Tag Archives: Women

Meet & Greet: Messing Dairy

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Here is Ashley Kennedy and Messing Dairy of Bad Axe, Michigan.

Ashley Messing

Ashley and her husband work together managing a large dairy farm that is home to 250 cows and 4 Lely A4 milking robots.  They are a birth to finish steer operation and raise most of their own feed and cash crop dry beans, corn and wheat!  Talk about staying busy!  Not to mention they are in the middle of a 100 year old farmhouse remodel (To see  pictures click here!)

Currently their family operation is working on transitions generations as many other operations in the agriculture industry.  Ashley says, “my parents have worked hard for many years and deserve a break.”  It is their goal to take over the daily operations on the family dairy farm and give her parents the chance to “retire” from that portion of the farm.

When asked the question of Why Ag? And Why Blogging? Ashley answered, “I did several internships and two jobs before I came home to the farm. I learned a lot and I enjoyed working for those companies, but I never felt truly fulfilled. I always felt like something was missing and the farm has filled in that hole.  I would like to work hard to bring more young people back to the farm! We have a lot of people to feed in the world and farms raise some of the best kids around.”  We couldn’t agree more with this!

I want to know your dirty little secret…..ok you don’t have to give that up, but tell me something unique about you, your operation, your family, anything goes! 

“Hm, my dirty little secret?! I read constantly on my phone. If I could only pick one app to keep on my phone for the rest of my life it would easily be my Kindle app.” What a great secret and a great way to keep up to date with all of the happenings in the Ag world!

Thank you so much Ashley and Messing Dairy for being a part of “The Women Who Get Things Done in Ag” Feature!  Keep on educating the world on the Agricultural industry and our daily lives!  We look forward to seeing more of you on your Website and Facebook Page!

Ashley Messing1

Meet & Greet: Homestead Hill Farm

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We are so thrilled to introduce to you Homestead Hill Farm and Barbara Womack from Middlebrook, Virginia.

Barbara Womack

Homestead Hill Farm is a small, diversified farm, selling all products directly to the consumer (mostly through the Staunton/Augusta Farmers’ Market).  They have been raising all sorts of vegetables, some fruits, sheep and chickens since 1997. The Farm sells through local Markets and via email during the Market Off Season.   Barbara and her husband are the entire workforce like many farming and ranching operations. Barbara says, “He handles the muscle work, post-harvest vegetable handling and logistics.  I am the ‘chief cook and bottle washer’, handling births, seed starting and delicate harvesting, among other things. It’s all about teamwork.”

Barbara began to write and blog about their family operation nearly 5 years ago. “I realized that many of our customers had absolutely no idea what happened on a farm…any farm.  So, I started our farm blog. We are very blessed to live in a beautiful place, doing meaningful work and it seems very important to share that with those who live elsewhere. While I can only speak from the standpoint of small producer, I feel it imperative to provide un-biased, objective information about all aspects of Ag (particularly since I’ve had customers tell me that I’m the closest they’ll ever come to a ‘real farmer’ —yeah, still trying to figure that one out—haha)”

When asked the question of Why Ag? And Why Blogging? She answered, “Not only do I love growing food and working on the land…I am 50% of the workforce!” Barbara would like to continue to make an impact in educating the public to the importance of Agriculture as well as being a part of the communication that will hopefully help the Ag Industry stand together against the “Anti’s” that continue to threaten this lifestyle.

The Montana Ranch Adventure asked: We want to know your dirty little secret…..ok you don’t have to give that up, but tell me something unique about you, your operation, your family, anything goes!

“If someone had told me twenty years ago that I would be farming full-time at this point in my life (and loving it—most days) I would have laughed out loud.  While this certainly wasn’t my long-term plan, I love my life and cannot imagine doing anything else.  I would hope to somehow be an inspiration to others who may find themselves in what seems like a soul-crushing, impossible situation…and let them know that it is possible to completely turn it around and thrive in the long-run.  Walt Disney was right, ‘You may not realize it at the time, but sometimes a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you!’ “

Thank you Barbara & Homestead Hill Farm for being a part of “The Women Who Get Things Done In Ag” Feature! We are proud of what you are doing. Please take some time to visit Homestead Hill Farm via their Facebook page, Blog, Website, and Flickr account!

Barbara Womack1