As I stated in my first blog, I have a twofold purpose: to tell our story and to ask some thought-provoking questions—so here goes.

For the past 46 years, my wife has suffered from an illness we refer to as environmental illness. Originally, it was called the 20th Century Illness because it didn’t exist in the century before. You might also call it a man-made illness—it’s brought on by changes we’ve made to our environment, so the name environmental illness fits.

People with this illness become hypersensitive to nearly everything around them. It’s very hard for them to function normally. Dr. William Ray of the Environmental Health Center in Dallas, Texas, explained to me that the illness can develop in one of two ways: either through long-term, low-level exposure to various chemicals and pollutants, or through a massive, one-time exposure. In my wife’s case, we believe it was the former—long-term, low-level exposure.

We’ll talk more about her illness in the next blog, and how it may even trace back to her childhood.

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On another topic, I recently heard that Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs has a personal chef. I’ve always said a good chef can make a piece of cardboard taste good—but at the end of the day, you’re still eating cardboard.

If athletes and celebrities are really concerned about their health, maybe instead of hiring personal chefs, they should be hiring personal farmers. I also heard that the Chiefs brought on a team nutritionist, which is a great step. But maybe they should also consider the services of a team farmer to really benefit their players.

In today’s world, I believe it’s more important than ever to know where your food comes from.

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On the homefront:

My family was here the last two weeks of June, and we were so proud of how everything looked. Then we got some rain that kept us out of the field, and now—less than a month later—it looks like a jungle out there. Sure wish we could figure out how to get the crops to grow as well as the weeds do.

Until next time, I’m your friend in farming—bringing you food with integrity.