Pulling out of my driveway two years ago, there were a lot of things I didn’t know. I didn’t know about the logistical challenges ahead of me. Other than when they were on my dinner plate, I’d never given second thought to many of the crops I was setting out to see. Most of all, I had no idea how the people I met on the Why I Farm Roadtrip would touch my life forever.

Nelda Mitchell grew up on a dairy farm. As a girl, she milked cows twice a day, 365 days a year. “On leap year it's 366 days, and it’s rain, shine, sleet or snow. Ball game, party, whatever, you still had to milk cows.” She recalls.

Kyle Wilson is proud to honor his family’s traditions and help write the next chapter of their history in agriculture on his southern Utah farm. Along with his wife, Shelley, and their three children, Kyle raises vegetable crops, including heirloom tomatoes, and small livestock

Gordon Culbertson of Springfield, Oregon has been involved in forestry since he was 12 years old. Although he’s retired from his full-time career, he still has a couple of tree farms and generously shares his expertise with friends and family.

At Oklahoma State University, Aaron Base had professors that told him he’d never be able to farm. His diversified farm outside Geary, Oklahoma is proving them wrong. Today, Aaron and his wife raise a variety of niche products, like grassfed beef and wine grapes, along with their two daughters just down the road from the family’s main farm.

When he was a senior in high school, Justin Hamilton’s family moved to a new irrigated ranch near Columbus, Montana. His parents also owned the ACE Hardware store in town. Early in his career, Justin worked all day at the store and did ranch work at night.

Tucked in the mountains of northeast Washington, a little antique shop welcomes visitors to Front Porch Farm. Further down the lane lies the small diversified farm that Dee Acheson and his wife, Liz started nearly 20 years ago.

Tony and Linda Schiffer live, work and play in agriculture as a team. In addition to their own ranch, they represent Superior Livestock, are active in industry organizations, and enjoy team roping. They both grew up in ranching families, and have continued in that way of life as adults.

Ryan Kanode still remembers the first time he got to drive the combine as a kid. It was during wheat harvest on his uncles’ farm where he worked in the summer. Now he’s in his sixth season farming and running a chemical business with his uncles in northeast Colorado. “I'd say since I was little, it's kind of what I always wanted to do.” He smiles.

All his life, Jim Harper of Louisiana has wanted to be a farmer. “My father was a farmer. From the time I was small, following him around and working on the farm growing up, I wanted to be a farmer.” Jim recalls.

“When I was a child, we raised seed corn. We used to detassel the seed corn by hand. That was a great memory for me. I would do that every summer. It was hard work, but I liked it. I just, I love being outdoors. I love being in the country. Sometimes it's hard to describe, but it's just a love of being on the farm, being on the land.”