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| 2014 Field Moms at the Field Mom Acre |
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| Harvested Field Corn |
Each year, Illinois Farm Families designates a one-acre
plot of land as the “Field Mom Acre.” That acre of field is planted in corn and
soybeans and the Field Moms are updated monthly, from planting until harvest,
with news of how the field is growing, weather conditions that have had an
impact, fertilizing, and any spraying that was done to control weeds or
insects. After harvest, the profits from the acre are tallied and that money is
used to make a donation to a local food pantry.
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| Harvested Soybeans |
Once again, the corn and soybean crop in this area of Illinois was
record-setting. The spring weather, although it pushed a little later planting,
turned out well; the summer weather was nearly ideal for growing with just
enough rain and not many severe storms. The fall harvest weather cooperated and
harvest was mostly dry.
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| Corn Seedling |
Our Field Mom acre this year was planted on the Jeschke Farm
in Mazon, Illinois.
When we were at their farm on our spring planting tour in May, the corn had
already been planted and was just coming up through the soil and the soybeans
had not yet been planted. We had hoped to join them in the planting, but
weather didn’t cooperate. In fact, two nights before our visit, there was snow
on the ground in some places. We were told the beans needed a little more
warmth with a lower risk of frost, as well as the ground needed some drying out
before their planting.
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| Soybean Stalks ready for harvest |
Through Donna and Paul Jeschke’s monthly updates, we got a
good glimpse into the growing season of a corn and soybean crop. Everything
went smoothly this year. However, there were a couple windy and rainy mid-summer
storms that blew across Illinois.
We saw on social media some of the localized damage to crops near our farm
families. Our Farm Mom friends told us that most of their crops had been spared
the wind and rain damage we saw in pictures. It reminded us that our farmers
are dependent upon - and at the mercy of - the weather; and how quickly, in just a
few minutes of a bad storm, the high hopes and optimism for a good crop can be
diminished or flattened to nothing.
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| Field Corn Cob ready for harvest |
In October’s harvest update, we learned that harvest was
progressing very well and the yield on the Field Mom acre was 68 bushels (per acre) of
soybeans and 225 bushels (per acre) of field corn. In total, that was enough
profit to purchase an outstanding 1,000 pounds of pork which was donated to the
Northern Illinois Food Bank in November.
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| Harvesting Field Corn |
Thank you Illinois Farm Families for sharing updates of the Field Mom Acre with us throughout the growing season and also for so generously sharing your bounty with other families who will benefit from your hard work this past year.
