Classic Plumbing P.L.U.M.B.E.R. of the Month: Jill Uken

By Julia Schultz

Sixteen-year-old Jill Uken, the youngest sweet potato farmer in Champaign County, is at work selling her successful crop. 

“There were three main reasons for growing sweet potatoes: one, both my older brothers grew them; two, they are a one plant, one harvest crop; third, sweet potatoes are not typically grown in Illinois” Uken said. 

Uken’s involvement in the Mahomet-Seymour Ag Program helped her set a vision for what she wanted to do in the years to come.

“I knew that someday it would be me growing the sweet potatoes,” Uken said, “By freshman year I knew I wanted to grow sweet potatoes for my SAE (supervised agricultural experience) for FFA.”

Uken grows her sweet potatoes at her neighbors barnyard, just east of Mahomet. She says one of her favorite parts of growing sweet potatoes is her involvement alone in the process.

“I like to see them grow, watching the process, and knowing I was the one who grew them” Uken said. 

Even though Uken grows her crop solo, she does have mentors that helped her accomplish her business.

“I had my mom and my dad,” Uken said. “They would come out and help with weeding, harvest, sitting with me at Curtis Orchard all day. They were with me from square one and stayed with me till the end.”

Through growing her own crop, Uken understand the importance of the process from the seed to the sale. 

“(It’s important for people to know) that you are buying from the local farmer and you know where [the crop] came from and what all went into the growing process.”

According to Farm Doc Daily, Champaign County saw an abnormally dry summer, but through the growing season Uken was not concerned.

“Sweet potatoes are primarily grown in the southern states so they like the heat and dry weather,” Uken said, “They do require water, but we know that when going into this so we made sure that the land we were using had access to water, so we watered the sweet potatoes twice a week.”

However, being a farmer takes character, problem solving, and determination. Uken said one of the biggest ways to work through the struggles is patience.

“Being patient and [knowing] that you are going into this relying on mother nature to help you produce your crop” Uken said.

Uken has put a lot of hard work and determination into her crop. Other than producing a crop, Uken has also learned about herself during the process.

“[I learned] that I do not like to weed. We had tilled up part of our neighbors barnyard and had lots of crabgrass come up and had to pull it out, hours of work,” Uken said. “On the flip side I was dedicated, I would go out all day sometimes or after school and work until dinner.”

In total, Uken has produced 350 pounds of sweet potatoes and is almost sold out with only 30 pounds left.

If interested in purchasing Uken’s crop, you can reach her at Jillssweetpotatoes@gmail.com or her Instagram handle is @jills_sweet_potatoes_il. 

If you missed her this year, don’t worry.

“I’m already planning for next year.” Uken said.