For quite a while I have aspired to have a "country cottage."  I have always admired the photographs of cottages in the country side featured in English Garden magazines.  Often times they would show chickens and sheep in the foreground of the pictures.  It is the way of life I have always wanted to live: simple, sustainable, and being kind to our earth. 

 

Where is your farm located?  How many miles do you travel to reach Common Ground?  Our farm is located in Fisher, Illinois, which is approximately 25 miles from Common Ground.

How long have you been farming?  My husband, Phil, has been farming since he was a young boy.  He started by helping on the family farms. Phil raised animals and had his own garden. Phil and his brother would raise vegetables to sell in his grandparents' neighborhood in town. Phil has always enjoyed raising animals.  I was not raised on a farm, but I do have a lot of experience with gardening.  Growing up, my family had a large garden to which we all contributed.  My father was the overall "director" of the summer gardening project, but each of my siblings had their own section in the garden. We were responsible for planting, watering, weeding and harvesting the vegetables. I still love gardening to this day!  

What do you grow or raise on your farm?  We currently raise lambs, meat bird chickens, laying hens, and turkeys.  We recently began raising cattle as well in the fall of 2008.  In regards to vegetation, we have a pumpkin patch and also grow a small selection of vegetables for ourselves.  We hope to expand our garden in the near future and contribute the surplus vegetables to the Vineyard Church food pantry.

What is your signature product?  We actually have several signature products: lamb, chicken, and eggs.

Are you certified organic?  If so, when and why did you make the switch to organic farming?  We are not organic certified, however, we use all-natural and free-range farming methods.  We do not use any antibiotics or hormones, and all of our animals are free to roam in the pasture when weather permits.

 
What do you enjoy most about farming?  Being able to produce our own food.  It's very rewarding to provide food for people that we actually meet and get to know at the Urbana farmer's market.  Also, it's nice to have peace of mind knowing that what we are consuming is healthy for us--and comes from our own land.

What do you find most challenging about being a farmer?  The number of hours necessary to maintain and care for the animals.  For example, during lambing season, Phil is consistently monitoring and assisting the sheep every few hours--during the day and night.  In regards to expenses, supplemental feed that is necessary for the animals to stay healthy during the winter months can be very costly.  Additional expenses incurred include the cost of processing and transporting lambs, chickens, and turkeys to and from the processors.  There is also the cost of electricity for heat lamps and utilizing LP gas.

What is your philosophy/perspective on farming and agriculture?  Although we specifically raise our animals for consumption, we are very conscientious in our practices and make sure that the animal are always humanely cared for.  We are stewards to the land and caretakers to our animals.

Is there anything else you'd like Common Ground members to know about your farm?  We would like to thank everyone for their continual support, encouragement, and patronage.  We truly enjoy serving you and your friends and families.  We also thank the Urbana Farmers' Market for allowing us the opportunity to become a part of the local produce community.  To show our appreciation, we look forward to inviting co-op members out this summer for a farm tour (to be announced on our website: www.countrycottagefarm.com).  Thank you, Common Ground, for providing this opportunity for us to share information about our farm!