Kellogg family shares harvest experience

Paula Hender of Ankeny stood at the edge of a corn field near Reasnor. It was a cool and crisp Friday afternoon and sunlight was fading. Her husband Derek and 10-year-old son Dylan were gliding through golden-brown stalks aboard a John Deere combine operated by Jacob Van Manen. Her other son, 12-year-old Jason, was near her side waiting his turn, smiling broadly as he prodded kernels off a cob to pass the time.

“Most people don’t know a farmer,” she said matter-of-factly while gazing across the husk-covered ground to the combine clawing its way across the field. “When it comes to questions about food, my resource has always been Google.”

Paula’s situation isn’t unique. It’s the reason why the Iowa Food & Family Project launched its “You on the Farm” program in 2011. The contest provides food-minded consumers the opportunity to win a personalized farm tour.

The Henders’ fall harvest experience was Friday. Their hosts were Kevin and Julie Van Manen who, with their children Jacob and Emily, raise cattle and hogs and grow corn, soybeans and sweet corn near Kellogg in Jasper County.

From Newfoundland to Iowa

Paula entered the contest after reading about it on Iowa FFP’s Facebook page. They were selected from more than 50 entries.

Raised in Newfoundland, Canada, Paula and Derek moved to Louisiana in 1994. Ten years later, they moved to Iowa.

“The one thing we had to learn when we arrived was the difference between field corn and sweet corn,” Paula said with a smile.

Reasnor and St. Johns, Newfoundland may be more than 2,000 miles apart, but a growing number of consumers are uniting around an interest in learning more about their food and having the confidence to discern fact from competing claims and outright gimmicks.

Paula counts herself among them.

“When I’m walking around the grocery store or planning our menu, food safety is on my mind,” said Paula who works in human resources for Wells Fargo in Des Moines. “I’m not overly concerned about GMOs. About everything we eat has been modified, but it’s been modified to our benefit.

“Yet I have concerns just like other moms,” she added. “Sometimes that concern leads me to question the choices I make. I want to be confident and purchase food that tastes good and is good for you.”

The Van Manens were the perfect hosts for the Hender’s first U.S. farm visit. Kevin, Julie, Emily and Jacob often make time to provide a behind-the-scenes tour of their farm including sorting hogs, feeding cattle, picking sweet corn and planting and harvesting their corn and soybeans.

On this particular day, three generations of Van Manens were bringing in the harvest. Jacob was running the combine, his father Kevin drove the semi and grandpa Ron kept pace with the four-wheel-drive tractor and 900-bushel capacity grain cart.

“Even though it’s a busy time of year, it’s important to show where the miracle of food begins — on the farm,” Julie said as she and Emily flipped through family photo albums with Paula. “We have to earn and keep the trust of our customers if we want to keep farming.

“I wouldn’t want to have to buy our food from another country,” she said.

Future farmers

The flurry of harvest activity was a magnet for the Hender boys, Jason and Dylan. Both took turns riding in the tractor pulling the grain cart and the combine.

“The combine was like a giant lawnmower,” Dylan said when asked about the highlight of his on-farm experience.

Jason quickly chimed in. “I’ll remember the power of the machine and how the combine chewed through the corn,” he said. “I think I’d like to farm!”

Such comments surprised Paula.

“Prior to the farm visit, I woudn’t have considered farming to be a career path for my children,” she said. “However, after seeing Jacob and Emily at work on the farm and how they’re incorporating their post-secondary education into the farm in combination with the better technology, it’s indeed a viable career consideration.”

After spending time in the field, the Henders were treated to dinner at Culver’s in Newton. The restaurant recognizes farmers for their commitment to growing wholesome food and provides financial resources to local FFA chapters to support community-based ag education for youth.

The family enjoyed warm burgers, cheese balls, chicken strips and cold shakes and reflected on their farm experience.

Derek, who serves as an executive for Unity Point Health in Des Moines, said it was the blend of manual labor and technology that was most memorable.

“A lot of the work is hands-on but high-tech is involved in farming, too,” he said. “They were collecting information from the yield monitor in the combine along with the moisture content (of the grain). The fact that they can then use the information to know where and how much to fertilize the crop next spring was very interesting.”

Truly know

For Paula, highlights were riding in the combine and meeting the Van Manens.

“I really didn’t have any expectations but enjoyed everything about the afternoon,” she said. “It’s important to take the time to truly know about where food comes from because when you’re not involved, you forget.

“There are always two sides to every issue and sometimes it’s difficult to hear directly from the farm families who are growing the food in their backyard,” she said. “This was a fun and educational experience that even connected the boys to farming. I would definitely recommend it to others.”

For more information, go to www.iowafoodandfamily.com.