The Young Farmers and Ranchers Program promotes leadership skills and recognizes upcoming leaders in the ag industry. The Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation introduces us to an achievement award winner-- Eric Southerland.
Southerland’s farm started out almost 200 years ago and he is the fifth generation to work on the farm. His operation consists of nine greenhouses: five for vegetables, three for flowers, and one for foliage plants.
A normal year in the greenhouses sees 1,000 flats of vegetables and plants each.
Also throughout the year, he has around four acres of crops in the field: sweet corn, beans, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, onions, cantaloupes and watermelons. He has 190 head of cattle, mostly Angus. He helps feed his cattle with about 30 acres of row crops.
“I’ve always enjoyed being outside sowing the seeds and watching them grow from start to finish. Also, being able to see my products to go from my farm to people’s tables,” Southerland states.
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