Farm Trek 2015: Harvard meets Hancock - JP: News
3/22/15, 10:41 PM
Farm Trek 2015: Harvard meets Hancock
Zach Short Managing editor | Posted: Wednesday, March 18, 2015 10:22 am
A group of Harvard Kennedy School students have traded
in flip flops and swim suits for work boots and blue jeans
this week as part of Farm Trek 2015.
The trek is hosted by Carthage native TJ Menn and his
wife, Jenn, and will be hitting various spots in Hancock
County, western Illinois, and eastern Iowa. The week of
tours, meetings, and activities is designed to help Harvard
graduate students better understand where their food
comes from, the intricacies of the Farm Bill, and
familiarize them with the challenges the agricultural
community faces in the future.
Harvard Kennedy School Farm
Trek 2015
Members of the Harvard Kennedy School
prepare for a hay rack ride Monday at the
property of Tom Jefferson near Carthage
during their Farm Trek 2015 experience.
The group used Monday to get first hand knowledge of
life on the farm at the homestead of Tom and Mavis
Jefferson, southeast of Carthage. The Jefferson’s are
Menn’s aunt and uncle, and the students experienced
shooting guns, chopping firewood, driving a tractor, and riding four-wheelers during their afternoon on
the property.
“This is everyone at the Kennedy School’s spring break,” said Menn. “They’re using their spring break to
come out here and check out farmland. They’re really excited. You can tell they’re having a blast today.
It’s really neat. My uncle Tom has been a mentor of mine growing up and throughout my life. They’ve
done a lot of work getting the farm ready.
“I think people really appreciate it.”
Over 100 students showed interest in taking the trip, but only 22 were able to visit the midwest. The
interest was obvious early on, and the excitement was palpable in the Monday afternoon sunshine.
“So far there is definitely an excitement that people are even interested in rural America,” said Jenn
Menn. “I think it’s proof what we think of as a really small endeavor is interesting to people.”
The Menn’s got the idea of having a farm trek in Hancock County and the surrounding areas after taking
a similar trek in Japan last spring. They thought there would be interest in having people visit where TJ
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Farm Trek 2015: Harvard meets Hancock - JP: News
3/22/15, 10:41 PM
grew up in a similar capacity. With the help of Jenn they put together an impressive itinerary covering
everything from local family farms to agricultural giants, and meetings with key politicians and business
executives in between.
“Some of the perspective coming in was I was more of a suburb girl when we got married about 10 years
ago, and I came out on the farm and TJ showed me around,” said Jenn. “Some ways in planning it was
like, ‘oh, we have to go to Dadant’s. We have to go to the dairy farm.’”
Other stops in the county will be at Dadant and Sons in Hamilton, Udder Hill Dairy south of Carthage, a
visit to Whitaker’s barn near Carthage, an Amish farm tour in Plymouth, a tour of Professional Swine
Management, and a visit to Lake Hill Winery.
The group will also visit DuPont Pioneer in Jonston, Iowa, take a Monsanto farm tour, and visit the John
Deere plant in Moline.
The trek is a way to help the culturally diverse group of students representing many countries around the
world, understand the breadth of farming.
“I think in the same way there’s a spectrum of farming we wanted to show them the spectrum of ways
people farm,” said Jenn. “Some are really working the land for their crops, and others are with industries
that support ag tech, or grain elevators, or ground farmers.”
Perhaps the biggest reasons for the trip were understanding and education, which wasn’t as easy to find
in the classrooms of Harvard as Menn had hoped.
“There were a couple of professors at the Kennedy School that I got frustrated with because they would
boil down the Farm Bill and other things-- pretty complex legislation-- and say ‘farmers just get paid to
do nothing, and leave their land barren,’” said Menn. “That’s not the whole story and people need to
understand that.
“The students are coming out here to see what rural America is like and what farming is like.”
On Monday the students stayed in the moment. Swinging an axe, firing a gun, and hitting muddy puddles
with a four-wheeler. But at the base of their visit is a much larger purpose, and present in the group are
not only America’s future leaders, but leaders on the world stage as well. One gentleman staying with
home host Tom Jefferson is the managing director of the largest pork company in China.
“It’s definitely educational for a lot of these people,” said Menn. “Even the American’s, a lot of them
have never been to this part of the country. They’re going to be going to Washington after graduation, a
large percentage of them, and some of these foreign students will go back to pretty high level government
positions. If we can influence decisions of other governments, or even influence and educate bureaucrats
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Farm Trek 2015: Harvard meets Hancock - JP: News
3/22/15, 10:41 PM
in our own government, I think that is worthwhile.
“I think exposure, knowledge, and education is a valuable thing.”
The hands-on experience is an obvious advantage for the future Kennedy School graduates. And for TJ
and Jenn, two people with plenty of intellect, the decision to spend a week back at TJ’s home was a nobrainer.
“I love where we grew up. I’m a huge fan of it,” said Menn. “The people here are some of the nicest and
down to earth people there are.”
The kindness of community members offering their homes and lands helped the Menn’s make the trip
possible, and in time the experiences of the 22 spring breaker’s on the trek will reach out across the
world. They still have the week ahead, but from Monticello Acres, the Jefferson’s farm, it appeared to be
a trip worth taking.
“I really want to thank the community and thank our sponsors, literally from across the country,” Menn
said. “They’ve been emailing and providing financial support. This community has really come together.
It’s made me even more appreciative of where I grew up.
“The people here are some of the best in the world.”
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