Larry E. King was raised in a family with farming roots. The very land he now farms in McCreary County, Kentucky was purchased by his mother during World War II. He remembers his mother telling him, “If we didn’t raise it, we didn’t have it.”
In his late teens, King raised strawberries on the farm. His life moved away from farming at 17 when he followed in his two brothers’ footsteps and joined the Air Force.
For six years, King was stationed out of Little Rock, Arkansas where he worked with the mobile support systems out of the Military Airlift Command. After his military assignment, he finished college and worked for the U.S. Forest Service Civilian Conservation Corps. After a long career with the Forest Service, Larry retired a few years ago, bringing him home to the 34-acre family farm.
“I look at this place more like a homestead than a traditional farm, because I use it to help veterans who want to get started farming,” he said. “I’m a farmer, but I’m also a philosopher.”
King grows blueberries, raspberries and grapes in addition to potatoes, greens, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, okra, peas and green beans. And now, thanks to a conservation program through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), he has a new seasonal high tunnel to use as what he considers a learning centre.