How I Got Here: Stories from the Farm 2

As unique as each crop year, every peanut grower has a noteworthy story to tell about their journey to farming and agriculture. Back by popular demand, we’re sharing a second round of our How I Got Here series. In this episode of The Peanut Podcast, we hear from Florida peanut farmer Mikaela Massey; Executive Director of the Virginia Peanut Growers Association Caitlin Joyner; and National Peanut Board member from Oklahoma Mark DeLeon.

First up, we spoke with Mikaela Massey from Florida. “I'm married to my husband Ashby and I'm a stay-at-home mom to our three-year-old daughter, Abby Lynn and our seven-month-old son Hilton. And I manage all of the bookwork and the business side of the farm.”

Like many people who grow up on the farm, Mikaela’s first memories are of helping out and riding on the tractor. “My earliest memories of farming have to go back to my dad, Michael Davis. My parents are Michael and Lisa Davis. Ever since I was a baby, he always took me with him to the field if he could. I remember riding in the tractor. I learned how to drive in the field way before I ever turned 15/16 years old. I especially love going to the peanut mill during harvest season and hauling wagons with my dad and getting to know people in the industry was a really big part of me growing up. I felt like that helped me set a foundation in farming.”

Mikaela says the first pivotal moment in her farming career was when she started renting land from her father. “I was a senior in high school when I got accepted to Troy University. My dad was trying to come up with a way of easing me into the financial side of things because he knew that after I graduated from college that my plan was to come back home and still be in the farming industry. I actually rented 40 acres of farmland from my dad, half peanuts, half cotton, and that paid for me to go to college for four years. I rented the land from him and then paid all of my expenses with the money and then paid for my tuition. Of course, I had a few scholarships, but I was able to get out of college debt-free because of the farmland that I rented from my dad.”

Mikaela continues to farm for the next generation. “My why for continuing to farm is it's for the next generation, which I'm sure you know, any multi generation farm family can say that. You want to see the next generation take it and run with it and it'd be as instilled in them as it was in me. I want to see Abby Lynn and Hilton grow up on the farm and then it'd be a part of their life to where that's what they want to come back to.”

Next, we spoke with Caitlin Joyner. “I'm the new executive director of the Virginia peanut Growers Association. I started back in September, my family, my husband, and I have one son who's about two and a half years old. We live in Suffolk, Virginia. I'm really excited to be in this position and have enjoyed it so far. I'm glad that this is where I've landed. I've worked in many different sectors of the agriculture industry including grain marketing and accounting, in soil and water conservation, in teaching and now I've landed in the peanut industry. And the peanut industry has been very welcoming to me.”

Caitlin did not grow up on a farm but she grew up in a rural area with a Future Farmers of America program that sparked her interest. “My high school had a large agriculture and FFA program. And I had a lot of friends who did that. And my sophomore year, I just randomly decided that it looked fun, they got to do cool shop projects, they got cookies at their meetings. I decided to join and from there, I just loved it. I can remember my ag teacher telling my mom once that when she was teaching, she could look at me and tell that I was really engaged and really thinking about what she was talking about. And she was right. I just fell in love with it.”

According to Caitlin, the benefits FFA provided her were pivotal in her ag journey. “I had the opportunity after my freshman year in college to serve as a state officer in Virginia with FFA. That opened my eyes to a lot of different parts of agriculture. We received first-class training and development during that. That helped me as I went on more than anything else I've ever done, more than any other internship or anything. It helped me in my relationships, it helped me see and actually choose what path in agriculture I wanted. After that is when I decided to go into the crop and agronomy side of things. It also helped me with public speaking. I would say that was a big shift for me and I just learned so much within that year.”

As for the future of farming, Caitlin is hopeful about the next generation of farmers coming into agriculture that may not be from your typical farm background. “I do see a lot of growers that don't have a next generation. And that can be for a variety of reasons, that's of no fault to anyone. I think if we can have a little bit more of an open mind, and saying, ‘If I don't have someone in my family who's willing to carry this on, maybe there's someone who wants to get into agriculture and wants to do this, that might not be in my family, but they really need that start.’ […] I've seen that there are plenty of people my age or a younger generation that do want to farm, they want to be a grower. But as we all know, there's a lot of barriers to entry within farming and within agriculture in particular in production agriculture. I think if we can make those connections and be a little bit more open minded, there is a next generation there. We just have to bring those two together.”

Finally, we spoke with NPB’s Oklahoma member Mark DeLeon. “I'm a first-generation farmer and rancher in western Oklahoma in a little town called Eric. It's right as far west as you can go in Oklahoma on I-40. I live here with my beautiful wife, Amy, and we have two wonderful children. Our daughter, Bridget, she last year got married, and she's a speech and language pathologist. Her husband, Zachary, is in law school right now finishing up. And then we have our son, Addison. He's a junior at Oklahoma State majoring in agribusiness right now.”

While Mark is the first generation in his family to have his own farm, he isn’t the first in his family to work on a farm. “I'm the youngest of 14. We had a very large family. My dad was always a farm laborer. And my earliest memories were when we'd get up early in the morning and go hoe cotton and chop cotton for people. And that was something we did, and dad did and mom did and all of us kids. It's basically a family affair, when you have 14 kids, you got to feed them all so everybody's got to pitch in and work. To me, I didn't know any different. We were poor as dirt, but I didn't know any different. I really was just having fun.”

One of Mark’s biggest moments in his journey was when he was selected to serve on the National Peanut Board. “I was scared to death and actually turned down Doctor Sholar [former executive director of the Oklahoma Peanut Commission] the first time. Then I called my wife on the way home and she asked me what they wanted. I said, ‘Well, Dr. Sholar asked me if I would be willing to throw my name in the hat to be on National Peanut Board and I said, no.’ And she said, ‘You need to call him back and tell him yes.’ I said, ‘I don't know if I'm up for this task.’ She said, ‘You are and I think you need to call him back.’ I called Dr. Sholar back and told him, ‘My wife told me that I need to put my name in the hat. So put my name in the hat.’ Later that year, we were on our way to a ski trip and got a call from Mr. Bob Parker [former NPB CEO]. In that conversation, Bob said, ‘Now Mark, I just want you to know you'll be the first Hispanic ever to sit on the National Peanut Board.’ That was a big moment for me. And I'm probably going to tear up a little bit on this one because my dad passed away in ‘21 and it was a blessing for him to pass away. He was struggling with COPD and stuff and had lived a long fruitful life. But he would have been really proud to see that.”

A big reason why Mark continues to farm is to honor his father. “My dad was a farm laborer and loved farming. But he was never able to put together enough money or anything to where he could buy his own farm and farm on his own. To me, this is my drive that makes me work really hard. And even through those tough years, when we have a storm or drought or whatever it may be, financial challenges, it just keeps my drive going to see it through.”

One thing Mark wants other farmers to know is the importance of sharing their farm story and teaching those who don’t work in ag about where their food comes from to spark a love of agriculture in future generations. “One way that people can help instill this stuff in in younger people's hearts and minds is to invite them to your farm. Show them what you do, let them drive a tractor. I remember one day my banker was driving by and his son was about 10 or 12. And we were talking I said to his son, ‘Do you want do you want to plant some peanuts?’ And he said, sure! So he got in a tractor with me. I think he made about three or four rounds. I showed him how to do it and he picked the planter up turned the tractor around and dropped the planter to the ground and start planting. Of course we have auto steer, thank goodness. He really liked it and enjoyed it.”

Today we’ve heard three captivating stories of peanut leaders drawn to agriculture. Mikaela, Caitlin and Mark are all trailblazers. Mikaela as a female grower getting the support and experience from her family to learn all about farming from a young age. Caitlin coming from a non-ag background and finding her own path to agriculture through FFA. And Mark whose first-generation farmer status and being the first person of Hispanic heritage to serve on the National Peanut Board are a reflection of his hardworking dad and mom. Each farmer has their own unique story that could inspire future agricultural leaders. If you have one to share, please let us know.