I am Ashley Kehrer, and I started as the Southern Illinois FarmLink Navigator this past month. I live in Clinton County with my husband, Kerry, on a farm we purchased in 2019. We made it a true ‘family’ farm with the addition of our daughter in November of 2024. Together, we raise beef cattle and market them through our own private retail label- Mulberry Creek Meats. We have a menagerie of other animals including, but not limited to, horses, chickens, goats, geese, and guineas. I also hold a full-time role with Purina Animal Nutrition as a quality programs supervisor. My husband farms traditional row crops and hay on our farmland and rented ground.
I am very excited to start this new role helping farmers and landowners navigate land access as farming is very near to my heart. I grew up on a farm in Randolph County, which is southeast of St. Louis and along the Mississippi River.
There’s just something to be said about being immersed in the farming lifestyle from a very young age. Lessons in life came in full circles, from watching in awe as a cow calved to the solemnity of what took place on butchering day. A good work ethic was acquired. I came to know that putting up hay in the sweltering summer heat enabled me to feed my very own horse through the bitter cold of winter. Through the highs and the lows, farming instilled a passion in caring for and nurturing the land and animals.
Unfortunately, due to family circumstances, staying on the farm was not an option, but I was determined to continue a path in agriculture. I have always felt agriculture was part of my identity. I was active in 4-H and FFA and obtained my bachelor’s degree in animal science, with a minor in crop and soil science from the University of Illinois. I also spent two summers in college working and conducting research at U of I Extension farms.
My professional career has spanned across the animal agriculture industry, ranging from research and production scheduling at a large-scale pork processing facility to my current role in livestock feed manufacturing. Each position was fulfilling in the sense that I was contributing to agriculture at a larger scale, but they left me yearning for a more personal and grounded connection. Getting a piece of the pie was great, but I wanted a whole pie. The risks. The rewards. All of it.
By fate, when I met my husband, we discovered our shared experiences of losing our family farms to succession complications. We both had the desire to recreate the way of life we had while growing up, even if it meant doing it from scratch. In the process, we experienced firsthand the challenges that come with acquiring farmland rather than inheriting it.
After a lot of searching, number crunching, and a leap of faith, we purchased our home farm at an auction. While we value the idyllic scene of cattle on large rolling pastures, our budget would not allow us to also buy the adjacent 40-acre field. Instead, we’ve learned how to optimize the usage of the 12-acre homesite and get creative in our approach to intensive management on small acreage. We incorporate rented pastureland and crop ground in other counties to make it all work.
I am eager to utilize both my personal and professional experiences, as well as challenge myself to continue to learn, for the betterment of our agricultural land in Illinois. I look forward to assisting and empowering others on their journey through The Land Connection’s Illinois FarmLink program. Together we can be better stewards and make this way of life more readily available to those that seek it.
You can reach out to Ashley for help with your southern Illinois farmland access challenges by emailing her at [email protected].