Last Thursday we found ourselves sitting in the beautiful Texas Senate Chambers in the capitol, for the Family Land Heritage Ceremony.   Michael and his sister, Mindy Looper (the amazing jam and pickle maker) were awarded the century farm award, which honors that the land that is now Homestead Farms has been in their family since 1889.  Out of 91 family farms, our Homestead Farms was the only farm to be honored in Tarrant County, let alone with in Ft. Worth city limits.

The award and ceremony was hosted by the Texas Department of Agriculture, and the Commissioner of Agriculture, Todd Staples.   As our Tarrant County farm was announced, Commissioner Todd Staples said to Michael, “Wow, that must have been hard to hold on to!” We hope that this certificate will help as our farm grows along with the big bad city.

It was so neat to be surrounded by other remarkably healthy and happy farmers, who have and will face the same struggles as us on a daily basis.  Farmer Michael always says, “Farming isn’t a job or a career.  It’s a way of life.” This couldn’t have been more evident on Thursday.   I am so proud of Michael and Mindy for researching their heritage and they even found out that originally the land was granted to an officer who fought in the Texas revolution.   As we celebrated the past 120 years, we couldn’t help but to wonder what our farm will be like when it receives the 150 year award, or even the 200 year award.