Whether following in the footsteps of great grandparents or setting out on a brand new direction becoming the first to farm, each farmer has a story. Throughout the month of April, the stories of various farmers and farms were featured here.
As I started the Farms A to Z project, part of the goal for me was to simply finish the challenge on schedule going letter-by-letter, doing blog posts six days a week (particularly important since the Agriculture A to Z and St. Louis A to Z took much longer than they should have!). The other part was to develop solid content about some of the farmers I’ve gotten to know over the last several years. I surpassed the goals by far!
One of the unexpected benefits of doing the challenge? The immense motivation I got from interacting with so many farmers, most of whom are online. Here’s a video that shows photos of the various farmers and includes a few more of my thoughts on the topic. As you watch… if you see someone who’s story you want to hear more of, you’ll find a link below!
Thanks to fellow St Louis blogger Danyelle Little aka The Cubicle Chick for the idea on doing a video recap!
This video recap was a first for me… I already have ideas for doing some more of these kinds of things! I used to play with video a lot when I was in college and have been enjoying doing a little bit of it here and there on Instagram, Periscope, etc.
Looking forward, I’m already considering whether I will do another A to Z blogging challenge next year. But for now, I’m looking forward to getting back to a couple of posts a week. Sometimes about travel, sometimes about cotton or other parts of agriculture and sometimes just something that I have on my mind.
Since the challenge is complete, here are links to, and the first few lines, of all 26 posts! When you look at all of them together, you see connections and you see differences. This collection of farms and farmers is a microcosm of what you see when you look at the people across America who grow the crops that end up at farmers markets and on shelves at grocery stores.
Meeting A Kansas Farm Mom & An Accidental Farm Wife
Get to Know About Burgess Hill, the Boersmas & Bowers Farms
Big & Small… Daddy’s Tractor, Darden Farms & Douglas Falls Creamery
Growing Cotton, Peanuts & More at Etress Farms in Cottonwood
I went back and forth on whether I would write this post or get friends to…. Jared and Jillian Etress are young farmers who I met while they were in college dating. I remember when Jared planted his first cotton crop and I am still amazed he would trust me to help him gather information! […] Continue Reading
Fairytale Beginnings, Farm Barbie, Feedyard Foodie… Yes, We are Talking Farms!
Lots of Prairie Thoughts with the Farms Featured for the Letter G
Today we have two prairie-related farms to talk about… So let’s get right to it! Grand Prairie Farms I didn’t know that Grand Prairie Farms was the name of Katie Pratt’s family farm! How had I missed that? I know her through her blog Rural Route 2: Life & Times of an Illinois Farm Girl and some […] Continue Reading
WTHF? Checking Out Heim Dairy, Haley & Helms Farms
Being a bit silly with that headline… what the H farms though is what we are talking about, several farms that have an H central to the farm name. The latest in the farm A to Z challenge. Today’s post highlights several farms, including a couple I visited in the past year but hadn’t gotten […] Continue Reading
In Udder News Provides Creekside Dairy Views
There aren’t many farms in my world that start with the letter I… maybe that is cause farmers tend to work with family members and others in their community and while it frequently involves independence, few farms would use words like that even in a blog. But “In Udder News” is the kind of play […] Continue Reading
Meet Young Farmers Jake and Jessie Wyrill
Jake and Jessie Wyrill joined Jake’s family farming in Kirwin, Kansas as they graduated from Kansas State and got married. The family grows corn, grain sorghum/milo, soybean, wheat, and alfalfa. We also raise Black Angus and Hereford cattle. What’s one thing that makes your farm unique? We are blessed to have the opportunity to farm with […] Continue Reading
Growing Cotton in Texas & Producing Beef in Montana
This is one of those posts that helps me think about the incredible range of farmers — Suzie Wilde met her farmer in the Chihuahan Desert and hasn’t looked back and Justine Kougl and her husband have been ranching in South Dakota but the recently decided to expand into Montana! Having been to both of those […] Continue Reading
Love the Family Connections Shown in these L Farms
Love the family connections that we see through the farms highlighted with the Lodestar Farms Several years ago as I did my Oregon-California roadtrip, I had the chance to spend Thanksgiving day learning a bit about growing olives. I have previously shared some of the things I learned in my A to Z in agriculture […] Continue Reading
NC Meat Mom Delivers Grass-Fed Beef
Amy H. Robinette is the owner of Micro Summit Processors and co-owner of Harris-Robinette Beef, and is known online as NC Meat Mom. Her family farm and meat processing company are east of Raleigh in Micro, NC. I was recently in her neighborhood without realizing how close I was and I’m still bummed we didn’t have a […] Continue Reading
Oh, Oh, Oh…. Farms that Start with the Letter O
The farmers featured today… I interact with all of them frequently online. They are involved in their communities and busy with family. They have such a clear passion for raising the food that ends up in restaurants and grocery stores. And they all have last names that start with the letter “O” for my farm […] Continue Reading
Prairie Californian Loves Sunflowers & Wheat
I still remember when Mark & Jenny Rohrich were living in vastly different parts of the US and now they are married and building a home. Jenny blogs her viewpoint at Prairie Californian and they have a family operation called Rohrich Farms in Ashley & Zeeland, North Dakota. They grow wheat, corn, soybeans, and sunflowers — you […] Continue Reading
Getting to Know Quiet Owl Farm
Several months ago, Rosie from Quiet Owl Farm stopped by my blog and asked if I’d mind adding her to the list of farm blogs I have here. It took me a bit to get around to updating it, but since there, I have enjoyed checking out her story of building toward a farm in Hillsboro, […] Continue Reading
Things You Should Know About Ranching in Montana & Ray-Lin Dairy
The letter R brings us to two dear friends who have really helped me learn a lot about agriculture in the past few years. Such an honor to have them on the blog for this farm a to z. Ryan Goodman / Ranching in Montana The words “ranching in Montana” have a mystique to them […] Continue Reading
Stauffer Dairy, Scott Farms & SlowMoneyFarm Show Range of Farms
Love it when I get to these letters where I have several awesome farms to celebrate on the given day! That’s the case with the letter S in the farm a to z so I won’t waste time getting started! Stauffer Dairy Brandon & Krista Stauffer run Stauffer Dairy in Eastern Washington. Milk from the Stauffer’s farm […] Continue Reading
Passion is Clear with The Deere Milkmaid & The Farmed Life
You may want to refresh that cup of coffee before you sit down to read today’s post for the letter T in the farms A to Z cause today there is a lot to take in. Part of it seems to be a true excitement to share what’s happening with farms in the northeast. Jenni Tilton-Flood […] Continue Reading
Taking a Walk on The Udder Side
The Udder Side has been one of my favorite farm blogs since I stumbled onto it years ago. I know, there are so many awesome blogs… how could I possibly have favorites? Well, The Udder Side is a little warped and that is definitely something I enjoy. I mean what other farm blog is actually […] Continue Reading
How Many Farmers Named Val Do You Know?
When one of my farmer friends named Val asked me whether I wanted her to be listed by her blog or whether I wanted the Vals to be listed together, I knew what I had to do. Yep, I needed the letter V to be about two farmers named Val! These two women raise kids, drive […] Continue Reading
Teaching the Next Generation on Walker & Wilson Farms
I love thinking about kids and farms… and today’s post talks about some of the things two farms are doing to cultivate the future alongside the crops they cultivate. Bob Walker / Walker Farms The farm outside of Memphis that is a homebase of sorts for me, it is Bob Walker’s farm! His wife Marjory […] Continue Reading
X Marks the Spot… The Spot for The X-Farms
I tried all kinds of things to find a farm that started with an X. I searched through the total list of farm blogs for ideas. I posted in various Facebook groups where the farmers I know get together. So I guess X marks the spot of desperation! The spot that is being left blank. I’ll […] Continue Reading
Mr. Ray Young, The Farmer Who Won My Heart
My first visit to a farm seems a million years ago and yet it also seems like yesterday. The farmer to host me for my first real farm visit, while I was in graduate school was Mr. Ray Young. I can’t imagine how often he and his wife Mrs. Dorothy have come to mind over […] Continue Reading
Caring & Understanding on Two Z Dairy Farms
When I looked at the two farms for Z, the words care and understanding came to mind. The photos for today really show that connection to the animals in the care of these farmers on a couple of family dairy farms. Zweber Farms Some of you may have remembered my visit to an organic dairy […] Continue Reading
Want More?
If that isn’t enough, you can also find a long list of farm blogs I think you should check out!
