Jenkins Country Comforts & Farm Market

Friday, May 4, 2012

Hope you enjoy the new look of my Blog/web site. You will be able to check on whats going on at our farm. I will try to keep you updated on what is in season. Also this year we will be offering "Field to Table"
dinners in our barn. I have wanted to do this for about three years and this year its a go! Watch for more
imformation on how you can have dinner in the barn. You also will be able to place orders for produce and
baked goods on this site, you can pick up at one of the Peoria markets we go to, or on at our farm shop.
More imformation on that will also follow.

Just a note to let everyone know what we are up to on the farm. Spring planting of our corn and soybeans was in full swing until our biggest (and most expensive) tractor broke down and was in the
shop for over a week. We just got started again and it started raining. Oh, the life of a farmer.

The farm market of our operation is also in full swing. The high tunnels and fields are in full production.
I have been picking strawberries for the past two weeks. They are almost a month early!
I need to go now as I have an order for 20qts. of strawberries. Unfortunately, they do not pick themselves

From our Fields to Your Table...

About ten years ago I decided my husband and I needed to add more to our farm (like farming a 1000 acres; I also worked part time as a nurse; and was raising a family). I decided to start a farm market. We had an old red barn that was built in 1921, withtimber from that farm, that was not being used. So I started with one very weedy patch of pumpkins. The next year I sold all the sweet corn we didn't use and had another weedy patch of pumpkins. I sold from a picnic table in front of the red barn. Their was a smaller building next to the barn that I talked my husband into helping me clean years of dirt and oil out, so I could also add a small gift shop.

Fast forward.

Our farm market is only a part of what we do as farmers. We have diversified our farm because we felt it better utilized the land. The growing of fresh fruits and vegetables, offering fresh from scratch baked goods, and field to table meals in our barn, is only 15 acres of our farm. We also have 83 acres of land that is in a wetland restoration program. It filters water before it reaches the Illinois River. We also raise 800 acres of corn, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat. As farmers and conservationalists, my husband (Dave) and I feel you have to look at the land and decide what is the best way to use it.

The small gift shop has also grown. We have a small bakery now and we try to showcase Illinois food products.