Introducing the "Know Your Farmer" series!

{Contributed Photos: Snider Dairy Farm by Davidson County Local Food Network}

The 2022 Davidson County Farm Tour is a community and education outreach event hosted by Davidson County Local Food Network (DCLFN). DCLFN is the county's food council which is a network composed of farmers, food producers, health advocates who work towards building an equitable and resilient food system for the health and economic welfare of the community.

This first series of farm profiles features local farms participating in the 3rd Annual Farm Tour and many of them are vendors at Thomasville and Lexington Farmers markets. Expect stories featuring local farmers and programs in Davidson Local each Thursday.

During this series, we will introduce farmers and homesteaders of Davidson County. Readers can expect to learn more about farmers in their neck of the woods. We will take a deeper look at the highs and lows of farming and the value of food-producing farms.

Thomasville Farmers Market organizer DCLFN Chair, Grace Kanoy notes, “When you have vibrant, local farms and busy farmers markets, these are measurements that indicate that your local community is also doing well. We want to encourage new farmers to grow and sell locally. We want people to buy local produce and meats because as a rule of thumb, the fresher you buy your food, the more nutritious that food is, and when animals are raised responsibly, that meat produced is also better for you. Our goal is to support our farmers, but also increase the access to local food for residents, making it more convenient and affordable to eat fresh, healthy and delicious food right here in our county. "

We are food activists. We believe a healthy lifestyle begins at home, locally, whether that is food grown locally or we offer outdoor recreation locally; these variables affect the health of our community.” We started by asking a few farmers and food activists why they were involved with the farmers’ market and here is what they had to say.  

These sentiments are echoed by Zachary and Monica Rierson of Rierson Farm, “We are involved with the local farmers’ markets [Thomasville/Lexington] because it allows our products to be easily accessible for those in the community. With that, we love utilizing the local market and other farmers to educate the community on how we grow, about new produce they may have never seen before and how to cook it and to create that relationship with the consumer you do not get at a regular store.”

With many communities losing small and mid-sized farms knowledge, skill and grit are also at a premium. Kanoy said added, "We would like to shed light about the process of where and how food is produced outside of supermarkets, and the profound value of buying your food from a local farmer."

Lexington Farmers Market president, Kivi Leroux Miller offered, “You have your favorite local doctor and your favorite local mechanic, so you should have your favorite local farmers, too, and we have some great farmers in our area! Now that we are operating farmers' markets year-round in Davidson County, residents have lots of opportunities to buy and eat food while it's still super fresh, nutritious and delicious, rather than fruits, veggies and meats that have been sitting in storage and on trucks for weeks, sometimes coming from halfway around the world.”

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Saddle up as we peel back the layers of local farming.