Acton Family Farms LLC

08/22/2025

Please kill your weeds so I don’t have to!

08/19/2025

It’s not just here that farmers are struggling, we face the same stressors as the rest of the world. Keeping your mental health in check is real.

Farmer George Atwell is urging others to seek help after struggling with depression.

08/18/2025

Today I spent the day preparing a place in the barn for the children’s next big adventure. My 3, 4-H age kiddos are each planning to take a market steer and breeding heifer to the fair in 2026. This is no small undertaking physically, mentally and financially but the rewards will be so much greater. Even after 20 years I still remember my steer projects and everything I learned.

But I digress, as I was cleaning and reorganizing my stuff in the barn to make room for the kids I had the opportunity to look back on what is now almost a year advocating not just for agricultural mental health but for agriculture as a whole. It’s up and downs everything it encompasses. I initially started with a series of Facebook posts and videos then a podcast and from there it kinda gets blurry. I seem to lost in the podcasts, magazines, journals and newspapers not to forget television appearances. Yes most of it it local but if I can impact one farmers mental processes or educate one person on the life I love then I have done my job. It’s not a hard job, for those of you that know me or the Acton’s I descend from you’d know that talking isn’t something that comes hard to us(shocker right?) I’m sure my writing shocked a couple of you but I seem to be able to articulate my thoughts better when I write them. Anyway thank you to each and everyone who has supported me and offered kind words. I appreciate each of you, this year has been awesome with even more interviews scheduled.

To Date I believe this is my tally
Columbus Dispatch, Chillicothe Gazette, Circleville Herald, Successful Farming, Inside Climate News, Our Ohio, Kernels Podcast, Farm
Bureau Podcast, 10TV, and I’m sure I missed a couple.

08/17/2025

Keep this in mind, and it’s not just farmers. But don’t discourage that next generation from what they want to do. I like the idea of asking “what’s your plan”.

"The world doesn’t run without farmers — and one day, you’ll realize how much you needed us."
My name’s Tom. I’m 67, a third-generation farmer from Iowa.

Forty-eight years I’ve been planting, plowing, and praying for rain at the right time. I’ve pulled calves in the middle of snowstorms, hauled hay in hundred-degree heat, and fixed busted tractors at midnight so the work didn’t fall behind.

Not once in my life has anyone asked me where I went to college. Mostly, they just want to know if the corn will be ready for harvest or if I’ve got eggs for sale at the market.

Last spring, my granddaughter Sophie asked me to speak at her school’s career day. You know the lineup — doctors, lawyers, an accountant in a crisp suit talking about “financial literacy.” I was the only one in dusty boots with calloused hands and sunburn on my neck.

When it was my turn, I told the kids, “I’ve never sat in a lecture hall. But I’ve grown the food that’s been on your dinner table since you were born. And when a blizzard hit in ’79 and trucks couldn’t make it through, my neighbors ate because I still had the means to grind flour and share milk from my cows.”

The room got quiet. Then the questions came.

“How early do you wake up?”
“Do cows really have personalities?”
“Have you ever been kicked by a horse?” (Yes. Twice. And no, it’s not fun.)

When the bell rang, one boy hung back. Small kid, shaggy hair, shirt with holes in it. He mumbled, “My dad’s a mechanic, but people make fun of him ‘cause he never finished school. He says I should be a teacher, not… y’know… ‘fixing stuff.’”

I looked him straight in the eye. “Kid, when your car won’t start in the middle of nowhere, it’s not a college professor who saves you. It’s someone like your dad.”

Here’s the thing nobody told me when I was young — this country doesn’t run without farmers. You can have all the CEOs you want, but if nobody plants the seed, waters the soil, and harvests the crop, your grocery store shelves go bare.

We’ve made it sound like farming, ranching, or working the land is what you do if you can’t “make it” somewhere else. But the truth is, people like me choose this life because we love it — the sweat, the seasons, the satisfaction of knowing your work feeds not just your family, but strangers you’ll never meet.

Four years after high school, some kids walk away with diplomas. Others walk away with no debt, a truck full of tools, a skill passed down for generations, and the grit to survive when the power’s out and the roads are closed.

And guess what? When the store runs out of bread, it’s not a diploma that puts food on your table.

A few weeks ago, that same boy’s mom stopped me at the feed store. She said, “You probably don’t remember, but you told my son that jobs like his dad’s matter. He’s spending the summer working with him in the garage. First time I’ve seen him excited about anything in years.”

That’s what people forget — for some kids, just hearing that their path is valuable changes everything. It’s not “just” milking cows, fixing tractors, or stacking hay. It’s about pride. Purpose. The kind that lasts long after the sun sets on your working years.

So next time you meet a teenager, don’t just ask, “Where are you going to college?” Ask, “What’s your plan?” And if they say, “I’m going to work the land,” or “I’m learning to farm with my uncle,” smile big and say, “That’s fantastic. We’re going to need you.”

Because we will. More than ever. And when the shelves are empty and the trucks can’t get through, you’ll be glad they showed up

08/16/2025

Boys and I went scouting fields tonight. Sierra even picked flowers for Pipe then ate them.

As we were saddling horses I hear a voice from outside the barn yell “I’m here to get an interview”. It was great to have a surprise visit from Nathan Brown, my ag mental health hero. Funny story we probably talk twice a week but tonight was the first time we’ve ever met face to face.

08/05/2025

Sometimes in all the chaos you can find a brief moment to relax.

08/05/2025

Congratulations to Corcoran Farms for receiving The “Cooperator of the year award”, very well deserved!

08/01/2025

Thoughts from the Barn....

T-24 hours until the start of the organized chaos ensues. If you are from Ross County you understand what I’m referring to. The 2025 Ross County Fair! So many of us live for the fair, it's been in our blood since childhood and before. We have all grown up with the stories of grandparents sleeping in the bed of stock trucks that just hours before were being used to transport livestock to the fairgrounds, old school buses being converted into makeshift campers and shenanigans, lots of shenanigans. Most of these stories focused around livestock and shows and who won and lost, but one similar theme stayed true……it was kids and animals.

This is something that is still true today, but has also greatly changed. It is still very much about the shows and the animals but at times it seems we have forgotten the kids along the way. 4-H and FFA are still national youth programs and it is still a Jr. Fair Show but have we forsaken the kids for the chase of that purple banner? I can buy one on the internet for less than $40 and save so much trouble just by starting the project by passing out banners. I don't ask this to bring ire or contention with the readers but to start the fair week off with the mindset that we are there for the kids. I can’t go to football practice and put in the work for my boys just so they can play in the games, I can’t go serve the ball in practice or learn to spike just so my daughter can play in the matches. Why would I do the same here? They have to put in the work, they have to put in the work to reap the reward. I can make sure they attend practice, I can make sure they practice at home, I can even make recommendations when I see problems but I still can't play in the game. I see parents every year on the end of the lead rope, operating the brushes and combs or spraying the adhesive, this is part of the game. The show starts in the makeup arenas, the barns and on the grooming stands it's not just the 10 minutes in the ring.

Many many years ago I was presented with my 10 year plaque. I served my time in both 4-H and FFA, exhibiting animals, I don’t need to do it again. This week it's about my kids and the culmination of THEIR hard work. Yes I'll be there in a supervisory capacity but it's THEIR 4-H project, it's THEIR show and the auctioneer will be selling THEIR animal. I’ll do my job guiding my kids and advising those kids in my club. I will require an adherence to the rules and dress code as well as ensuring animal welfare because there are so many distractions to enable a kid to forget aspects of their daily chores but that's where I stop. We will explain how to groom, prepare and ready the animals for exhibition all while they put in the work but if the kid has a different plan they will learn that lesson in the ring. If they do all the work from picking the animal, to care, show day prep and exhibition then the reward will be much sweeter and the failure will resonate in their core.

This is their Superbowl, this is their time to shine or choke. Yes I want the best for my kids, but sometimes the best is actually failure. Failure instills drive, determination and self betterment. If I put in the work then what does that teach them, what does that instill in them? That dad will always be there to do things for them? I want them to know they can always turn to me for advice and to lead them through something but that they will have to put in the work and make the decisions.

08/01/2025

Hi I’m Brice Acton. This is my 5th year as a 4-H dad. I’ve worked really hard this year at not losing my cool and supporting my sons’ projects. I didn’t throw any major temper tantrums and only threatened to take the animals to the stockyards once the entire year. I will be involved in 3 separate species shows. One show is 1 animal the other two have two animals each. Please consider supporting me this fair week as I work through several “almost” meltdowns, all the scheduling and 4 kids wanting to run wild. I take donations of cash, check or beverages.

Thank you for your support of the Exhausted 4-H Parent Program

-Brice Acton

07/30/2025

Im going to try to answer questions before they are asked-
NO- a corn field isn’t being burnt picture was used for attention only
YES I know my field’s on fire
YES it’s controlled
NO you can’t come watch,

Notice to Public…
This evening, July 30, commencing at 7pm, Concord and Deerfield Township Volunteer Fire departments will be conducting wildland and controlled burn training off road in the 9000 block of Westfall Road. Living in the age of “anything” could happen and verified by last year’s drought induced wildfires in crops and other land, we felt it best to get some proactive, hands on training. A local farmer provided an ideal opportunity to go hands on in a controlled environment. This provides firefighters to observe behavior, test different methods, and assess results. Please avoid the area so our teams may function. Thank you!

07/29/2025

An Auction has 3 components- A buyer, a seller and an auctioneer.

The end of summer is almost here. In Ross County we know this to be true by the start of the Ross County Fair. A week packed with fun, friends and livestock shows & sales. The youth of our county work tirelessly to raise, prepare and exhibit all manner of livestock culminating in one of the greatest spectacles your eyes could ever behold, a Jr. Fair Livestock Sale. Businesses show up in droves to give their hard earned money to support the youth whose animals are being auctioned off. It's a display of sheer love, emotion and generosity.

The buyers- These folks own and operate businesses right here in our home towns. This isn't Walmart or Amazon. These are real businesses with real families, hiring employees right in our local communities. We ask so much of these businesses to show up and support our youth and give of their hard earned money. They receive letter after letter inviting them to attend with the hope they will buy. But do we do the same for them? Do we spend that extra $2.00 at the local hardware store when it's cheaper on Amazon? Do we swing by the local food joint for dinner? I challenge each reader to attend the livestock sale at their county fair and listen to the buyers who are being called or read the list of buyers associations and try over the coming year to support these folks like they support our kids with a show of love and money.

The Auctioneer- I spend a lot of time thinking about this time of year. Several people know my connection to agricultural auctions, especially the Ross County Jr. Fair Livestock Sale. I love going and listening to the auctioneer chant and to watch the ringmen. I love to see the bid cards fly up and various buyers work together to get animals purchased but this too has changed over time. Back many moons ago the sales were long, they drug out into the wee hours of the morning and no one enjoyed it. I remember seeing the physical and mental toll it took on my grandpa the week following the fair, it was a form of sheer exhaustion. These auctioneers were there for the kids, they didn't show up for the paycheck. I remember these folks stopping the sale to remind the crowd of the hard work the kids put into the projects. Heck my last year of 4-H the auctioneer never said “SOLD”, his exact words were “That's enough” as my bid rapidly approached that of the Reserve Champion and he didn't want a calf to sell for more and to spoil the prestige of the title Reserve Champion. They fought for the youth and for the community.

Seller- Yeah sure it's a pig or a cow or a chicken but is it really? This is a life lesson in a different form. These projects are a way to teach things to our youth that are otherwise hard to instruct. It teaches placing something over yourself. I remember growing up being told that my livestock couldn't go to the pantry or the grocery so I had to make sure they ate before I ate. The livestock projects instill respect and pride in their owners. I’ve met so many kids that take pride in the wholesome products they raise. It's more than a livestock project, it's a family member.

Please just remember this as you head to the county fair, to have an auction you have to have all 3 and it has to work in harmonious balance. If the buyers don't feel rewarded they will not come, if the Seller has a bad experience they will quit raising projects and you have to have an auctioneer that cares about the community and is invested in the love and welfare of all to ensure both.