Photo credit: Karen Pulfer Focht

It takes guts, hard work and a whole lot of faith to begin a farm from nothing all on your own, and that’s exactly what Willie German of Fayette County had. With an upbringing in agriculture and a deep-rooted passion for caring for the land and raising animals, German jumped at the opportunity to start farming. And let’s just say, the rest is history.

Growing up with a father who was a relatively small farmer and a rural mail carrier, he always enjoyed helping out around the farm. However, when German went off to college at the University of Tennessee at Martin, his father let the hogs and their rented land go. So, when German was in his second year of college and the chance to rent a farm came up, he knew without a doubt it was what he wanted to do.

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“My English teacher used to make us write about what we wanted to do when we grew up and I’d always write about how much I loved farming with my dad,” German says. “When you’re there helping him on the farm, it just gets in your blood and it was something I always knew I wanted to do, so when I got a chance to, I went for it.”

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Farm From Scratch

German started by renting 150 acres and now has expanded the operation to raising more than 8,500 acres of row crops and 100 head of cattle. And a lot of that growth German contributes to his three sons who farm with him – Jeremy, Jeff and Jacob. All three have helped the family do various things around the farm over the years, but there’s no doubt they are all proud of the operation they’ve built and the family they’ve built it with.

“I’ve always tried to teach my boys it isn’t what you gross, it is what you net, and thankfully through the years, farming has been really good to us,” German says. “The Lord has blessed us in so many ways with the right farms and the right people at the right time, and all I can hope for now is that my boys will continue to farm and enjoy the land we’ve been able to accumulate.”

Along the way, the family has also somehow had time to be involved with Farm Bureau. Getting involved first through Tennessee Young Farmers and Ranchers and now serving on the Fayette County board of directors for close to 40 years now, German has been loyal to the organization he believes has given so much to him.

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“When people ask us how we have time for Farm Bureau, we tell them we just make time,” German says. “The organization is near and dear to my heart and truly – if it hadn’t been for Farm Bureau, I wouldn’t have been able to serve in the other organizations and leadership roles that I have, but I do so because Farm Bureau showed me the importance of getting involved.”

German adds, “Tennessee Farm Bureau is our main voice, and I don’t know what we would do without it. The organization always has our back and when something needs to be done, it gets done.”