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| SU Land-Grant Campus Small Farmer Agricultural Leadership Institute graduate Larry Freeman received the Louisiana Century Farm Award on June 22 in New Orleans, La. Pictured with Freeman on the front row, from the left are, his grandchildren Jaden Freeman, Larry Freeman and Melani Holmes. Standing on the second row are, from left, SULGC Area Agent Burnell Muse, Shirley Freeman, Maya Freeman, Freeman, LDAF Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., and SULGC Associate Extension Specialist Zanetta Augustine. |
Baton Rouge, La. – Larry Freeman, a
graduate of the Southern University Land-Grant Campus' (SULGC) Small Farmer Agricultural Leadership Institute, is one of six recipients of the Louisiana Century Farm
Award.
The award, which was presented by the Louisiana Department of
Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) and the LSU AgCenter, is given to families who
have owned and consistently farmed on Louisiana land for at least 100 years.
The Amite, Louisiana resident said he learned about the award
from Frank Taylor, director of the Winston County Self Help Cooperative
(WCSHC), at one of the Southern University Ag Center’s Parish Field Day’s.
“I didn’t know what the award was or what it would bring out,”
said Freeman. “Frank, along with Dawn Mellion-Patin at the Southern University
Ag Center and Warner Hall encouraged me to apply for the award, but Frank almost
just made me do it,” he jokingly added.
To qualify for the award, Larry said he had to complete an
application and do some research on the ownership of his family’s farm. He was
able to find court records showing that his grandfather had purchased approximately
160 acres of land for $1,280; less than 10 years after slavery.
“He (Freeman’s grandfather) didn’t know how to write his name so
he signed his name with an X,” said Freeman.
He was also able to find USDA records showing that his uncle had
applied for USDA assistance while farming the land.
“I completed the application and they verified that all the
information was correct,” he said.
Larry, along with the A&F Farms from New Iberia, La.;
Ardoyne Plantation from Schriever, La.; the Cornist Family from Delhi, La;
DeJean Family Farms, LLC from Church Point, La. and the O.E. Williams Trust
from Many, La., were presented with plaques on Friday, June 22 during the
Louisiana Farm Bureau’s 96th Annual Convention in New Orleans.
“A lot of gratitude goes to my grandfather for not selling the
land,” said Freeman who noted that he knows several families how have lost
their land.
“My grandfather never filed the court records showing that he
divided the land up for his children,” said Larry. “I didn’t understand that,
but I think he did it that way to make sure the land stayed like a farm.”
The third generation farmer also credits the SULGC's Small Farmer
Agricultural Leadership Institute for helping him with the business aspect of
his farm.
“The Southern University Ag Center did an awesome job. They
taught me a lot of things that I didn’t know and that I was doing wrong,”
admitted Larry. “The institute really helped me with my record keeping.”
“We are extremely proud of Larry Freeman for being able to keep
his land and ever more importantly that he is involving his grandchildren in
the farm,” said Dawn Mellion-Patin, Ph.D., Vice Chancellor for Extension at the SULGC and former director of the Small Farmer Agricultural Leadership
Institute.
Freeman is also a graduate from the LSU AgCenter’s Master
Cattleman’s Program and is a member of the Cattleman’s Association.
He currently serves as an advocate, encouraging individuals in
his community to continue farming their land and to eat heathy.
The LDAF has presented 59 families with the Louisiana
Century Farm Award since 2014. To be eligible for the award, families must have
at least 20 acres of the original founder’s land, produce at least $1,000 in
farm income annually and at least one owner must be a resident of Louisiana.
Families interested in finding out if their farm is eligible
for the award can contact, Lillie Adams Wiley at the LDAF at 318-949-3225 or go
to www.lsuagcenter.com.
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry oversees
the state’s agriculture and forestry programs and enforces its regulations.
The SULGC’s Small Farmer Agricultural Leadership Institute
is a year-long course designed to promote the sustainability of small socially disadvantaged
and/or minority owned farms through the enhancement of business management
skills, utilization of USDA programs and services and leadership development.
The Southern University Ag Center and SU College of
Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences together are called the Southern
University Land-Grant Campus.
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