FSA Bolsters Couple to Receive TN Farmer of the Year Award

The Koop family. Pictured (from left top) Creyo and Milly Koop; (bottom) Chad, Maddy, and Marty Koop.

(Reprinted from Marshal County Tribune)

A Cornersville farm family received the prestigious Tennessee Small Farmer of the Year Award last week in Nashville, rewarding their hard work and dedication on the family farm.

On July 18 at Tennessee State University, Marty and Chad Koop also received the Innovative Marketing Award. To win they competed against other small farmers in the state who were nominated by local, state, and federal agricultural agencies as outstanding producers in their area. The awards were presented at the Tennessee Small Farm Expo.

Marty and her husband Chad work on their family farm in Cornersville with the goal of instilling in their three children — Maddy, Milly, and Creyo — a good work ethic and a love for the land. Marty and Chad grew up in the Flint Hills Region of Kansas where Marty helped her parents raise cattle and hay, and Chad helped his father row crop, raise beef cows, and manage a custom hay operation. Chad states that when he was 16 years old he hauled an average of 75,000 square bales of hay each year. Upon moving to Cornersville, Marty and her husband opened Koop Fence and Barn Construction to supplement the family income. After developing a reputation for outstanding work, Chad and Marty were offered the opportunity to manage a 3,000 acre ranch which produced row crops, hay, pears, apples, peaches, cherries, and worked diligently to preserve the wildlife habitat.

During this time Marty and Chad have been able to develop and diversify the farm with participation in USDA Farm Service Agency’s Loan Programs which provide farmers with low-interest financing options to establish new enterprises; purchase land, equipment, and livestock; or pay operating expenses. Currently the Koop’s family farm consists of 60 head of registered Maine-Anjou, Chiangus, and Chi-Maine cattle, and 25 head of registered Suffolk breeding sheep. Marty’s goals are to raise the most cost effective registered replacement seed stock and to save replacements for expansion. For 2013 they have planted corn, wheat, and beans. For the past 12 years they have raised and sold AKC registered Pembroke Welsh Corgi dogs on the Internet to cattle ranches across the country.

Marty has further diversified her operation by offering value-added products which include farm-fresh beef from her herd, and canned tomato juice from a secret family recipe which originally belonged to Chad’s grandmother. Marty has been marketing to county residents and at farmer’s markets. Marty stated there has been an ever-increasing high demand for the value-added products which has encouraged her to increase production. Currently Marty has 174 tomato plants in her family garden and is researching purchasing additional tomatoes from wholesale outlets in Florida to expand her processing capabilities as well. Marty has marketed her beef as hormone free and USDA Inspected, and their beef is selected from livestock which will grade over 60 percent with no shots given to the animal other than standard vaccinations. Marty has also been using the Internet and social media outlets like Craigslist and Facebook to help promote her farm products. She is working now towards branding her products and hopes to roll her tomato juice out to larger markets this fall under the name “Koop’s Tomato Juice.”

In mid-2010 when the family was focused on purchasing their first farm they received devastating news that their youngest daughter Milly had been diagnosed with leukemia. The family now had serious decisions to make with a fight on their hands. The news caused them to focus all their efforts and energy into their daughter who was facing frequent doctor’s visits and chemotherapy treatments. The stress of the situation put a stop to their first farm purchase. Fortunately, Milly’s condition was caught soon enough and with aggressive treatment Marty and Chad are happy to say that after two years Milly is doing well and at this time is leukemia free. Dealing with leukemia taught the Koops a life lesson that through focus, diligence, and hard work one can overcome anything. Marty and Chad are now more than ever appreciative of their opportunities and blessings and are once again striving to reach their goal of obtaining their first farm. Also since Milly is doing better she can once again accompany her older sister Maddy and brother Creyo to the many livestock shows in which they participate. Milly hopes to follow in her sister Maddy’s footsteps. Maddy won the 2012 Grand and Reserve Champion Suffolk Ewe at the Wilson County Fair Breeding Sheep Show.

Farm Service Agency Farm Loan Officer Tim Storey said, “I have been fortunate to work with Marty and Chad since 2010 when they wished to expand their beef operation, and I am glad to have been able to watch as their operation continues to grow into other endeavors.”

When Marty and Chad are asked where see their operation in the future, they respond that they want to pass on farm values and traditions to their children and to be a successful family-oriented operation in southern Middle Tennessee that has exposure throughout the nation with their family’s products. They hope in the meantime to purchase a farm, continue growth, brand their products, and offer them to America’s households in every market available.