Welcome to the Mackinson Dairy Farm Blog! <\/span>The Mackinson Family dairy and grain farm is located 5 miles north of Pontiac, Illinois and about 100 miles south of Chicago on Interstate 55. If you are ever traveling on Interstate 55 – we are at mile-marker 203 or right along Historic Route 66.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n First of all, a bit of history. MDF began over 100 years ago with a handful of cows and 161 acres (65 hectares) of land. My great-great grandfather Daniel Mackinson was the original owner. Today our family continues to live and farm those same original acres along with roughly 2,000 (800 hectares) more. The dairy has grown to include about 165 milking cows and over 140 head of heifers and calves. We are proud to own a great herd of Holsteins, Ayrshires and 2 Brown Swiss.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The farming operation is owned by my parent’s Donald & Rita, Donald’s brother Roy, and Donald and Rita’s son Matt. Donald and Roy are great-grandsons of Daniel, the original owner. Without a doubt, farming is a more than a livelihood for Donald, Roy, and Matt. Each has a true passion for the soil and the cows.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n <\/p>\nMeet Us:<\/h3>\n
\nMy parents are Donald & Rita and will be married since 1979. Dad started working on the farm during High School and has been there ever since. Today, he serves on as President of the Illinois Milk Producers Board and is a Board Member for Prairie Farmers, our cooperative. Mom recently retired from teaching Kindergarten at St. Mary School. They both truly love being Grandparents. <\/p>\n
\nI (Mary – the principle author of the blog) am the oldest of three children. While I don\u2019t work on the farm, I am still actively involved. My husband, Jesse and I are proud parents of a daughter, Miss A and our son, Mr. E. I work as the number cruncher or the controller for a local cooperative that provides farmers in our area with feed, crop inputs and is a grain storage facility. Jesse is from a beef and grain farm and one of the Agriculture teachers and FFA Advisors at Pontiac High School. <\/p>\n
\nMatt is the middle child. He married Amy in September of 2012 and she is a Registered Nurse. Farming can be a dangerous profession so I think we were all thrilled that Matt would have an extra eye (and a trained hand) to take care of him. Amy is also from a swine and grain farm. They have two sons, Mr. I and Mr. C. <\/p>\n