BY TAMMIE SLOUP
Jeff and Marcy Heepke stood next to a pen of ostriches, snapping photos of the large birds.
The rest of the group of about 20 Illinois Farm Bureau members gathered nearby, talking amongst one another while taste-testing Salger’s Ostrich Products.
Nathan and Patty Salger just finished providing a tour of their Red Bud farm, where they raise about 300 ostriches for meat and other products, which are sold at the on-farm store as well as shipped to customers.
The Heepkes, who have a horseradish farm and raise corn and soybeans in Madison County, were thrilled to learn about the start-to-finish operation during Illinois Farm Bureau’s first Summer Tour on Sept. 7 in Randolph and St. Clair counties.
“This is awesome. You don’t know all this stuff lives here, and when you go and see it, you learn quite a lot more than what just your industry is,” Marcy Heepke told FarmWeek.
The tour included stops at the Fort de Chartres State Historic Site, an elk farm, orchard, the ostrich farm and concluded at Lieferbrau Brewery, which is run by the Liefer family of Randolph County.
One of the brewery co-owners, Kent Liefer, helped organize the tour, which he said has been discussed by fellow members for years.
“It’s kind of been talked about for several years by a group of friends that grew up through the Young Leader program. We wanted to continue going on trips and interacting and maintaining and building the network, and try and introduce more people into what we grew up enjoying, and the tours and learning how other farms work,” Liefer told FarmWeek during the tour.
Liefer, who aged out of the Young Leader program about a decade ago and previously served as the Randolph County Farm Bureau president, pointed to the diversity of Illinois agriculture as another motivator for the tour.
Fort de Chartres, Prairie du Rocher
While more historical than agricultural, the fort was built in 1753 and served as the western frontier for the French government. Walking amongst the stone structures, Jason Duensing, whose father Darrell Duensing served as site manager from 1971 to 2015, shared the history of the fort, including its main commodity for trading — wheat.
Duensing and wife, Jennifer, who operate the nearby Illinois Country Harvest Farm, revived the Les Amis du Fort de Chartres (Friends of Fort de Chartres), rebuilding the group to several hundred members to help preserve the historic site.
While many of the structures have been reconstructed due to flooding and general wear and tear, the site is home to the powder magazine, thought to be the oldest existing European structure in Illinois.
Krause Elk Farm, Evansville
Meandering past enclosed pasture, the high-pitched squeals coming from 500-plus-pound elk delighted the tour group. The noise is one of Dale Krause’s favorite parts of owning an elk farm.
His operation includes about 130 elk, of which about a dozen are processed each year for meat and other products sold at the on-farm store. He started the family-run operation more than three decades ago, and it remains one of the largest elk operations in the state.
“A lot more are trying to get into it,” he said. “The market flipped because of the velvet antler.” (Americans are beginning to recognize the benefits of elk velvet antler as an effective anti-inflammatory agent).
Following their hayrack ride through the pasture, the group treated themselves to a little shopping at the farm, where they perused the different cuts of elk meat, antlers, velvet antler pills and crafts and jewelry made with elk teeth, also known as ivories.
Braeutigam Orchard, Belleville
Tucked away off any main roads and within a neighborhood, this U-pick orchard may be one of the most diverse ag operations in the state. From apple and peach trees to a pumpkin patch, vegetable gardens, grain and livestock farm, children’s play area, cabin rental on Vrbo and on-farm market, the orchard continues to grow as a family operation with the eighth generation currently learning the ropes.
Comedic father and son duo Tom and Kurt Range entertained the group with their playful quips at each other while taking Farm Bureau members on a tour through their orchards and garden.
“We live agritourism, we didn’t create it,” father Tom Range said.
“We’re off the road, so people feel like they’re coming to a destination,” Kurt Range added.
Salger’s Ostrich Farm, Red Bud
Nathan Salger said he wanted to clear something up before he was asked the question.
No, he’s never tried to ride an ostrich.
The giant birds could probably carry an adult, but what’s the point, he asked.
The operation started 25 years ago with two birds and an incubator in Salger’s basement.
He shared some facts about the animals:
- Eggs take about 42 days to hatch
- Females can lay 50-60 eggs a year
- About 90 pounds of meat can be processed from one bird
- Ostriches can run up to 40 mph, “And I hope I never see it,” Salger said.
- Those who are allergic to red meat from mammals — a condition that usually begins with the bite of the Lone Star tick — are able to eat ostrich meat because the animals are hatched
IFB staff are already planning future tours, with details to be announced at a later date.
Liefer said he was pleased with the inaugural event.
“We’re pretty proud of our little slice of Illinois, and we hope that they enjoyed it,” he said.
Content for this story was provided by FarmWeekNow.com.