To Prospective Buyers,
Thank you for taking the time to look at our properties. I was very blessed at a young age to have parents that wholeheartedly believed in their only child. At the age of 15, I rented my first farm, 2014 purchased my first farm, and 2024 represents my 24th crop. I have always possessed a passion and curiosity for agronomy that has always driven me to try and find new and better ways to do things, as well as a strong desire to leave any piece of land I was blessed enough to touch, better than how I found it. I also have had a huge desire to learn, constantly researching new and creative ideas. Even when planning on this being a stopping point, I still am conducting research just to satisfy my own curiosities. These traits have served our family well. I married my incredible wife in 2016, and we set forth on beginning our own future. In January 2017, my father was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gerhigs Disease), and our farm-based life changed. We were blessed in 2018 with our beautiful daughter. In January 2019, my mother who was my father’s primary caregiver was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, that had spread to her liver and lungs. Also in June 2019, our grandmother, who we also were primary caregiver of, fell and broke her back, was diagnosed with dementia, and passed away in December of 2019. In May of 2020, my father succumbed to his inhumane illness. We were blessed with a handsome baby boy in December of 2020. In May of 2022, a wreck less distracted driver crossed the center line. Despite my wife’s quick thinking and evasive maneuver, the truck struck my wife’s vehicle in the driver’s side. My wife and both our small children were inside and survived the terrible rollover collision. I tell you this to help others understand that your life as you know it can change in an instant. Society has made a priority of more money, more land, and more “stuff”. For us, the answer is more time. From January 2017 till now, we have spent over 700 days at medical facilities, while trying to operate and improve a farm for the next generation. My mother is still doing well, despite 6 major surgeries and over 72 chemotherapies. In 2023, my wife and I put on 103,000 miles on our two vehicles. What we have discovered is that you can do it all, but you can’t do it all well. Our family’s health has unequivocally become our top priority, with farming unfortunately taking back seat. With each season the last few years, we seem to be having more challenges being timely, which is frustrating and disappointing, as we take great pride in what we do. We have a very small family and have virtually no external support. Fortunately, my wife and I have the opportunity to chart a different course. We are going to prioritize teaching our children through time and experiences together. We have made the decision to sell our Illinois farmland to focus on giving us more time. Time with the family we have left and giving them the best care possible. Time to give our children a robust education, and to instill in them the values of God, Family, and Country that we hold dear. We plan to continue our farm in the future if our children show interest and can always reinvest back into farmland. However, the time is not now as our family health challenges on the horizon do not appear to be much better. We feel blessed and accomplished, and like our career dreams and desires have been accomplished. Now it is time to focus on our family dreams, and our children’s future interests, whether in agriculture, or elsewhere. We hope to relocate and begin anew, following our children’s dreams and desires, in an area that more closely aligns with our values. We offer these properties with the hope that others’ dreams and futures may be built upon. This group of farms represents some of the best of the best in Illinois. There is nearly 475 of the acres pattern tiled, nearly all fences and trees have been removed, old building sites cleaned up, and all the proper fertility levels maintained and built upon, as we had a long-term plan to make this one of the highest yield properties in Illinois. Thanks for taking time to look.
Sincerely, Jim and Jill Barto
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