(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Do you like watermelons?

I mean, really who doesn't?

Do you ever think about the people that are growing them?

Well, today, we've got Whitney Mitchell-Dewitte.

Whitney, welcome to the show.

- Thank you for having me.

- Yeah, you know all about 'em, don't you?

- A few things, yeah.

- Yeah.

How many do you think you grow a year?

- Oh, as many as we can sell.

- Yeah, more than a dozen though.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yes.

- You are up from Tampico.

So for the people in Peoria that might not know where that is, where's Tampico?

- About an hour and a half north of here, 15 minutes south of Sterling, Rock Falls area.

- Okay.

Does Tampico have a school, still?

- We do.

We have a elementary school there.

- Then where, like high school, where do you go?

- Prophetstown.

- Oh, that's too bad.

It used to be Manlius Tampico.

But that was.

- That was few years ago.

- That was quite few years ago, wasn't it?

- Yep.

Yep.

- You went to Prophetstown?

- I did.

- Okay, what's their mascot?

- It was a Prophet.

That's a pretty hot topic these days, so we.

- Oh, I didn't know we were getting into the weeds already.

Producer's like, ah.

Who are you now?

- We co-op with Erie for almost all sports, so we're the Panthers now.

- The Prophetstown Erie Panthers.

- Yep.

- I went to Bradford, we were the Panthers.

- Yeah.

- Made no sense 'cause there's no Panthers.

But now you guys are doing the same.

- Yes, yes.

So yes, I was a Prophet, but they're now Panthers now.

- You grew up on a farm?

- I did.

- What kind of farm?

- We raised corn, soybeans, seed corn, melons.

I've raised pumpkins since I was little, kinda getting into green beans the past couple years, some specialty crops.

- So not so much the typical farmers, what everybody would think, just corn and soybeans, you guys a little more diversified.

- We are.

Yep.

- So you, I mean, growing up, I mean that's what you did, you were always kind of involved with it?

- Yeah, I always remember helping, but my parents were always very good about letting me be a kid.

- [Rob] Oh, wasn't slave labor.

- [Whitney] No.

- But you were always busy.

- Yes, yes.

- No, I get it.

Yeah.

You're supposed to go out and weed the pumpkins, but if, like you got caught chasing butterflies, you weren't getting spanked, that type of thing.

- Yes, yes.

- Gotcha.

You played sports in high school?

- I did.

- What'd you play?

- Volleyball, basketball and I ran track.

- What'd you run?

- I started out in the hurdles until I got hurt and then went.

- [Rob] Did you trip over a hurdle?

- I did.

- [Rob] Yeah.

- I did.

- They're tall.

- They are.

- Yeah.

- They are.

But yes, so then I ended up running like the 800, four by eight.

- [Rob] Okay.

Were you fast?

- I would say I gravitated towards volleyball and basketball rather than track.

- I gravitated towards the refrigerator myself, yeah.

I threw discus, does that count for something?

- Oh yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yes, most definitely.

- Okay.

Then went on to St. Ambrose in Davenport, right?

- It did, yep.

I had a little trouble leaving the farm when I was getting ready to go to college.

- [Rob] Why?

- I don't know.

Things in life had been going pretty good and so I thought if I just stayed right where I was, that life would continue.

And I remember about a week before I was getting ready to go, I did not wanna leave.

- [Rob] You were comfortable.

- Yes.

- Okay.

- And my dad asked me, he goes, "What are you gonna do if you stay here"?

"I don't know?

Farm, help you?"

But I ended up going and it was probably the best four years of my life.

- I'm very familiar with St. Ambrose, all five of my sisters went there.

And I will say it is not a big school.

- No.

- It's not like you're going off into the big city and all that.

- Yeah.

- That probably helped, didn't it?

- It did.

We had went and looked at different colleges.

I almost played volleyball out at Nebraska Wesleyan.

- [Rob] Oh yeah?

- We went out there, went down to Western Illinois, and I knew I didn't wanna be too far.

- [Rob] Yeah.

- And I didn't want it to be too big.

- That's less than an hour, right?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yep.

- That's not bad.

Okay.

What'd you study?

- When I started going down there, again, 18-year-old kid, I don't have a clue what I wanna do.

But for some reason I had always enjoyed learning about prisons and everything.

I know, crazy.

- Okay.

Says a lot.

I don't remember seeing that on the cards.

Visited a lot of prisons.

Yeah.

- So yeah, I went to school, I was gonna major in psychology, kind of go the psychiatrist route.

- [Rob] Oh, you like to figure out people?

- Yeah.

So that's kind of what I was leaning towards.

And then I found out to do what I really wanted to do, I had to have a doctorate, so I said.

- [Rob] Which is what, another four years?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Because you have to be able to administer medicine, which, so anyways, I'm like, that's not gonna work.

So I switched to management and finance.

I figured that was broad enough that I could.

- That's a hard switch, I mean, that's not like going from Econ to Ag Econ, that's a.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- Yeah, so, nope, I graduated in 2011 with a double major in management and finance and a minor in econ.

- Oh, so you're smart.

That must must be nice.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- I don't know about that.

- What'd you do after school then?

- So while I was in college on the summers, I actually interned at Farmer's National Bank in Prophetstown.

(bell dinging) - It's a unsolicited plug.

- Oh.

- Yeah.

Unless they're gonna give us something.

- No.

- No, okay.

- So yes, I worked at a bank and then after I left there, I went to work at an insurance agency.

- But was the whole plan to always go back to the farm or did that evolve later in life?

- I mean, I think I always knew it and at some point that that's where I wanted to end up.

But actually being there day in and day out, my dad had always made it very clear that I couldn't just stay there.

I couldn't just graduate from college and come back.

- [Rob] Yeah.

- And expect to work there.

He really wanted me to go out, get life experience, learn something else because I mean, farming isn't guaranteed.

- [Rob] No.

- So I got that in the banking industry, the insurance world.

- Yeah.

- And I mean, I still use all of those things to this day and I'm glad that I have 'em.

So it took some time to, yeah, there were a lot of pieces that played into it that I needed to do first, I guess.

- Yeah.

I don't think that's unusual though.

I think a lot of farm kids, their parents want them to go do something else.

- Yeah.

- Even though maybe it would be the easiest if they came back.

- Yeah.

- Tell me about your first 35 acres then.

- So it's one of those things where if you hand everything to the kid at once, I feel like it maybe doesn't always have the best outcome.

- [Rob] No.

A lot of times it doesn't.

- Yeah.

And as much as my dad would hate to admit it, he is a very good teacher.

He has a lot of knowledge in what he does, mostly because he's been doing it for 50 some years.

- I met your dad, he's a character, isn't he?

- He is.

- Yeah.

- He is.

Yes.

Yes, he is a one-of-a-kind personality.

And so, yeah, I think we started with the 35 acres and I remember what do you plant, what do you, all of the questions that come with it.

- I mean, did you ask for that, though?

Or did, was it offered?

- No, it was offered.

- Okay.

- He, more of an opportunity.

- Yeah.

- Would it be something that I would be interested in?

- Yeah.

Were you excited or nervous?

- Nervous.

- Yeah, kinda like this show.

- Yes.

Yes.

You just, you don't wanna, you've seen what he's done with it his whole life and you don't wanna disappoint him, you don't wanna make a mistake.

And I mean, obviously it was his ground, so losing it wasn't.

- This was your family's ground then?

- It was, yeah.

- Okay.

Which it's very hard to describe.

I mean, you and I as farmers kind of know what that means, but kind of describe it to other people, that's an honor.

- Yes.

Yes.

- I mean, it's just not an opportunity.

- Yes.

- But for him to, give up in a sense, 35 acres to his daughter is, that's a big deal.

- Yeah.

And especially in this day and age.

I mean, you don't just decide you wanna start farming one day.

I mean, everything is so expensive these days to get your hand on farm ground is, I mean, even farming, it's hard to do.

And just with the economy the way that it is.

And so yes, to be given that opportunity, I mean, very grateful.

And then, I've obviously grown since then, but you can't be handed a few thousand acres and say, "Make decisions on all of this".

It was nice to learn on a smaller scale.

And so yeah, it's grown from there and just like anything, I feel like you need to start at the bottom and work your way up.

- [Rob] What'd you grow?

- I had corn the first year.

- [Rob] Okay.

- Yeah.

- That's remarkably unexciting.

- Yes.

Yes.

- It's evolved into pumpkins though, correct?

- Yes.

So when I was five, six years old, my grandpa who started this whole, I mean, obviously he was before my dad, so I mean, we give all the credit to him.

So we raised melons also, like I said, the watermelon and cantaloupe.

And so yes, I had my 35 acres, but my dad maybe let me slide my pumpkins in next to the melons.

- Oh, I gotcha.

Well, and this is Peoria audience.

- Yeah.

- If you lived up in your area, I mean, you guys are well known as like the melon.

- Correct.

- I don't know who to compare you to around here, but like, if you lived up in that area.

- I'd say Tanners.

- Yeah.

- I mean, I feel like everybody down here knows Tanners.

It's kind of a, and we are by no means as large as Tanners.

- [Rob] Do you have goats?

- No.

- [Rob] Yet.

- No.

No goats.

No, you can come get your cantaloupe and watermelon and pumpkins later on, but that's about the extent of it.

- So we got sunflowers here.

Tell me the story behind those.

- When I was younger, my dad has, so we're big hunters also, it occupies our time during the winter.

- [Rob] What do you hunt?

- Doves.

Out of the sun fields, or sunflower fields.

And then during the winter, duck and geese.

- [Rob] Oh, the feathers.

- Yeah.

- [Rob] You ever hunt that Sasquatch up there?

- No.

- That's where he lives, right?

Geneseo?

- Possibly.

- North of Geneseo.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

Anyway.

- So yeah, so my dad has always had a sunflower field.

And like I said, we dove hunted out of it as I was growing up.

And then my husband comes into the picture.

- [Rob] Where'd you meet him?

At a bar?

- No, no.

He, I like.

- At a bar.

She met him at a bar.

- I like give him a hard time that he.

- Prophetstown bar.

- He knew I was on the radar before I knew him.

- You mean the radar?

- He's a few years younger than me.

- Oh.

Cougars, that's what they call you?

- I guess.

I guess.

And yeah, the first time he text me, the first time he text me, I'm like, okay, first of all, I don't even know who this kid is.

- Kid!

- Yeah, and so, but anyways.

- He just text you outta nowhere?

Yeah, we're not letting this story go.

I'm invested now.

Yes.

- Our families knew one another.

- Okay.

- And the bank that I worked at was local in Prophetstown.

And so he would come through there.

- [Rob] Yeah.

- Through the drive up.

And so I always give him a hard time that he stalked me before.

- "I'd like to deposit this dollar into my account."

- Yeah.

- "Is Whitney working?"

- Yeah.

So anyways, yeah.

- So yeah, can't deny love.

- Yes.

- That's the end of it.

Yeah.

- Yes, yes.

And so, as I said, I mean, sunflowers have always, my dad has always had them.

And so when we were trying to decide where we were gonna get married, I wanted to get married in a sunflower field.

- [Rob] Okay.

- And so obviously my dad having the.

- [Rob] Bees?

- That can, was a problem that we didn't consider.

But yes.

- Anybody get stung?

- No.

No.

- It's good luck.

- Yeah.

- For a wedding, if somebody gets.

- Yeah.

- Anaphylactic.

What's that called?

Nobody died anyway at your wedding?

- No.

Nope.

And so, yeah, so the backdrop of our wedding was a sunflower field.

- [Rob] Which is beautiful.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

It's gorgeous.

So you got married, then after your first kid, is that when you went to the farm full time?

- Yes.

So I started the 35 acres, my husband come into the picture, we purchased our first farm together.

- [Rob] Nice.

That's a big deal.

- Yes, yes.

And so we continue on, we're raising our pumpkins.

A lot of it is on nights and weekends and you throw a kid into the mix and that complicates things.

- They mess everything up.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

- And so we basically had the discussion that, I mean, we could not keep going how we were, something had to change.

- [Rob] Was he working full-time?

- He wasn't yet.

- Okay.

- He was working full-time as a mechanic over in Prophetstown.

So we both had our own full-time jobs.

- [Rob] Plus the farm.

- Plus the farm.

- [Rob] Plus the kid.

- And now a now a kid.

And so.

- That didn't work too well.

- No, no.

There is only so much time in the day.

And so I make the decision that, or we make the decision, I should say, that I'm gonna come back to the farm full time.

So farming, as you know, is basically April through October.

And so my dad's biggest concern was "What are you gonna do during the winter?"

Because the winter months can be.

- [Rob] "Basically nothing, dad, that's what we do."

- Yeah.

And I am not one that I can sit home and do nothing.

- [Rob] Shocker.

- I know.

And so the insurance company that I had left full time, they were gracious enough to let me come back during the winter because.

- [Rob] Really?

- Again.

- [Rob] That's cool.

- Because again, farmers don't wanna talk about their insurance April through October.

- Farmers don't wanna talk about insurance ever.

- I know.

- Yeah.

- More likely during the winter.

And then you also have your crop insurance.

Which is kinda what I'm more geared towards now.

- You sell that?

It's so confusing.

- It is.

- Yeah.

- It is.

So I had the opportunity that I'll go back there a few days during the week and help them and then.

- [Rob] Works out.

- Actually, yeah.

Now I leave there and then start getting ready for farming.

- Got two kids.

Okay, let's get to the farm.

So if somebody's never been to Mitchell Melons, they drive up, tell me what they're gonna be seeing.

- So it has always been where my grandma and grandpa, when they moved up here 'cause my dad's family is originally from Manito, which is about an hour south of Peoria.

- [Rob] I thought it was in Canada.

- No.

- It's Manitoba.

- Manitoba.

Yep.

- It's a joke.

Anyway.

- So yeah, it has always been at the home farm there.

So you can pull in and we have our stand there that you can, there's always somebody there to help you.

- [Rob] There's always somebody manning like a bunch of.

You're selling watermelons.

- [Whitney] Cantaloupe.

- [Rob] Tell me about the thing you gave us when we filmed the TV.

- [Whitney] The Sensation.

- [Rob] That was, I've never had one of those before.

- We've been raising them for probably almost 10 years now.

- [Rob] They're Sensation?

- Sensations, yep.

And they're a little bit sweeter than a cantaloupe, they're white on the inside.

- Did you make them?

Did you breed 'em?

- Nope.

It's just a different variety of seed.

- [Rob] How come we don't see those?

Those were unbelievably good.

- They don't ship as well as your typical cantaloupe.

- [Rob] Oh, I gotcha.

- They have a softer skin on 'em.

And so yeah, you gotta come see us if you want those.

- I mean, do people know?

Is it a big seller?

- It is.

It is.

The first year that we had 'em, they were different, so people don't want 'em.

But then the next year, once they tried 'em.

- [Rob] Did you have to give some away?

- We did.

We did.

- Yeah, that ain't cool.

- And then they were like, yeah, that they really enjoyed 'em.

And they have done nothing but grow since then.

- How do you know what to grow?

Do you really just have to kind of look at the past years' sales and kind of gauge by them?

- It's hard to even base it off the past years because I mean, weather comes into play.

Weather is what we fight the most with anything.

- [Rob] Yeah.

It's so dumb.

- It is, it is.

So I mean, we kind of gauge each year how many acres we grow of each.

And I mean, we pretty much stick to that.

I mean, and my dad has always said that it is, you can grow thousands, but unless you can get rid of 'em, I mean, it really does you does you no good.

- Well, that and the work.

I mean, tell us, explain to us how a watermelon combine works.

- Well, it's about high school kid age.

- [Rob] It's physical.

- It is.

- Yeah.

- It is.

And the biggest thing is everybody thinks that melon season is just the month of August.

I'd say within the next two weeks we'll start planting them in the greenhouse.

- Really?

It's, what is today?

It's like the March.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, it's early.

- Usually the beginning of April we start planting 'em in the greenhouse.

Put 'em out in the field, usually Mother's Day weekend is our big weekend to plant the plants out in the field.

- So you're not planting seeds.

Oh, they're trans, oof, that's.

- Transplants.

Yep.

- You do like work, don't you?

- Yes.

Yes.

- How many people do you employ?

- So obviously my dad, Mike Kelly, he has worked with my dad for, it's probably been almost 30 years he's been around.

And then there's a couple of my dad's buddies that come back, they have now retired from their actual jobs, but for some reason still come back and help during melon season.

- I've been to your farm.

- Yep.

- And it was early and they're taking their morning break.

Your dad's in there.

- Yep.

Yep.

- Telling the stories, isn't he?

- Oh yeah.

So, yep.

And then obviously my husband is back now.

And then his brother, so my brother-in-law, he helps full-time now.

- [Rob] Which employee do you like the least?

- My husband.

(laughing) - Usually people don't answer that question, but you were, you were just like that.

- No, I'm just kidding.

- I don't know if you are.

- No, I thoroughly enjoy.

I mean, you know, working with your spouse.

- It's no bueno.

Why are you winking at me?

- I really do enjoy it.

- [Rob] Yeah.

- So I was on the farm, I think two years before he came back.

And again, he started helping my dad more and so he would go and be mechanic in the morning, farmer in the afternoon, farmer into night and I mean we had a 2-year-old at this point.

- [Rob] Was he a farmer?

Farm kid?

- Not really.

- He just likes to work.

- Yes.

Yes.

- Well, you kind of have to if you're gonna marry into your family.

- Yes.

Yeah.

I always give 'em a hard time that why would anybody wanna marry me 'cause then they know they're gonna have to pick melons for the rest of their life.

- Exactly.

Yeah.

Now is your dad, is he younger than your mom?

I didn't know if it was a trend in your family.

- So no, no.

- Sorry.

Alright.

If people wanna find your place on social media or that, where do they go?

- So we're on Facebook, the Mitchell Melons page.

My stepmom pretty much does all the behind-the-scene things with that and yeah, does a very good job of broadcasting everything out there.

- M-I-T-C-H-E-L-L. - Correct.

- Yeah.

- Yep.

In Tampico, Illinois.

- We had you on our other show where we actually took the cameras up there.

Everybody seems like they enjoy what they do and I think that says a lot about the people running the farm.

- Yep.

- 'Cause if you had a bunch of miserable people running around and that, you could kind of tell.

I enjoyed the visit up there.

- Yeah.

- And I think everybody, if you're swinging by that area, definitely get one of the Sensations for sure.

- Yeah.

And melon season is definitely one of the toughest months.

- [Rob] Yeah.

- Because it is seven days a week and with the kids being as small as they are, it's hard for them to come there because there are cars moving all the time.

There are tractors coming in and out.

- [Rob] So be careful if you show up.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

Okay, Whitney Mitchell-Dewitte, thank you for coming to Peoria.

Really appreciate it and really appreciate everything that you do for agriculture.

- Yep.

Thank you.

- Everybody else, we'll catch you next week.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music)