Our Heritage

In 1973, Jasper John Roth began a family farm on the crossroads of 1200 E and 100 N Road in the wide open fields of Ford County, Illinois. His son, John joined him in running operations in the year 1987, beginning his son, a then six year old Tim Roth, on a life of fresh air, chasing cows, and bringing in crops. Tim pursued a successful career in IT for 17 years while raising his family, but he always carried a dream of returning to a life on the farm. In 2015, Tim began preparations to return to the farm by attending conferences and classes to educate himself in all the best methods of holistic farming, regenerative agriculture, organic practices, ethical animal husbandry, and so much more. In 2018, dreams began to be realized as Tim’s family moved into the original farmhouse in order to take a more active role in farm management. In the middle of 2020, Living Light Farms was officially born, and in April of 2021, Tim was finally able to fully transition away from his IT position to being full time on the farm. And the adventure continues!

For years, we shied away from raising animals other than cows, because we weren’t comfortable with how those animals were typically raised. We were familiar enough with grass-fed beef, but was there any other way to raise hogs than in confinement or in a dirt lot? How about chickens? Sure, we could have a couple dozen roaming the yard, but how could we raise them in large numbers without taking part in the horrors of the factory farmed chicken industry? We felt deeply convicted to raise animals with as much compassion and dignity as possible. If we couldn’t do it well, we didn’t want to do it at all.

This led us to learn as much as we could about alternate, humane ways to raise livestock. What resulted is what you see here: pigs that root in the grass, eat grubs, and warm themselves in the sun; chickens that live in fresh air, catch bugs, and scratch and peck to their hearts’ content. And of course, our cows that get to graze on a first-class fresh salad bar of grasses, clover, and legumes each day. Raised in this way, there is virtually no need for antibiotics or vaccinations; we are content to let them grow as nature intended, so we don’t use any hormones; parasites don’t have time to propagate before the animals move on, so the need for chemical dewormers and etc are virtually eliminated. Better for them, better for the land, better for us.