Source: NCDA&CS, 10/19/21


Summary: Yesterday we honored families who have owned their farms for 100 years or more in what we called the 50th + One Anniversary of the Century Farm Family program. A total of 1,970 farms are classified as Century Farms. Of those, 90 are registered as Bicentennial Farms for 200 or more years of continual family ownership. We are proud to honor their commitment to agriculture and the land.

Today’s Topic with Southern Farm Network’s Mike Davis
 What a great day we had yesterday at the State Fair honoring Century Farm families in our state. We had close to 1,700 in attendance as we celebrated the “50th anniversary plus one” year of the program.

 The reunion was rescheduled to this year because of the pandemic, but I am grateful that we were able to have it this year.

 A total of 1,970 farms are classified as Century Farms. Of those, 90 are also registered as Bicentennial Farms for 200 or more years of continual family ownership. We are proud to honor their commitment to agriculture and the land.

 It takes an incredible amount of determination and commitment to keep land in your family for 100 years or more, especially with development creeping out of urban areas into the neighboring rural communities.

 Look around any of our larger cities and you see more and more farmland being developed. I get offers every week to buy my land, but it’s my goal to keep it in the family so we can one day certify our farm as a Century Farm.

 I would be extremely proud to be in this elite group.

 This reunion is something I look forward to as much as these families do. I was able to visit with many families yesterday and it was great to see them with their children and grandchildren.

 I feel good knowing there is another generation that is coming up on the farm.

 We need more young people in agriculture and having that longtime connection to the farm and access to farmland is important.

 I hope events such as our Century Farm Reunion reinforce the importance of keeping farmland in production. We all benefit from the food, fiber and forestry products produced and farm and timberland contribute environmentally as well.

 I look forward to celebrating these families again in three years and I hope by then we have more than 2,000 farms included in our region