CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. (AP) — Ken Bauman is a fourth-generation dairy farmer and his 13-year-old daughter, Renee, thinks she might be the fifth.
Bauman's 10-year-old son, Randy, leans more toward crop production.
Bauman Farms and the dairy arm, called Marwood-Ridge Registered Holsteins, milk about 60 cows, have a small beef operation and farm about 1,800 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and hay.
"There's not that many livestock farms in McHenry County anymore," Bauman said. "It's more for a younger person than an older person because of the physical demands of taking care of the animals seven days a week."
Focusing on the residential southern half of McHenry County, it can be easy for some to forget the county still is very much agricultural with its feet firmly planted on farmland.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2007 census, there were 1,035 farms in the county, up from 870 five years earlier.
While farmland acreage was down nearly 18,000 acres in that same period, the census shows that the market value of products sold jumped about 71 percent from $91.6 million to $156.5 million. About 80 percent comes from crop sales, as opposed to livestock sales.
"The interesting part of that is the farmers are producing more with less," said Dan Volkers, manager of the McHenry County Farm Bureau.
That's due in large part to an increase in specialty growers, he said.
"You're seeing a lot more people doing the small vegetable operation, doing apple orchards, people having bees for honey," Volkers said.
The building boom led to the significant drop in farmland acreage, but it has held steady since the recession hit and development drastically slowed, Volkers said.
The Agricultural Conservation Easement and Farmland Protection Commission was formed in 2006 to maximize resources and help preserve the county's rural character.
"Development is eating up quite a bit of good farmland," commission Chairman Harry W. Alten Jr. said.
Alten, a fourth-generation farmer from Harvard whose family once owned land across from Arlington Park racetrack, said that one of biggest changes he had seen over the years was a move out of wholesale markets.
"A lot of large farmers who used to be in the wholesale business have pared down their operation and are going retail," Alten said. "They sell directly to the consumer so they have more control over their prices."
In the past, Alten Farms would supply large chains such as Jewel and Dominick's.
"There's basically six wholesale buyers out there," Alten said. "We had to deal with the small processors in between, but you have to find them and make sure they had money to pay you, too."
The number of farmers' markets has increased greatly, and there also has been a push toward agritourism in the county. Farms such as Stade's near Johnsburg and Richardson's in Spring Grove draw thousands of people each year.
Farming remains profitable, Bauman said.
"Everybody has to find their little niche," he said. "We sell a lot of hay, so that's a good steady cash flow."
Both Alten and Bauman said educating consumers about where food comes from was a good thing, especially children who might have little knowledge beyond the grocery store.
"Agriculture is still the No. 1 industry in the state of Illinois," Volkers said. "Hopefully we'll have some kids get inspired. If nothing else, as consumers they are a little more educated on where their products come from."
