Published 3:00 am Thursday, July 6, 2023
POCATELLO, Idaho — Wendy Swore can pick 42 ears of sweet corn a minute, is an award-winning children’s book author and loves farming.
A mother of five, she is devoted to family, farming and educating youngsters about farming. At Swore Farms they specialize in direct sales, the farm-to-fork model carrying on a minimalist farming tradition.
She is assisted by her husband, Mike, who works full-time at the Idaho Farm Bureau and the last of her children still at home.
Their main crops are sweet corn, red potatoes, wheat, pumpkins and a corn maze that attracts hundreds of visitors. A variety of vegetables are grown in their hot houses.
Peacocks, chickens, geese, cats and dogs roam much of the farm captivating visiting youngsters. The corn maze and pumpkin patch, face painting, tractor-wagon rides, concessions and play area are local favorites.
“We love farming and selling our products directly to the community. Whether it’s farmers markets, roadside sales or our CSA weekly baskets, we interact with lots of people from April through November,” Wendy said. “We also do as many school tours as possible to show the kids where their food comes from.”
Coming from a crop duster family, she married John. They bought land next to his grandfather’s farm and carry on the family tradition of farming.
Located outside Pocatello, Idaho, on the Sho Ban Indian Reservation, they have watched farm after farm converted to leisure horse farms or to suburban housing.
Sweet corn is a mainstay of the farming operation on 33 acres and keeps the bills paid. The picking starts in August and extends into October. The red potato crop comes in at the same time.
It’s an extremely busy period, and that’s when Wendy hits full stride picking corn and bagging potatoes. She is one of the fastest pickers around, harvesting up to 40 ears a minute.
Most of the corn is sold at farmers markets, off their roadside stand or in their CSA baskets. At the same time their pumpkin markets, coupled with their corn maze, are big fall attractions.
They started a corn maze in 2003 featuring all the Halloween characters they could weave in. Since then, visitation has expanded each year. Last year the maze had over 3 miles of trails through it.
Facebook has played a major advertising role. While they advertise in the local paper and at farmers markets, Facebook and Instagram and other media popular with kids and teen draw a significant number of visitors to their website, http://www.sworefarms.com/.
During the school year, Wendy hosts school tours showing students where their food comes from, farm animals and some of the equipment used for harvesting. If they come during sweet corn or potato harvest they get to pick an ear or two and dig up a potato. She has been surprised at how few kids know potatoes grow underground.
The off season is Swore’s writing time. She started writing children’s books with the goal of entertaining them with how life on the farm works and the drama of a changing world where farming is not always seen or understood. Her book, “The Wish and the Peacock,” was an Idaho book of the year in 2020.
A Capital Press’ annual special section that highlights the contributions women make in the agricultural sector.
Read the stories of the exceptional women featured Women in Ag 2023:
Erika Ackley: ‘I like the independence of farming’
Geri Byrne: ‘I love to organize’
Lerrina Collins: Fluent in the language of stockdogs
April England: ‘It’s not just a job, it’s a life’
Suzanne Gallagher: ‘I love the work, I love the land and I love the cattle’
Denise Godfrey: A love of plants, and for the community
Mary Hood: Shattering ceilings in ag banking
Sharon Hoyt: A passion for the ranching lifestyle
Jessica Jansen: ‘I love agriculture, and I love teaching people about it’
Jean Kurtz, Ali Rodgers: Telling wine’s story in the Umpqua Valley
Anne Mitchell: Perseverance pays off
Lori Moore: A bison believer turns vision into reality
Keri Roid: Lavender farm a dream come true
Nicole Sanchez: Taking on new challenges
Wendy Swore: Staying busy with farming, writing
