By Lacey Dodson, Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

Phillip and Carey Tomlinson are dedicated to their farm and its success but something they take more seriously is their family. Their children take a front seat in their lives and they have raised them in the same way that these 4th generation farmers were raised.

The family from Lake Providence, La. has been nominated for the Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award for their outstanding involvement in the agriculture industry.

“For Carey and I everything is about family,” Phillip Tomlinson said. “We live on the farm here, we raise our kids on the farm. It’s the same life that I grew up with and the same life that I want my kids to have.”

Carey Tomlinson has her hands full day-to-day in farm operations since she keeps the books, but she also homeschools their three children. Homeschooling their children has been impactful for family in may ways. If the children finish school early for the day they’re able to go spend time with Phillip on the farm.

“There are times where he’s working crazy hours, but because we’re here, and because my kids are homeschooled, we still get to be a family.” Carey Tomlinson said. “We still get to have that time together. We still get to you know invest in each other’s lives and we don’t have to go big blocks of time without seeing each other or sharing what’s going on in our day or things like that.”

The Tomlinsons don’t just have their children involved on the farm with the crops but also in the livestock industry. Their children also take responsibility with their show lambs and chickens.

“We get up in the morning, they eat and they go feed lambs before we get started with school” she said. “They go feed the chickens, they know that there are chores that have to be done and those animals are waiting on them or they don’t get fed and so they know what responsibility looks like.”

Although the Tomlinsons are fourth-generation farmers, there is still room for growth on their farm, and they are taking steps toward making changes. Incorporating new technologies has been something that has transformed how they work.

“When we test out products, we try to put a flag out there in the field and we try to spray the field with that new product to see if it actually pays off.” Phillip Tomlinson said. “Now it’s all going to be digitally based. We don’t have to remember now what was that for. Or, if I’m not driving the combine, somebody else doesn’t have to remember to keep up with it now, all of it’s logged automatically.”

Family and farming has become the foundation of this pair and they have worked hard to have an impact in the agriculture community.
The winner of the Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award will be announced at the 97th Annual Louisiana Farm Bureau convention held in New Orleans June 20 through the 23. More information can be found at https://lfbfconvention.org/.