A field trip to the farm can teach urban moms where their food really comes from. Some Illinois farmers are part of a program to host women, many of whom blog and network in other ways and can tell many others what they’ve learned.
“The average consumer now is two generations removed, and it used to be that if there was a mis-concept, that somebody would say, ‘Well, that’s not really true, because my grandfather does it this way, and I’ve visited his farm,’” says Mike Martz, who hosts some of the visitors on his family’s De Kalb County farm. “Well, we’re getting that third and fourth generation that has no clue of what goes on in farming, how much more technology that it takes to feed the world.”
Martz says some of the city slickers are surprised to learn farmers buy their clothes at the same stores they do, and that the highlight of the moms’ trip is usually a ride in a combine.
