Category Archives: Know Your Farmer Know Your Food

By Michael Booth, Public Affairs Specialist Jim Gerig grew up in a western Oregon farm family, but in the 1980s his father had to lease out the family land due to dwindling profit margins. Since then, he has kept a … Continue reading →

By Scott Whittington, Public Affairs Specialist At 26 years old, Andre Alves owns his own successful almond orchard in a beautiful California countryside and strives to grow the best product for his customers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) started an … Continue reading →

By Scott Whittington, Public Affairs Specialist Successful people have many characteristics in common, and one of the most important is never giving up. One farming family’s crop was devastated when they lost their entire crop yield, but they kept their … Continue reading →

By Nimasheena Burns, Public Affairs and Outreach Specialist, North Carolina Farm Service Agency In the small town of Macclesfield, North Carolina, Dwight and Judy Batts have made a name for themselves as nationally recognized, award-winning tree farmers. They were named the … Continue reading →

By  Scott Whittington, Public Affairs Specialist We’ve all seen those family business signs that say “Serving our community since 19-something,” but one rancher’s family has most of those beat. Ron Cerri, a fourth-generation rancher, has followed his family’s legacy that … Continue reading →

By Cassie Bable, Public Affairs Specialist, FSA Office of External Affairs Beginning farmer Jules Opton-Himmel left his New York desk job to start his oyster operation, Walrus and Carpenter Oysters. The business venture started seven years ago and today, Opton-Himmel’s oysters … Continue reading →

By Lynnette Wright, Public Affairs Specialist, New York Farm Service Agency In the days when high school social studies teacher Allan Gandelman taught kids about the history of the world, he began to notice the food his students were eating … Continue reading →

  By Lauren Moore, Public Affairs Specialist, FSA Office of External Affairs Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo are just five of 55 beef cows living on Chad and Melissa Wise’s cattle farm in Fort Scott, Kansas. Aside from the … Continue reading →

By Lauren Moore, Assistant Public Affairs Specialist Lehman Farms has been a part of Iowa’s agriculture industry since the 1800s. After immigrating to the Polk County area from Switzerland, the Lehman family started their farm in 1868. The legacy of … Continue reading →