The Willis Farm - Thornton, IA by Diane

Friday, August 24. Friday morning Dawn and I did a taping of Jayni’s Kitchen, a cooking show that airs in Kansas. Besides the nervousness of being on camera, we had a great time. (Dawn’s writing about that, and I’ll try to pop in with a few thoughts/comments myself.) After Jayni’s, which tapes in Lawrence, Kansas, we headed toward Minneapolis, where our next event was.

On the way, we stopped off at The Willis Ranch, a pastured hog operation owned by Paul Willis and his amazing wife Phyllis, which is in Thornton, Iowa. Paul’s operation is the way all hogs should be raised. He has a large field for the animals which are covered in what are called hoop houses. They’re cut-in-half cylindrical metal sheds basically (I”ll post photos), where the hogs can take shelter or use as a home for their offspring.

The first thing that really surprised me was that a group of 15 or so people, including energetic children, didn’t scare the animals. They were so friendly that they actually came up to us to say hello (I got slimed a couple times – in a very friendly way though…). The hogs run around the pasture, play, socialize and simply are what they are. (On large conventional farms, the animals are kept indoors, crowded into very small pens, most never see sunlight or touch ground until they’re taken off to be processed.)

Giving an animal a quality of life is essential to the whole sustainability principle. Animals should have the right to carry out their natural behaviors, be outdoors when possible, and not be confined. And Paul’s operation is that way. We had a great time in the field, meeting the hogs and watching all the adorable little piglets chasing each other around.

After the farm tour, we went back to the house for a spread of food that included bacon from the farm, corn salad, egg salad, breads, heirloom tomatoes, wine, and lots and lots of pies. And Paul’s just helped start up a Slow Food chapter in his area, so other Slow Food folks were at the house with us. One of the most interesting people I met was the head of dining services from Iowa State University. She’s so passionate about and dedicated to local sustainable food that she’s determined to have 35 percent of the food at the school be local in four more years. (She’s given herself five years and is in her first.) Now that’s impressive! It’s that passion and commitment that I’ve found all across the country. Now that we’re in Iowa, I can say without a doubt that there’s so much more happening in sustainable food than people realize. It’s not just a movement any more and it’s not a trent – local, sustainable food from small family farms is here and it’s here to stay. So many people are living it that it makes me so optimistic and hopeful for the future.

I also got to meet Paul’s daughter, Sarah, who’s one of the new faces of food. She moved away, lived in cities, and came back five years ago because she wanted to come back to the farm. Paul raises his hogs for Niman Ranch, and Sarah helps him with marketing. So even though she might not be an actual hog farmer (though she is raising some hogs on her farm down the road), she’s still involved with the sustainable food world because she’s working to help get the meat to consumers, which is essential to the whole process. Sarah’s enthusiasm, excitement and passion for small farms and raising animals sustainably was nothing short of contagious – this is the same energy I’m finding all over the country.

Diane Halverson from the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) was also there. AWI has recently come out with standards called Animal Welfare Approved, and the Willis Farm is one of their approved farms. Diane’s been working on issues surrounding confinement and pasture raising of hogs for many years now – she’s probably one of the first to really start raising her voice for better treatment of animals raised for food.

We had a wonderful evening at the Willis Ranch – my only regret was that we couldn’t stay longer. And Phyllis Willis is someone you all should get the opportunity to meet. Like Rosalie from Nebraska, Phyllis has a heart of gold, and certainly knows how to cook! We could never thank her and Paul enough for their hospitality and great food! I hope we can come back soon!

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