By Blake Jackson
As planting season gets underway, farmers across the state are working hard to prepare for a successful year, including Kori Thomas, Kentucky Farm Bureau’s (KFB) Farm Woman of the Year (FWOY), and her husband, Micah.
The couple owns Peach Tree Farm and Greenhouse in Allen County, a third-generation operation featuring commercial beef cattle, an orchard with peach, apple, and pear trees, 29 pumpkin varieties, row crops, and hay production.
Over the last two years, Thomas has expanded the farm’s offerings by opening an agritourism venue and a retail garden center, where she sells annual bedding plants, hanging baskets, perennials, trees, and shrubs.
"We're on the farm where I grew up and we like to say we're very diversified," Thomas said. "We started with cattle which was kind of all we knew at the beginning, but then we thought we'd need to do something else. So, we planted peach trees. We started with 120 and we just planted probably 40 to 50 more."
Their business has continued to expand, adding mums and three greenhouses within three years. They now operate five greenhouses and have plans for future growth.
“We just keep adding more to do, and we still have more ideas,” Thomas said. “We're even looking at maybe putting up a sheep barn. I really enjoy the animals.”
Thomas has embraced social media to showcase farm life.
“You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and we are on YouTube,” she said. “We post videos so that people can see what it takes to produce the things that we do and that it is a lot of hard work.”
Being named FWOY was an incredible honor for Thomas.
“I love what I do, and I enjoy every minute of being out on the farm,” she said.
Thomas also stays active in local agricultural and volunteer organizations, inspiring other women to pursue their passion for farming.
Photo Credit: kentucky-farm-bureau
Categories: Kentucky, Business