Our History
Before there was a Dotson’s Farm, there was first BUITER’S FARM. We are honored to be fourth generation farmers in a long line of small, family farms. Our Great-Grandparents farmed and peddled their produce in the city and south suburbs. Our Grandparents, Al and Jean Buiter, farmed and kept busy with a huge farm stand in Lynwood, Illinois, and they also grew tomatoes for the Campbell’s Soup company. They also worked closely with the city of Chicago and Mayor Jayne Byrne to create the popular Chicago Farmers’ Markets in the 1970’s. Once the city markets were created, they sold their veggies at many Farmers’ Markets in Chicago and also in the suburbs- and if you’ve been a loyal customer for years, you’ll remember their enormous displays- bushels and bushels of peppers and tomatoes, fresh from the farm!
When Josh graduated high school, he had already had years of “farming” under his belt- he started going to markets when he was a young boy of 4, and loved working alongside his grandparents on the farm. Josh purchased the farm from Al and Jean Buiter, and renamed it Dotson’s Farm (his mother Cheryl (Buiter) Dotson, is Al and Jean’s daughter). Dotson’s Farm has a long history of growing quality produce, and we hope to continue that tradition for many years to come.
PHOTOS: Above- Grandma Jean, selling tomatoes at Division Street Market- her favorite place to be! Below- Josh and Jimmy Dotson, with their Grandpa Al and his John Deere. Although our dear Grandparents are both in glory, we are reminded of their love for farming and family every day as we plant a seed and see it grow. They planted a seed for farming in our hearts, and they continue to guide us as we follow their example of hard work and love for both family and farm.
Our Family
Landon, Lana, Jordan, Jonah, and Ethan Dotson love growing up on the farm. They live for the outdoors and love playing on our 30+ acres of land. You can expect to find them helping daddy in the barn, helping Uncle Jimmy pick veggies in the field, or helping mommy pick flowers. Josh and I -Bonnie-, are proud parents (BUSY parents) and we are both so blessed to raise our family on our farm.
Our Farm
If there’s anything that our Grandparents have taught us through the years, it is this- Farming is HARD WORK, but GOOD WORK. We are proud to see the fruits of our labors in harvest season and we have been blessed with great markets at which to sell our produce- thanks in a large part to our Grandparents, who played a crucial role in setting up the markets we still sell at today!
When you buy your flowers, herbs, and produce from Dotson’s Farm, you can expect QUALITY. We only sell what we would be proud to sell- plants and produce that we ourselves would buy (if our roles were reversed)! All of our veggies are home-grown… hand-picked, hand-washed, hand-sorted…and straight from our hands to yours. What a great way to shop for produce- right from the farmer’s hands.
Thank you for your support. WE LOVE OUR CUSTOMERS. We look forward to seeing many of you at markets this season, and we also love it when our customers visit us right here on the farm!
