I'm a Field Mom!

I'm a Field Mom! I am very excited for this great opportunity and cannot wait to get started!

I have been receiving the Illinois Farm Bureau's Partners magazine that comes to me in the mail several times a year. It always has interesting articles about things going on in different places around the state and even helpful articles like how to take care of your lawn. I had seen several articles about the field moms program and immediately thought that was something I would love to do. I just happened to see a sidebar on "how to apply " in last fall's magazine - just in time to apply for the 2014 program.

In January, I was notified that I will join 23 other Chicago-area moms selected to be Illinois Farm Families "Field Moms." This will be the third year that Illinois family farmers are welcoming Chicago-area moms to their farms to answer our questions about how food is grown. We will tour four area farms and a northern Illinois grocery store between February and October this year to see how farmers care for their animals and the environment.

We will tour a pig farm, corn and soybean farm, dairy farm, and a beef cattle farm. We will ride along as crops are planted and harvested. (Yes, on a combine! My son is already wishing he could come along!)

Our first tour will be at Ultra Foods in Wheaton, Illinois, on February 22. We will have a chance to speak with Ultra Foods managers and staff and a registered dietitian, Jodie Shield, who will answer our questions about healthy food and nutrition.

We, field moms, will record our days on the farms by taking photos, videos, and journaling our observations. After each tour, we will share what we learned with other moms and consumers. My personal blog will be posted here and all of our blogs will be posted on www.watchusgrow.org. You may also follow us on www.facebook.com/IllinoisFarmFamilies and http://twitter.com/ILFarmFamilies.