PEORIA MAGAZINE December 2022

Cheryl Walsh of Bradford, discs a harvested corn field

Ali Gibbs tends to the livestock on the land she farms with husband Nathan

S E E D A N D S O I L

WOMEN MAKE THEIR MARK IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS FARM COUNTRY

BY STEVE TARTER PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

A

and f lowers on the 15-acre spread. When she’s not tending the fields, she’s organizing one of several greenhouses on the property or freeze-drying items such as mushrooms and sweet potatoes for sale in her store. Her remarkable backstory aside, Irons is part of a growing phenomenon in central Illinois of female farmers plowing ful l-speed ahead in an industry traditionally dominated by men. Farming is a year-round endeavor for Irons, who starts planting in the greenhouse in December. Kira Santiago, who runs Kira’s Flowers in East Peoria, refers to Irons as “my dahlia girl.” The two women are close friends and part of an expanding f lower network in central Illinois, said Santiago, who hopes to develop

nya Irons developed her interest in agriculture while growing up in a Russian orphanage. “I spent a lot of

that network further to provide area consumers with flowers grown in the Midwest. Most flowers on the market today are produced in South America, where some farms continue to use pesticides restricted in the United States, she said. Although she grew up on an organic farm in Eureka run by her mother, Teresa Santiago, Kira said she and her two sisters weren’t initially sold on the idea of farm labor. “We complained a lot but we did the work,” she said. But Santiago came around after spending some time in Boston and hearing about a successful flower farm in Seattle. “I’m coming home and I’m going to grow flowers,” she told her bewildered mother. That was eight years ago.

time in the garden,” she said. When she was 15, she was adopted by Lowell and Janet Ioerger, who operated a grain farm in Minonk. As they say, ostal'noye uzhe istoriya — the rest is history, that is. “This family choseme,” Irons said. “The first year was tough with no English.” But Anya learned. Now34 andmarried with two young daughters of her own, Irons runs theTriple IGardenShopaspart of the Ioergers’ corn/soybean operation. “Nowmy favorite part of the business is communicating with people at the farmer’s market. I learn a lot,” she said. Irons grows vegetables, fruits

14 DECEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE