年轻的 Farmer Feature: Dereck Price (Barbour County, WV)

Dereck Price, 30, has known that he wanted to farm since high school. He grew up helping his dad on their cow/calf operation and became more involved over the years. “每次我下车的时候, the first thing I wanted to do was go to the barn, 然后体育彩票外围平台骑马四处转转，看看奶牛的情况,德里克说。. Dereck started building his own small herd of cattle in high school through his FFA Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), 从他九年级开始. He began with a couple cows and was able to raise his own market steers to show at the county and state fairs. His dad would let Dereck keep lighter calves to feed over the winter and then keep or sell them the following spring. He also raised market hogs to show at the fairs.

Dereck graduated from West Virginia University (WVU) with a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture and a minor in Agribusiness Management. 在西弗吉尼亚大学的时候, Dereck had the opportunity to work at the Animal Science Farm during the week and came home every weekend to work on the family farm. He began working as a Livestock Specialist for the Department of Agriculture right after college, where his primary duties are feeder cattle grading and crop reporting. 通过这个, Dereck has had the chance to meet with and learn from many other beef producers around the state. The flexibility and seasonality of the job allows him to focus on farming when he’s not busy. The Prices operate just outside of Belington, WV主要在租用的土地上, 都在方圆15英里内. 德里克和他爸爸, 史蒂夫, 全职经营农场, 和德里克的未婚妻, 蕾拉, is in nursing school but enjoys helping as often as she can. The operation has grown from about 50 head of cattle when Dereck was in high school to now about 250-275 cows, 250 stocker calves they background and sell as yearlings, as well as 150 commercial ewes and a handful of feeder lambs. Dereck说 that he and his dad work well together; they have determined the best way to split the workload and be the most efficient.

The farm continues to grow — the Prices have built three feed barns, 牛两个，羊一个, 过去一年里, which have been extremely helpful to their operation and will allow them to expand more over the next couple of years. The competition for land in the area has proven to be a challenge and over the years, the Prices have had to adjust the scale of their farm based on the amount of land they are able to rent. 然而, they are in the process of purchasing the farmland where the new feed barns are located, which will be a huge benefit to their operation. Improved facilities make tasks easier and more efficient, though rising costs and maintaining the infrastructure around the farm while managing day-to-day tasks have been challenges the Prices have had to overcome as well.

史蒂夫 and Dereck Price have enjoyed a great working relationship with Farm Credit. Dereck got his first loan through Farm Credit in college when he was building his herd, and they have always had an operating line of credit for the farm. Farm Credit understands the challenges farmers face, and meets farmers where they are in terms of their needs. The Prices also appreciate the community support Farm Credit offers, through local events and youth activities.

What started as a dream in high school has now become a reality for Dereck, and he is thrilled to see all of his hard work, time and investment paying off as the farm grows. He is grateful to his dad for being supportive over the years, 他把自己的成功归功于他的父亲, for allowing him to use equipment and being a great mentor. The Prices hope to keep growing and adapting in the future. Dereck说, “Things seem to get easier and less stressful from year to year,” which is encouraging as he gains experience. Some advice that he would offer to other young and beginning farmers is to always be willing to ask the older generation for help and to never give up hope when things don’t go the way you expected. Dereck’s community of neighboring farmers has always been quick to help, so he enjoys paying it forward and helping others now. “It makes you feel good when the older generation calls on you for help — you know they trust you and value your opinion,德里克分享道。.