A New Chapter

Here at DRF, our winters are spent taking a hard look at the previous season(s) and evaluating what changes need to be made for future seasons. We’ve been very impressed and honored with the consistent growth we have seen over our 5 years in operation and have been so grateful for the individuals and families that have accepted us into their circles. In evaluating last year (and indeed prior years), there is a significant, ongoing issue that has caused us to make the decision to take a hiatus for the 2023 growing season.

Many of you are aware of the water challenges we face on this farm. Our farm sits in a unique area between Morton, Groveland, Pekin, and East Peoria where there is no aquifer vein beneath us. All the wells are drilled fairly shallow and mainly only pick up ground water when the water table is at a certain level. No rain for some time leads to faucets spitting up water until there eventually is none. We and our neighbors then have to truck in water to keep our houses stocked with sufficient water for our households. We are no exception to this and, in addition,  we are trying to adequately supply enough water to support our entire vegetable operation. Washing vegetables, irrigating greenhouses, and watering in newly seeded/planted crops in the field are daily requirements on a primarily annual vegetable farm like this one. Blah, blah, blah, you’ve all heard us complain about water here on the farm. But what does that look like in practice? 

Last season, we made nearly 500 trips to and from Morton in order to pick up loads (235 gallons each) of water and bring them back to the farm to meet our water needs. Each round trip takes approximately 23-25 minutes. Over the course of a 25-week season, that ends up being around 8 hours per week, a full workday, just spent driving to get water and bring it back to the farm to meet our bare minimum needs.

This lack of water makes our job of growing high quality vegetables that much more difficult and time consuming. Water is a plant's number one fertilizer. Not having a reliable source of water affects the consistency, quality, and yields of vegetables we’re able to coax from the soil.

So, you may be wondering why the water challenge affects us more than growing flowers? Simply, it takes much more water to grow vegetables, especially in the intensive way we grow them, than it does flowers. Vegetables are primarily made up of water, it contributes significantly to their post harvest shelf life, flavor, and nutrition. Additionally, quicker growing crops with a one-time harvest (once you pull a radish, it’s gone) means constant seasonal replanting which requires more water.

A mid-September planting of lettuces watered in with drip tape to conserve water. And many trips to Morton to get loads of water.

So what now? 

Land access is a difficult piece of the puzzle for aspiring first generation farmers and prevents many young growers from pursuing this work. Down River Farm has been searching for land for almost 2 years now. While we’ve had some nibbles, nothing we have looked at has met our needs yet. To get an idea of what we’re looking for, click on this blog post. We believe in being patient and waiting for the right property so we don’t have to move again. By taking a hiatus for 2023, we will have the time to really consider the next move and will allow us to  move the business in the direction it needs to go to better serve the community, our customers and our team for the long term. 

Fall greens planted in late summer; watered in with trucked in water from Morton.

2023 and 2024

The East Peoria farm was home to two farm businesses; Down River Farm and Kira’s Flowers. Kira’s Flowers will continue operating this 2023 season on the same piece of land. She will be at the Riverfront Market next year with her Mom - Teresa, of Sunny Lane Farms in Eureka - selling flowers, herbs, fruit, teas, jams/jellies, and plant starts. We hope you’ll continue to support them. 

For those of you who regularly purchased from us in years’ past, we hope you’ll continue to patronize the farmers market in 2023 and support the other farmers that are present there. Indeed, we are all in this together; supporting them is supporting the movement. To our CSA members, we invite you to visit the Local Harvest website for a database of other farms/CSAs in the area. We will send out a separate e-mail to our past CSA members that will include specific farms’ CSA’s to turn to for next season as some of the Local Harvest website is outdated. 

That being said, we hope that you’ll support us once again should we find a new location to move to in 2024. We have really enjoyed growing for you and have many aspirations on the horizon. Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter on our website or continue following us on Instagram or Facebook for updates. 

Please also reach out if you know of property that may meet our needs.

Watering cabbages late at night one summer evening during a dry spell.

Many thanks!

We sincerely thank both Kira and Dave Bishop (the landowner) for the much needed mental support and the opportunity to farm here and make all the mistakes one makes in their early years of any pursuit. Thanks to the many amazing people we have had the privilege of working with over the years; Ryan, Cody, Taylor, Robert, Max, Justin, Kaitlyn, Lisa, Meredith, Fletcher, and many more. Not to mention all the customers and students I have had the joy of taking around the farm and sharing our growing practices. 

Most of all, thank you to all of our customers for the support these past 5 years. We can’t tell you how much we appreciate it. Here’s to the next chapter and the potential for a bigger and better return in the near future!

Thanks for 5 great years! Let’s hope to add more to that after our hiatus!