Farmers’ Stories
We know every farmer, like every farm, is unique. These spotlights feature farmers of all backgrounds across the Chesapeake region – those with different farm sizes, production methods, and farming traditions. Read more below.
In 1938, Wilbert Paul started out as a dairy farmer with “three cows and one blind pony,” as the family puts it. After just a couple of years, Wilbert purchased his first tractor—a 1938...
For fifth-generation dairy farmer Ron Holter, change comes from the inside out and from the ground up. When he took over his father and uncle’s 250-acre farm in Jefferson, Maryland, they were a conventional...
Taste is Oksana Bocharova’s measure of success for her produce grown in Chestertown, Maryland. “When I’m selling at the market, people say, ‘Your vegetables are so tasty!’ And I know I’m doing something...
After 20 years of the “typical” Washingtonian life, Judy Gifford decided it was time to go back to her roots. She had grown up on a small dairy farm in Connecticut, but, after college,...
Growing a few vegetables on an apartment balcony might be a hobby for some people — but for Emma Jagoz, it was the first step down a path that would change her life. She...
Farming has always been a part of Stephen Kraszweski’s life. He grew up on a small cattle farm in upstate New York, so he didn’t have to travel far to attend Cornell University, where...
Farmers and doctors might seem like very different professions, but to Nazirahk Amen, combining the two makes perfect sense. Born and raised in rural Louisiana, where his family grew produce and practiced animal husbandry on...
A mere 2,000 feet from the Chester River on Arnold Farms, Bob Arnold gently pet his dog while gazing over an eggplant harvest. Since an early age, his love for the outdoors and comfort...
Amanda Cather never planned to be a farmer. She thought she wanted to work inside, as a doctor, in an office environment. All that changed during college – especially once she learned about food...