Meet Chris York – Mom, Businesswoman, Pork Farmer

Each night, Chris York does everything she can to get her two kids, ages 6 and 10 ready for the morning.  She lays out their clothes, and then plans the next day’s schedule to ensure the family is ready for the morning rush.  Once she puts both kids to bed, she follows the same routine for herself, going through preparations for her 5 am alarm.

The scene isn’t unusual for busy moms who juggle the responsibilities of home and work life, but unlike other moms Chris spends her morning in a unique setting:  a hog farm that she runs with her husband Mark.  Chris is the manager of her family’s 12,000 wean to finish pork farm in Wabash County, IN.

Growing up, Chris had a much different path in mind, obtaining a business degree from Central Michigan University.  Then she met Mark, and when they married and built their first hog barn together, she quit her nine-hour-a-day bank job and jumped into the business.  She spent extra hours in the barns simply learning how to read the animals to determine their needs.  Once the couple had their first child, Chris dedicated time to running the farm and raising children.

At the end of the day, after Chris puts her kids to bed, her work doesn’t stop.  Many days, particularly if there are young pigs on the farm, she ventures back to the barn to check on the herd. She makes sure the pigs are fed, watered, sheltered and comfortable. As a woman in a job dominated by men, her nurturing instinct ads a unique dimension to the business. 

The schedule is hectic, but the job is meaningful – Chris knows that she is helping to feed millions both here in Indiana and around the world.

Indiana Pork would like to giveaway a $100 grocery gift card in honor of Chris York to one of you!

Please see the widget below to enter!

Amazing Mom Betty Mehringer

Guest Post By Julie Mehringer

One of the most kind, caring and selfless people I’ve ever met is not only my friend but also my mom, Betty Mehringer.  You could almost say her life revolves around food, whether it is tending to the family garden, helping with harvest on the farm or serving meals at funerals.

Farming is in her blood. My grandparents were farmers, and she married my dad whose family owned the farm across the field. Together they’ve grown the farms into a thriving family business. My mom cares for the pigs and cows. Her day-to-day includes cooking meals for the farm-hands, getting parts for machinery, balancing the finances, and whatever else is asked. 

On Saturdays, when she is not helping on the farm, you can find her at the Community Food Bank handing out groceries to low income families. Not only does she cook for the farm, she also cooks bereavement meals for funerals at her church.

Most importantly, my mom has shaped her three children into who we are today. Losing her mom at a young age inspired her to spend as much time with us as she could. We rarely had baby-sitters and always went with her to feed the animals as kids. We are all grown now, but carry her spirit of volunteerism and hard work with us. All three of us donate our time to non-profits: Jill volunteers at the Community Food Bank, Aaron is a volunteer firefighter, and I volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.  Both carrying on the family tradition of farming, Jill helps on her husband’s turkey farm and Aaron is a full-time employee at Mill Creek Farms.

Do you have an amazing mom? 

Tell us about her on our Facebook page or on Twitter (@FamilyofFarmers) and you could win our Mother's Day Prize Pack.

Envelope Easter Bunny

Hello everyone!  This is Sarah at This Farm Family’s Life.  I was asked to share a kids’ Easter craft with you.  Today we will be making envelope Easter bunnies.

You will need:

1 white envelope

Pink and white construction paper

2 wiggle eyes

Pink pom-pom

Cotton ball

Grey and pink markers

1. Seal the envelope.

2. Cut two large ovals from the white construction paper.(ears)

3. Cut two smaller ovals from the pink construction paper.(ears)

4. Cut two small ovals from the white construction paper. (paws)

To make the ears, glue the pink oval inside the white oval.  Glue them both to the back of the envelope.

Glue the wiggly eyes to the front of the envelope. (If you don’t have wiggly eyes, you can use black and white construction paper.)

Glue the paws at the bottom of the envelope so they hang over about halfway.

Glue the pom-pom nose to the front. (If you don’t have a pink pom-pom, you can color it with a pink marker.)

Glue the cotton ball tail to the back.

Using the pink marker, draw the nose.

Using the grey marker, draw the whiskers and the pads on the paw.

Have fun being crafty!

Raising Kids on the Farm

Guest Post By Real Farmwives of America and Friends' Jent of From My Front Porch

I heard one time that teaching children work ethic has changed: It used to be that kids were interwoven in the fabric of our work, they saw their parents work and often were required to participate – whether on the farm, running a store, at the mill etc.  – kids were more exposed to the hard work and effort that it takes to support a thriving family. 

Now don’t get me wrong – I have no desire to go back to the 1900’s – I am all about technology but I do see the value in this point and feel truly blessed to live on a farm where our kids see and participate in our work. Our kids are a part of our livelihood – our jobs are truly a family lifestyle – they witness everyday our work ethic – they live it!  As my Father-In-Law says “Your work is your signature, sign it with pride” and I feel our kids witness this everyday on the farm.

I love the fact that my kids can:  artificially inseminate sows, halter break a calf, assist a cow giving birth, drive tractors.  They have seen a piglet take its first breath climbing over the back leg of a sow knowing instinctively where to go to nurse.  They know how to walk out in a field and look to see if a seed has germinated.   They help wean pigs every 5 weeks and are in charge of feeding and bedding the cows every day. Participating shoulder to shoulder with us and each other, they have learned responsibility and the advantage to cooperation. Our hope is that they learn the value of hard work, experiencing the satisfaction that it brings, and that work isn’t just something to get over with so you can move on to fun, but is something that can be rewarding as well. We feel instilling these qualities will pay dividends down the road, as well as right now, evidenced by their consistent appearance on the honor roll and their leadership roles in 4-H and FFA.

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Now just for the record our lives are not a Norman Rockwell painting everyday!  I can remember before Chris installed the automatic waterer for the kids' show calves, it was their job everyday to make sure the water trough was full – it didn’t always get done. To prove my point of how important it was that the cattle have water at all times the kids' punishment was to go without water (drinks) for 24 hours to see how it felt!  Now before anyone calls CPS – they were in school and I had no direct control over their thirst there and am pretty sure that they did not adhere 100% to my punishment but they did learn and needless to say the water trough was full every day until the automatic waterer was installed.  This was also the year I sat our oldest down to fill out her 4-H beef paperwork and when she got to the question:

List 3 things you learned this year:

1. Animals need water and when they don’t get it, it makes my Mom very mad!

I had to laugh – definitely LESSON LEARNED!

During our busiest times of year (planting and harvest) if I am working in the field  we often don’t eat supper until 9pm – this makes for grumpy kids sometimes and well quite frankly makes for a grumpy Mom too!  The kids do homework in a tractor, combine, semi or grain office – not the most conducive to book learning but we make due.  Then there are the days between school and extracurricular activities the only time they see their Dad is to catch a quick ride with him – but this is definitely one-on-one time!  A true blessing on a multi-generational farm like ours is knowing that we all work together, if  I am working, my mother in-law is always willing to run kids around, help with homework, and feed the hungry.

All in all the good times and laughter far outweigh the bad – and when the not so good come along we all definitely know how to pitch in, stick together and wade thru the manure (figuratively and literally) as a family.

I am so proud to be raising the 7^th generation to farm this same land if they choose to do so.  Chris and I both grew up on farms and know the importance of agriculture and instilling that in our kids.  We want them to know that if they want, we would love to have them be a part of something we love so much, but also know that if they choose to go a different direction in their life we are behind them 100% .  But never forget where you came from and the importance that agriculture has in every single person’s life everyday!