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Story, captions and photos by Ginger Larson
Web site, audio and Flash movie by Katie Chodil
Farm ambience and misc background audio from sounddogs.com
For centuries women have been expected to prepare a meal for the table. But Kathleen Eubanks of Wacahoota, Fla. takes that an extra step—backwards. Eubanks is responsible for preparing food way before it reaches the kitchen and even the grocery store. She is a sixth generation farmer.
“I was on a horse at the age of 5,” said Eubanks. “And by the fourth grade I knew I wanted to stay on the family farm and work.”
Eubanks, 53, is the co-owner and co-manager of a crossbred cattle operation that has been in their family since the 1840s. She manages the farm in partnership with her brother, Chip Ramsey. Together with their father, the three run over 500 head of cattle and operate a small Christmas tree business on the side to make ends meet.
“Making a living is part of the challenge,” said Eubanks, “Most people think of farming favorably. They just want a little farm and they have a perception that it’s the good old life.”
That good old life, though, means Eubanks is up before dawn and is not finished with her day before dusk. She is feeding cows, vaccinating calves, digging postholes and building fence among other physically demanding chores.
“I have never felt out of place. There are not a lot of women hands-on like I am,” Eubanks said, “but it’s what I’ve always done, and it’s what I know.”
Eubanks admits her husband Larry knows more about cooking than she, and they both hate housework. Together they have raised two boys on the farm with a respect for their agricultural roots. Now, they are working to deed land to their oldest son, John, for him to build a house for his wife and two children.
According to the Gwinnett Business Journal, Joe Astrachan, director of the Cox Family Enterprise Center reports that only 3 percent of all family businesses operate at the fourth-generation level and beyond.
The Eubanks are not the norm and they struggle to hold on to their land in an era where farming has almost been forgotten.