Homer Glen woman elected to Illinois Farm Bureau Board reflects on 40 years of family farming
When Lu Ann Matejcak, of Homer Glen, was first approached to be on the Will County Farm Bureau Board, her first reaction was to laugh.
“I’m like, I don’t think so,” Matejcak said. “I don’t think I’m a really good fit. I’m not a yes person, that’s just not who I am. I don’t go with the flow if I don’t agree with it. If I think it’s a good idea and I think it would benefit everyone then yeah, but otherwise no.”
But Matejcak, 66, was persuaded and in 2019 joined the board. Now she’s been elected to serve on the Illinois Farm Bureau Board.
As a state board member, Matejcak said she represents Will, Cook, DuPage, Kendall and Grundy counties. The board discusses issues farmers face, such as pipelines and solar panel projects, offers community programs and advocates for legislation that pertains to agriculture.
“All groups evolve and change to meet the needs of their members,” Matejcak said. “I’m looking forward to see where we are going and what we want to do.”
Steve Matejcak, her husband, said she’ll bring a lot of transparency to the board and advocate for the counties she represents.
“Whatever their needs are she will definitely take back to the board. The counties need to have their needs heard,” he said.
Matejcak, who grew up in Orland Park and graduated from Carl Sandburg High School in 1976, said her family farms about 300 acres in Homer Glen. Her husband and brother-in-law grow corn and beans, Matejcak said, while she, her husband and children are responsible for livestock, which consists of chickens, calves and cows.
It wasn’t until she met her husband, more than 40 years ago, that she became a farmer, Matejcak said. Now, it’s hard to pick just one thing she enjoys about farming.
“You just have to realize when you say you’re doing it, you’re doing it. You are their caretaker, they’re not your caretaker. It’s a 365 day job when you have live stock of any kind,” Matejcak said. “You never quit learning. There’s always something you can learn.”
As their two children, Stephanie and Shane, were growing up, Matejcak said they joined 4-H and showed sheep, pigs and cattle, which meant all those animals were cared for on the family farm. At one point, her son was taking care of 44 pigs, she said.
Now, as adults, Matejcak said her children still come help with the livestock.
“Even though they are married and they don’t live close, they still come and help when we need help,” Matejcak said.
During a typical day farming, Matejcak said she starts in the barn feeding the livestock. She also checks on the fence, which is electric, to make sure it’s hot and the cows can’t get out, she said.
They grind their own feed for the livestock, Matejcak said, which requires mixing their corn with supplements and dividing that into feed rations.
After checking on the livestock, Matejcak said she helps in the fields. During the winter months, when there are no crops, Matejcak said she helps with projects, such as rebuilding or updating equipment.
“Lu Ann’s my left arm,” her husband said. “She helps wherever she can.”
Over the years, more women have taken agriculture jobs and are leading family farms, Matejcak said.
“It’s exciting to see. Women, in my perspective, have always been a part of the farm whether it be behind the scenes making the meals to feed the people that are there or whether it be helping in the milking parlor or raising the chickens,” Matejcak said. “Women are an integral part of the farm at some level.”
According to the farm bureau, in 2017 Illinois had the poorest representation of farming women, which Matejcak said was not surprising because other states have better farming conditions, such as better dirt and weather.
Matejcak said her family farm decreased from about 900 acres to the 300 acres in the past 30 years as they sold land to make way for new housing. Homer Glen has shifted from being a rural community to more of a suburban town, Matejcak said, which has changed the farming experience.
“Around here, 30 some years ago, we were the middle of nowhere. You didn’t have a problem taking your equipment down the road and nobody got mad at you because there was maybe three cars behind you and two of them were who you were farming with. Now, I don’t care what time of the day you go, you’ll have 20 or 30 people behind you who are all mad at you,” Matejcak said.
Matejcak said there are more urban farmers in Cook County, which means they grow specialty crops or have green houses, because the towns tend to have more buildings.
In Will County, the farming style varies because there are different types of dirt that can grow various ground crops, Matejcak said. For example, the area closer to Kankakee has sandier soil while Homer Glen has black dirt, she said.
In the next several decades, Matejcak said there will still be farms in Will County.
“To the extent that they are, that’s difficult to tell.” Matejcak said. “Who thought 30 years ago that this area would be the way that it was. Everybody used to ask, ‘where do you live?’ and I’d say, ‘the middle of nowhere.’ Well, now everybody’s found the middle of nowhere.”
