Jackson in Action
After three months in Will County, I am starting to adjust to being a resident here.
I don’t even look at the Old Joliet Prison as I drive by anymore. I already know where roads like W. Wilmington-Peotone and W. Manhattan-Monee start and end. If I need to know how many blocks away from downtown Chicago I am, I only need to read a road sign and do some math.
Something that is still foreign to me is how the urban and rural populations are just a stone’s throw away from each other. Between living in Lockport and working for the Farm Bureau, I am able to see a large amount of the county. Although I am from Decatur, the urban and rural populations down there do not interact the same way as up here.
Will County has a population of 700,000 people, and the last I knew, the county isn’t gaining land. Will County is one of the few counties in Illinois that has specified zoning for ag tourism.
In Custer Park, Mistie Hill Vineyard has grappled with the idea of ag tourism and opened their vineyard to the local market. After a lengthy process of obtaining all the correct paperwork, Mistie Hill Vineyard has opened their very own tasting room.
I was able to attend the ribbon cutting of the new tasting room and purchased several delicious bottles of wine for myself. They offer a vast collection of wines — whether white, red, or berries — that are vinified here in the county. The tasting room itself is full of beautiful wood paneling. The bar has Mistie Hill Vineyard corks cast into the countertop.
When looking out the window, you can see the very vines that grow the wine you taste. Mistie Hill Vineyard has provided an invitation to all consumers who wish to experience a slice of the local ag industry.
Ag tourism in Will County gives us the ability to reach those in an urban population that might never had an interest in agriculture before. Educating uninvolved people on what all the agricultural industry encompasses can be fun for the producer and the consumer.
I always hear people say that the agriculture industry is always evolving, and ag tourism is one of those facets that is becoming part of the evolution. I would like to encourage all of you to experience ag tourism, and what better way to experience it than in your own backyard?
Jackson Hogan is Will County Farm Bureau Manager.