Did you know it takes about 19 – 20 weeks to raise a turkey to market weight?
Turkeys traditionally take center stage at Thanksgiving, so this week we’re talking turkey farming with fifth generation farmer, Jason Yordy for the Farm to Table segment episode 11.25.15.
Tune in every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. to hear Farm to Table segment on WJBC radio and to learn more about turkeys, click here.
Harvest went by quickly on the Lay farm this year. In fact, the crops were out in about half the time compared to a typical year thanks to suitable crop conditions, good weather and cooperative machinery.
Hear how the corn and soybean yields turned out with Jason Lay plus check out one way farmers are working to farm smarter by exploring the use of cover crops in this week’s Farm Fresh podcast, episode 11.18.15.
Tune in every Wednesday at 12:45 to hear the Farm to Table segment on WJBC radio.
Some of central Illinois farmer Dan Crider’s corn fields are not like the others, but you probably would not be able to detect the difference unless you peeked under the husks.
For more than 25 years, the Crider family has grown food grade white corn used to make tortillas and tortilla chips on about one-fourth to one-third of their farm.
“The first year we grew white corn, I said ‘It looks like we’re harvesting snow’,” says Anne Crider, Dan’s wife.
Throughout the growing season, white corn plants look pretty much the same as the more typical yellow varieties, but at harvest time a truckload of white kernels stands out in contrast to the more typical golden colored grain.
Dan’s sons Jason, 31, and Chris, 26, both hold full-time jobs off the farm currently, but make time to help their dad, especially during harvest.
The white corn is stored in a grain bin on the Crider farm until it is time to deliver it to The Anderson’s in Mansfield, a grain elevator that specializes in food grade corn.
“Food grade corn must meet standards for moisture, higher test weight and a low percentage of cracked or broken kernels. We also inspect for insect or rodent damage and test for mycotoxins,” says Leo Andruczyk, Regional Food Manager with The Anderson’s. Mycotoxins are types of harmful mold caused by fungi that can sometimes be found in grain.
“Being food grade is fairly rigid,” Andruczyk says. “Anything that doesn’t meet the standards is rejected.” 
Conditions throughout the growing season like rainfall and temperature determine yield, so farmers do not know how exactly how many bushels they have until harvest time.
To fill his contract for a specific number of bushels of white corn, Dan decides how many acres to plant based on estimates, experience from previous years and the type of seed selected.
“The elevator provides us a list of approved seed varieties [for food grade white corn] to choose from,” Chis says. “We purchase the seed and plant one of those varieties.”
The production costs for white corn are similar to yellow corn and growing it uses the same machinery.
“White corn used to have lower yields, but not really anymore.” Dan says. “Some years the white corn out yields the yellow and some years it’s the other way around.”
To see a corn comparison and see more of the story, click here to check out the complete article from McLean County Farm Bureau.
In honor of Veteran’s Day, our Farm to Table segment takes a look at Homegrown by Heroes, a product label for food and farm products grown or raised by past or present members of any branch of the military.
As a Korean war veteran, Ray Ropp, with Ropp Jersey Cheese recently applied to use the Homegrown by Heroes label for the cheese, meat and other products made or raised on his family’s farm near Normal, IL.
Check out the story from this week’s Farm to Table segment episode 11.11.15. Tune in every Wednesday at 12:45 to hear to the Farm to Table segment on WJBC radio.
How do you like your apple pie? For me warm & a la mode is the way to go. I think ice cream is especially delicious atop a slice of Dutch Apple Pie, which features a crunchy streusel topping instead of pastry crust.
My mom always bakes this pie inside a brown paper grocery bag – an old fashioned technique that helps steam the filling and keep the top from browning too dark. I’m a little gun shy, however; as the bag could catch fire if it comes into contact with the sides of the oven or one of the elements.
In all the times my mom made this pie growing up, it only happened once. My dad happened to be home at the time and responded to the fire call from the kitchen when the paper bag began to smolder because it was too close to the top element. Mom grabbed the fire extinguisher, but dad said, ‘No, that will ruin the pie!”
Instead he pulled the pie out of the oven with leather gloves, ripped the burning bag off the pie and stomped out the fire with his boots. Yes, he managed to save the pie from becoming a burnt sacrifice…a story he’s still proud to tell many years later.
And it should give you an idea of how delicious this Dutch Apple Pie is, that it would cause my dad (who is also a volunteer fireman) to attempt such heroics.
To avoid such excitement, I just cover the pie with an aluminum pie pan to achieve a similar effect.
Dutch Apple Pie
Ingredients
Single Pie crust – purchased or homemade
Filling:
Topping:
Instructions:
To make filling:
To make topping:
To assemble the pie:
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