Cathy Campbell on her farm in Elizabethton, Tennessee; photo by Jeff Adkins

What type of farm do you have?

Our farm is approximately 100 acres of bottomland with beautiful rolling hills. It has been in our family since the early 1930s, and it’s been a dairy farm off and on since World War II. My husband restarted the dairy farm in 1974, and we eventually grew to milking upward of 100 cows in a flat barn. At the end of 1995, we decided to sell the cows and start a cow-calf operation (which means keeping a permanent herd of cows and raising their calves for sale).

What do you love about farm life?

I grew up in town, but my grandparents had a farm. I always enjoyed playing on the farm, but never actually worked on a farm until I married. Since then, it’s been a wonderful way of life. I’m so happy we’ve been able to raise our three children on the farm, and I’m very grateful for the character it has built in them. It is just simply a great way of life.

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What are some of your favorite memories on the farm?

My favorite memories are with the cows; raising them from birth and having the responsibility of caring for them until they were grown. I also have fond memories on the tractor. Really, I jumped into a whole new world when I married into farming that I’d never dreamed of. The biggest thing I can take away from it is that I’ve gotten to work with my husband. We’ve spent valuable time on the farm together and we’ve become best friends because of it. That’s what I cherish most.

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What does it mean to you to be a woman involved in agriculture?

I was surprised, being one of the few women farming in my neighborhood when I first started, that I felt like I had the same respect my husband did. I appreciate that nobody questioned my judgment and never excluded me because I was a woman. And that has meant a lot to me – the acceptance. I say if you’re a woman and you want to be involved in agriculture, go for it. Whether it is working with animals or in a greenhouse, if you’re a young woman and you want to be a farmer, go for it. It’ll be one of your greatest decisions.

Are you Farm Bureau proud?

I most certainly am. I’m very Farm Bureau proud. I really enjoy being involved in Carter County Farm Bureau and serving as president, and I look forward to becoming more engaged when I retire. The organization is our unified voice for agriculture and, in my opinion, one of the strongest grassroots organizations that exists. If I’m honest, I really don’t know where agriculture would be if we didn’t have Farm Bureau.

– Amy Beckham