S. citizens live close to where their food originates,especiallythose in more agrarian or rural settings. Latitude and longitude define how bountiful the growing seasons can be, and thankfully, the U.S. has every biome from the Arctic to the tropics. This makes seasonal consumption easy for most, as they’re more likelytobeabletofindseason-
al produce when it’s at its best. But first, they have to make the effort.
Food influence watchdog Ricardo charted food trends in 2023, including those involving local produce, sustainability, and brand transparency. Understanding what will be available in the coming season where one lives aids in sourcing fresher, more flavorful produce.
Unfortunately, sticking to seasonal fruits or vegetables is hard for states that aren’t abundant with localgrowersordon’thave a suitable climate for seasonal growth. Desert environments, for example, canstruggletoknowwhen is best to shop for in-seasonproducewhentheybasicallyskipessentialgrowingseasonslikespringand
autumn.
Where, what to plant
Ingeneral,growingfood is an option for those with the land. The World Population Review gives times oftheyearfortheUSDA’s11 planting hardiness zones. Alaska sits in Zone 1, subtropical Florida and the Keys sit in Zone11, and Hawaii is in fully tropical Zone13.Thesimpleformulamostaspiringgardeners canfollowisthehigherthe zone number, the longer the planting period.
HawaiiinZone13hasno freeze,whereassomeparts of Alaska in Zone1can only grow food between May and August. There are solutions, however. While critics may dislike polytunnels for their environmental impact, wood or glass-made greenhouses can lengthen any growing year.
Grower’s challenge
The contiguous United States ranges from Zone 3 to Zone11, and the summer months will yield many opportunities for most Americans to eat seasonal produce. Sadly, many fruits, such as strawberries, figs, watermelon, and apples,haveashortseason finding ways to replace these in colder climes is difficult, forcing some shoppers to settle for flavorless or mushy fruits.
Whenoutofseason,frozen produce serves as a suitable and nutritious replacement. EatRight says frozen vegetables or fruit cansometimesretainmore nutrients than fresh. This makes sense, considering that frozen products are flash-frozen shortly after being picked, retaining the same level as freshly picked options.
However, many food lovers would argue that frozen produce cannot compete with fresh produce in flavor.
For those able to grow their own, summer leading into autumn is a bountiful time. The Farm Project promotes a year-long seasonal diet based on the varying U.S. region’s staples. In Maine, the May harvest brings only asparagus, greens, herbs, potatoes, and rhubarb. Meanwhile, sunny California is awash with choices like beets, lemons, and grapefruit, among many others.
Useful resources
Anyone with spare land can grow produce, and there are resources to support them. Global Citizen reports how Big Green is helping growers disrupt an American food production system monopolized by large conglomerates that damage small-scale farming.
The organization funds projects throughout America, such as sending gardening materials, running learning workshops, and promoting food independence. Moreover, the campaign group has so far awarded almost $5.5 million in funding to schools and nonprofit groups across the United States.
Digital markets
Fresh produce is never far away, even in large cit-
ies, thanks to the digital farmers’ markets growing in popularity in the U.S. Food trends think-tank FoodTank says that online grocery sales spiked during the pandemic, though this returned to regular levels in the subsequent years. Nonetheless, while many have returned to the shopping aisles, interest in farmers’ market delivery services grows steadily. Consumers, in general, want to support their local farmers with food-buying decisions, and dozens of farmshavetakennote.Online farm stores that deliver fresh and seasonal produce door-to-door locally are sure to become more abundant, building off the foundation laid by companies like Uber Eats and DoorDash. These services can offer seasonal produce boxes at slightlyelevatedprices(for convenience)andincludea glut of leafy greens, zucchini, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes for subscribers.
No-brainer
Farm-to-fork is the end goal with produce, but it’s a more complicated concept when talking about seasonal produce. Out of season, consumers are left trying to find alternatives. Duringtheseason,finding specificproducecanbedifficult depending on the location and the local climate.
While they’re not a cure-all,onlinefarmstores can help bridge the gap for some consumers, allowing them to potentially satisfy at least one aspect of their seasonal produce dilemma.
This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
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AgLaunch is exploring innovative ways to address these problems. For some farmers, this means helping make their existing row crops more efficient using farmer-incubated technology, adding local value by growing specialty crops or taking on processing, Nelson said.
Then there’s disruption with higher risk: farmers can partner with agriculture automation technology startups, allowing them to field test their products and collect data in exchange for farmer equity in the startup companies. If the startup succeeds, the farmer shares in the benefits.
“It’s not as simple as, ‘Hey, we should grow tomatoes,’”Nelsonsaid.“It’s how you think about the whole value chain and make sure the farmer is protected. Make sure it’s not an opportunity just to growacrop,butit’sanop-
portunity to own part of the processing or to build new products.”
Kurnik said WWF isn’t trying to recruit farmers to start growing specialty crops — they just want Mid-Deltafarmerstohave the information they need to make informed decisions. In terms of acreage, row crops “dwarf” specialty crops in the United States.Asmallpercentage shift would mean a significantchangeinthelevelof specialty crops in the Delta.
“We don’t need everyone to want to jump on board tomorrow,” she said. “They would flood the market if they did.”
This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation. Disclosure: “The Next California” report was also funded by Walton.
USDA invests $121M in specialty crops
BY JOURNAL-COURIER
TheU.S.Departmentof Agriculture is investing nearly $121 million to advance research and Extensionactivitiesthataim to solve key challenges facing specialty crop and organic agriculture producers.
The investment includes $70.4 million to support specialty crop production research across the United States and $50.5 million to support farmers and ranchers who grow and market high-quality organic food, fiber and organic products.
Specialty crops are defined in the Farm Bill as fruitsandvegetables,tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. This investment is part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative.
“We know specialty and organic crops add
nutrition to our diets and value to sustainable agriculture systems,” said Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA chief scientist and undersecretary for research, education and economics. “These crops also play a vital role preserving cultural heritage and enhancing economic opportunities across local, regional and global food systems, making them great competitive funding investments that target some of the most difficultchallengesfacing specialty crop and organicproducersnationwide.”
National Institute of Food and Agriculture specialty crops production investment builds on USDA’s recently announced $82.3 million in grant funding through the Agricultural Marketing Service to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops and support the industry’s producers. The funding was awarded through USDA’s
Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and the Specialty Crop MultiState Grant Program.
“Organic agriculture playsacrucialroleinpromoting sustainable and healthy food systems that benefit people and the planet,” USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Director Manjit Misra said. “NIFA’s investments in organic research and Extension programs help ensure farmers can meet growing demand for organic products, which provide valuable economic opportunities for growers andmorechoicesforconsumers.”
Examples of the projects include:
• Understanding the links between integrated crop management practices and certain foodand feed-quality endpoints is necessary for identifying market constraints and opportunities for small grain se-
quences within reducedtillage organic grain systems. This integrated research and Extension project aims to improve theproductivityandmarket potential of springand fall-sown organic small grains.
• The Organic Center for Education and Promotion. There is a critical lack of racial diversity across the agricultural sector and the organic industry, especially apparent in the population of organiccertifiers,organic inspectors,andinorganizations and universities staffs who provide much of the nation’s technical assistanceandeducational programming in agriculture. This workforce development project focuses on jumpstarting participation and motivation for a diverse representationinfutureorganic leadership that helps make the organic sector more inclusive, equitable and just.
DAIRY
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their baby sick,” SauerSchmidgall said. “They have become regular customers, and it helps us because they buy other things. It’s helped people who have lactose intolerance problems because of the way it’s processed. We are happy to have them. They have been nothing but good for our little store.”
Second nature
Becomingadairyfarmer was second nature for Scot Robertson, who has been around dairy farms for most of his life. Originally from McDonald, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles from Pittsburgh, he milked 40 cows there before moving to northeast Ohio, where he milked for eight years. He moved to Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, and milked 130 cows before a badcropyearforcedhimto sell.Tothatpointinhislife, he had always been a fulltime farmer.
So, he pulled up roots in 2017 and moved to Carlyle, in Clinton County, to manage a dairy farm. He met Jennifer, they married, and he moved to White Hall, where he started working at an ethanol plant in St. Louis. But the yearning to farm persisted.
“This has always been my passion,” Scot Robertson said.
After Scot Robertson moved to White Hall, where Jennifer Robertson hadbeenlivingintheircurrent house since 2006, he started talking about his dream of having his own dairy. She encouraged him to follow that dream.
“It took a few years of planning to make it work,” Scot Robertson said. “We secured funding and startedbuildingbarnsandraising heifers but didn’t start milkinguntilOctober2023,
when we bottled our first jug of milk.”
ThecouplestartedinJuly2021withthepurchaseof two Jersey heifers, then found two Guernsey heifers and finally Ayrshire heifers in northern Iowa.
Theystartedtheprocess ofrefurbishingbuildingsto suit their needs, as well as acquiring the animals, in 2021, but it took another two years before the first bottle of DoeEyed Dairy and Farm milk hit the shelves in October.
Along with Jennifer Robertson’s encouragement came her full support. Scot Robertson does most of the feeding and milking, while she manages the processing and bottling. Both function as distributors, filling orders at select locations in the region.
West-central Illinois is not exactly a hotbed for dairy farming. Other than DoeEyed Dairy and Farm, there is a dearth of dairy farmerswhoareproducing and marketing their own milk. Buckhorn Dairy of Mount Sterling is the only other one in the region, as far as Scot Robertson is aware.
TheU.S.CensusofAgriculture from 2022 shows 607 dairy farms in Illinois, most of them in the northeasternreachesofthestate. There are five dairy farms in Pike County, three in Greene County, two in Schuyler and Sangamon counties, and one each in Scott, Brown and Jersey counties.
Dairycowsarebredspecifically to produce large quantitiesofmilk.TheU.S. Department of Agriculture said a dairy cow produces an average of 8 gallons a day, but many cows can produce12 gallons or more each day.
Dairy cows are required to give birth to one calf annually to produce milk for 10 months of the year.
Right now, two of their
cows, Prima and Ruby, are dry. Prima was so named because she was the first heifertheybought.Rubyis soontobepartofthreegenerationsprovidingmilkfor the Robertsons. Ruby’s mother,Rosie,isproducing now. Ruby’s daughter, Reba, won’t be old enough to breed for another year.
Great reception
The Robertsons have had a great reception for theirproductandhavenever have a problem getting rid of it, Scot Robertson said.
“We’ve had a great responseandgetalotofcomments about how good it tastes and how fresh it is,” he said. “We’ve been told more than once that we make the best chocolate milktheyhaveevertasted.”
While regular milk and chocolate milk are their most popular, there are other flavors the Robertsons produce in rotation, including strawberry, chocolate mint and orange cream. Chocolate mint is a JulyandDecemberconcoction while orange cream normally is produced over a two- or three-month stretchbeforeresting.Root beeristhenextflavordestination.
“Our milk varies from commercially produced milk in several ways,” Scot Robertson said. “Our milk iswhattheycallcreamtop, so it is vat pasteurized and nothomogenized.Itispasteurizedatalower temperatureovertime,whichprotects freshness and quality.
“Our milk is not standardized.Thewayitcomes out of the cow is the way it goes into the bottle so the cream will rise to the top. The taste of our milk is going to be fresher and more natural, as well as a touch sweeter, because of the higher fat and protein content than store-bought milk. Shelf life is about the same as milk in the store.”
Aside from Grab ‘N’
on the southern edge of White Hall. They process and bottle about 40 gallons of milk every day in 15-gallon batches. Aside from caring for the cows and processing the milk, they also are the distributors who make it available for purchase around west-central Illinois.
Grow Greenhouse, the Robertsons supply Market on Main in Carrollton, Greene Prairie Woodworks near Roodhouse, Sinclair Foods in JerseyvilleandA&A/ChapinFast Mart in Chapin.
“Ourmilkistransported from home in our vehicles,” Scot Robertson said. “We do not have a route,
but a text-in order system wheretheywilltelluswhat they need. Once we get a handle on what they’re selling, they say they need milk, and we take them whatever we have.”
Three other heifers on the farm are waiting to be old enough to be bred.
Along with Reba, they are part of the plan to expand theherdandproducemore milk.
“We are certainly looking at expanding as the market allows,” Scot Robertson said. “As long as demand keeps up, we’ll keep going,butIseenoreasonto slow down, just speed up. There are a lot of areas we don’t service where we could.”
Dave Dawson/Journal-Courier
Jennifer Robertson checks the chiller they use to process milk at DoeEyed Dairy and Farm
DoeEyed Dairy and Farm/Provided Cartons of DoeEyed Dairy and Farm milk await delivery to retail outlets in west-central Illinois.
