Illinois farm innovates with small grains and hopes to inspire others.
Siblings Jonathan and Katie Funk, along with Katie’s spouse Jeff Hake, run Funks Grove Heritage Fruits & Grains (FGHFG) together on nine acres in McLean, IL. They started the farm in 2016 to honor Funks Grove, the forest that surrounds them and fosters the Funk family’s maple sirup operations. The trio has big dreams of someday opening a diner to serve local food to their neighbors and tourists on Historic Route 66, which runs directly past the sirup shop and farm.
In the meantime, they’re doing all they can to create food and culture that celebrates Central Illinois. (For those stumbling over the spelling of sirup, that was specified in a trust Katie and Jonathan’s great-aunt established to protect the timber and farmland. Did you know that at one time, Webster’s Dictionary actually preferred this spelling to the now-typical ‘syrup?’)
“We don’t believe that we have to export food to survive and thrive,” said Jeff in a recent video chat as he was bagging pancake mix—a task he tackles during meetings when he can.
FGHFG grows wheat, flint corn, popcorn, and barley, which are milled by Andy Hazzard at Hazzard Free Farm in Pecatonica. Using that flour, the Funks Grove crew prepares mixes for pancakes, jonnycakes, and muffins—all of which use maple sugar Katie makes. They also craft jams and other concoctions like a fruit leather they call 'Fruit Wowzers' with wild harvests and cultivated fruits, reflecting the bounty of the landscape. The farm sells flour and whole wheat berries, too.
Katie and Jonathan are also involved in their family’s maple sirup enterprises, and grew up helping with the family's conventional grain operation; Jonathan is still a partner in that business as well. Jeff has experience working on many kinds of farms, mostly near his Massachusetts birthplace.
We don’t believe that we have to export food to survive and thrive.
- Jeff Hake, pictured above, at right
One of the goals of FGHFG is to be an inspiring model for others in the Midwest. They reason that because small grains are not commonly grown around them, they can serve a worthy purpose by demonstrating that farming can make food again, and helping other farmers follow suit. An exciting step forward in this work is the purchase of a 12-inch stone mill. Friend and mentor Andy Hazzard has been guiding Jeff’s journey to milling, and in March, the two discussed their connection and considerations for opening an on-farm mill for a MOSES podcast that AGC coordinated. When the flour mill came up for sale in April—after having been used only twice a year for ten years—Jeff texted Andy just to make sure he was doing the right thing. “Wire her the money immediately. You are set with that gem!" she told him.
During the pickup, Jonathan and Jeff stopped to fetch an air screen cleaner for a fellow farmer in the local chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition, which Jeff leads (learn more here). Such collaborative instincts led FGHFG to become members of AGC, which, Jeff notes, has been enormously supportive with further networking opportunities and help with grant-writing. They’re also part of AGC’s SARE Partnership grant with Michael Fields Agricultural Institute to develop guidance documents for on-farm cleaning and post-harvest handling of food-grade wheat and rye (along with Janie’s Farm in IL, Granor Farm in MI, A-Frame Farm in MN, and Meadowlark Organics in WI).
FGHFG is one of our favorites to keep up with on social media—Jeff takes gorgeous photos and offers thoughtful, fun, and funny stories to accompany them. Follow along with him and the rest of the FGHFG team using the links below.
