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Rader Family Farm

Rader Family Farm
1312 Ropp Road
309-275-8765

History:

Lynn Rader and his 6 younger siblings were raised on this Guernsey Dairy farm by their parents, Glenn and Margaret Rader. Glenn and Margaret moved onto this farm when they were married in 1945. The family grew up milking cows and showing them in 4-H.

In 1971 the cows were sold after Glenn passed away. The farm took on a very different look when the cows were gone. From then until the present time, Lynn and Linda have been primarily grain farmers.

For the past many years they have also grown and sold sweet corn in the summer and pumpkins and other produce in the fall. The pumpkin business began rather innocently when Lynn had a bumper crop of pumpkins in his garden and decided to put a hayrack out in his front yard with the extras on it to sell. That was some 20 years ago and every year since, Lynn has planted more and more varieties and has expanded his acreage to 30 plus acres.

The Raders have three married children and 8 grandchildren who all live in the community.  The grandchildren love visiting the farm and are beginning to assist with many tasks.  Poppy Lynn enjoys teaching his grandchildren, the fifth generation of Rader's on the farm, about the agritainment business.

As farmers, Lynn and Linda realize how much people love and appreciate an opportunity to experience a "Little Bit of the Country Life". We see that each new generation has less and less understanding of the rural life. We feel our farm allows guests a unique opportunity to connect with and learn from rural America while having a great time in the country. This agritourism site presents many opportunities to learn from hands on experiences about agriculture in central Illinois, helping bridge the gap between city and country life.


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