At the Farm Gate
43 stories
Ag for Every Classroom — Free resources use agriculture to teach core subjects
by Joanie Stiers Last summer, a Chicago teacher told me how excited she was to soil her undies for her…
At the farm gate: Finding a Fit with Food, Fiber, Fuel
by Joanie Stiers The agriculture industry employs more citizens than any other industry in the United States at 22 million…
Cool Beans: Soy Surrounds Us
By Joanie Stiers From the cooking oil in the cupboard and the feed in the hen house to the soles…
Families Dominate Ownership of Illinois Farms
By Joanie Stiers I work every day with the people who raised me. Four desks in the farm office provide…
At the Farm Gate: Farms Need licensed Truckers
By Joanie Stiers CDL? 10-4. That three-letter acronym for Commercial Driver’s License also stands for one of my biggest life…
At the Farm Gate: Farms Prep for Next Busy Season
By Joanie Stiers We hadn’t started changing oil in the tractors, backhoe nor skid steer yet, and our 15-year-old expressed…
Christmas Crazed … Ready to Celebrate the Season on the Farm
“I’m sorry; I’m a little Christmas obsessed,” I texted our farm’s scale operator. My attempts to stream holiday tunes through…
At The Farm Gate: In the Bag – Pizza Project Promotes the Families in Farming
For years, I triggered curious looks from fellow restaurant patrons while holding my commercial-sized pizza delivery bag. Nowadays, I get…
At The Farm Gate: Fine Swine Dining Pork a delicious, economical mealtime tradition
Sometime around age 40, my guilty pleasure food changed to pulled pork nachos: tortilla chips softened with melted nacho cheese,…
At the Farm Gate: College Move-in by Trailer Successful, Minus the Pigs
By Joanie Stiers The gal in the neighboring dorm room rented a U-Haul to transport her belongings to college. Other…
At the Farm Gate: Farm Provides Summer Education
Having braved a gravel road, a long driveway and an unleashed outdoor dog, a college intern approached our front steps…
At The Farm Gate: Farm Threads Through Summer Traditions
My husband fished at the farm. Our son and his friends played paintball-style games in the farm woods. I smoked…