Woodstock woman named Master Farmer
The days are long this time of year for farmers like Linnea Kooistra.
Out of bed at 5 a.m., she’s outside on the tractor soon after, tilling and planting the corn and soybean fields with her husband, Joel. It may be as late as 9 p.m. before the tractors are shut down for the night.
The Kooistras are third generation farmers, tending 400 acres on the farm in Woodstock where Joel grew up, plus 400 additional acres nearby. Their dairy operation, which is even more labor-intensive, relies on keeping 500 head of livestock happy and healthy in order to produce milk for the Dean’s and Jewel labels.
When she’s not out in the fields or cow barns, there’s always more to do. Linnea works on record-keeping, balance sheets, marketing and other elements of the business side of farming from the massive desk in her home office overlooking the farm.
It’s a challenging, busy life, and she loves it.
“I’m so proud to be a farmer,” Kooistra said. “What we do on this farm is important to the world. It gives me so much pride to know that our life’s work is feeding people. I’m proud of the job that we do in caring for the earth and caring for the animals.”
Kooistra was recently honored as a 2011 Master Farmer by Prairie Farmer magazine, an Illinois publication which, at 170 years old, is reportedly the nation’s oldest continuously published magazine. For much of its history, Prairie Farmer has annually celebrated top farmers — about 300 in total.
Until this year, they were all men.
In honor of Kooistra’s distinction as the first female to be named as a Master Farmer, the Illinois House of Representatives adopted a resolution initiated by State Rep. Jack D. Franks of Woodstock that congratulates her on the achievement.
She was nominated for the Master Farmer award by Rod Stoll of 1st Farm Credit Services, based in Normal.
“He came to Joel and I, saying that he wanted to nominate both of us,” said Kooistra. “My husband said, ‘No, I want you to just nominate my wife. The glass ceiling needs to be broken in agriculture, and I want her to be the one to do it.’”
Stoll put together a fat application folder that included information about Kooistra’s farm, family, farming practices and leadership in the agricultural community, as well as 30 letters of support from business and agriculture associates.
The selection committee, which also chose four other Illinois farmers for this year’s honor, places a good deal of weight on the nominees’ service to the community.
Kooistra has been on the McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals for 10 years and previously served 13 years on the McHenry County Planning Commission. She is vice president of the United Methodist Foundation for Northern Illinois and media spokeswoman for the Chicago area of the National Dairy Producers Organization.
But her heart really lies in education. Besides serving on the Harvard Education Foundation — the last two years as president — Kooistra and her husband annually host 200 Harvard kindergartners who swarm the farm to pet the calves, see how big cows really are and watch them being milked.
The farm is also part of a McHenry Community College continuing education tour for teachers to learn about modern food production. During the ’90s, the Kooistras opened their property to the community every year for Harvard Milk Days’ Breakfast on the Farm.
Even though it was she who was honored, the Kooistra operation is clearly a partnership. Joel is the operations manager; Linnea, the business manager. He plants the corn; she prepares the fields ahead of him. During harvest, she drives the combine; he drives the truck that carries the yield.
Both care for the 250 milk cows and 250 heifers and calves. Three employees help with the milking operation, which produces more than 2,000 gallons a day.
A nutritionist develops recipes for the animals’ different diets, based on their age, stage of pregnancy and how much milk they’re producing. A veterinarian comes once a week to monitor the health and care of all the animals, including their vaccinations.
The Kooistras also take pains to care for the earth.
“Natural resource protection has always been important in our family,” Kooistra said. “Farmers are the original conservationists. Because you’ve got to take care of the soil so that it’s healthy for the next year’s crop, and you’ve got to take care of the animals so that they’ll take care of you.”
Field conservation is enhanced, Kooistra said, by utilizing biotechnological advances that reduce pesticides in the soil and groundwater, by tilling less and by planting grass strips to catch rainwater before it erodes the soil.
Comfortable cows are happy cows and produce more milk, so a lot of thought goes into improving their environment, too. Nutritious diets, sand bedding, cooling fans in the barn and monthly pedicures are among the perks that Kooistra cows enjoy, the same as at many modern farms.
Making these things happen, of course, is a team effort.
“Women have been involved in agriculture from day one and very much involved,” Kooistra said. “It’s just been sad that in the past, women have been recognized only as the person supporting the male in the family, who is the main farmer.
“That’s what I’m proud of in receiving this award — for young women to know that they are equals. They can be recognized as equals. Set your sights high.
“You can do anything in agriculture. It’s an open field.”