Hi! We are Kim Hansen and Kris Straub. The Stahlhut “Girls”. Thanks for stopping by.
Tenderloin Farms was established by our paternal great-grandfather, John Henry(JH) Stahlhut. The original acreage was purchased on May 21, 1917. In the early days, we were a dairy farm.
As we were growing up, Tenderloin Farms was a large farrow to finish hog operation selling around 5000 head of market hogs each year while also raising corn and beans. We were active participants in the Madison County Fair and Illinois State Fair showing hogs.
As our parents aged, all the animals were sold off in 1999 and we continued to grow corn and beans.
Our mom passed away in 2014 and dad passed away in early 2016. The farm and what it represents just means a lot to us and we continue to farm it using the strong farm ties around us. With the farm being our own now we decided to try something new…welcome Lavender to Tenderloin Farms in Edwardsville IL near St. Louis, MO. A few people we know said they had to bring “lavender” up on the internet to see what we were growing. Lavender is really not grown in this area…yet.
Follow us on our journey as we try something new in grain country. Still honoring our past we are branching out to see what we can grow on our non-tillable.
Watch us move into the next 100 years. This is not the end of a Stahlhut owned farm but only the beginning. Guaranteed it will be interesting!!!
On June 4, 2021 we have opened the farm to the public. Find our Lavender U-Pick area, shop, greenhouse and our 1000 plants at Lavender Farm Address is 6368 St. James Drive, Edwardsville, IL 62025. Please make a reservation if possible just to help us plan. The lavender farm will reopen again in 2022 around Memorial Day weekend thru July 4th. The farm is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will post our open dates shortly but if you arrive at the top of the hour we will provide a tour as we walk to the lavender area we discuss lavender growing in our area. No fear show up any time during those hours and enjoy. Yes you can grow Lavender in Illinois.