It’s time again for My Farm Roots, a series from Harvest Public Media in which we hear Americans’ stories and memories of rural life. Because when you hail from farm country, roots run deep.
About 20 years ago, Becky Doyle had a big surprise come her way. The governor of Illinois tapped her to run the state’s Department of Agriculture. Up until then, she and her husband had been running a hog and grain farm. But at age 37, she took over the ag department, though she never really left the farm.
Pictured at Top: Doyle sits on the patio outside the hog and grain farm she and her husband run in central Illinois. (Bill Wheelhouse/Harvest Public Media)
As secretary of agriculture, Becky Doyle and Gov. Jim Edgar, center, ride through the 1991 Illinois State Fair. (Courtesy State Journal-Register)
is a collaboration of public media stations across the Midwest. To hear more My Farm Roots stories – or to share your own – visit HarvestPublicMedia.org.