Four farmers have been chosen as the “Faces of Farming & Ranching,” including dairy farmer Will Gilmer from Alabama. The Faces of Farming & Ranching program, sponsored by the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA®), cast a nationwide search in summer 2012 to help put real faces on the American agriculture industry.
More than 100 applications were submitted from passionate, dedicated farmers and ranchers across the country. The other winners include: Chris Chinn (Mo.), Katie Pratt (Ill.) and Bo Stone (N.C.). The winners will act as national spokespeople, and will share stories and experiences on a national stage to help answer consumers’ questions about how food is grown and raised to feed our nation.
Chris Chinn and her husband Kevin, are fifth generation farmers – farming with his parents and brother. They raise 1,500 pigs on their farm, and 60 head of cattle in addition to growing corn, soybeans, hay and rye.
Will Gilmer and his father own and operate a dairy farm, which has been in continuous operation since Will’s grandfather established it in the early 1950s. They currently milk 200 Holstein cows and raise their own replacement heifers, while managing 600 acres of land used for pasture and forage production.
Katie Pratt and her husband, Andy (a seventh generation farmer), currently farm in partnership with Andy’s family. They raise corn, soybeans and seed corn for a regional family-owned company. They welcome tour groups to their farm as part of a family tradition, which started back in the early 1970s.
Bo Stone jointly owns P&S Farms with his parents and wife, Missy. They grow 2,300 acres of row crops, raise approximately 10,000 pigs annually and have 60 cows. They also grow 2.5 acres of strawberries and 4 acres of sweet corn to sell at their own roadside market. Bo represents the sixth generation to farm their land.
Source: U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA)