Farm Family Features
Matthis Family
Scott and Melanie Matthis with their two boys, Chasen and Colbey grow hogs, cattle, turkeys and hay on their Sampson County farm. Their family first build hog houses in 1990. For them, farming is a family affair. Everyone has a job and specialty.
Murphy Family
In 1970, John Murphy started a farm in Albertson, NC. Fast forward to 2018, and the farm that John Murphy started in 1970 is now 1,500 acres. While John is no longer with us, his sons and their families continue the farm. Triple M Farms is named after the three Murphy brothers--Morris, Grayling, and Allen. For this family, farming is a way of life.
Tutor Family
The Tutor Family used to be pig farmers, but when the decision between farm and family had to be made, the family chose to let go of their hog farm. The Tutors still live the rural life. They are still family farmers at heart. They still live near the pig farm.The decision to sell wasn’t easy. April put it best when she said, “I have never wanted something so bad and not wanted something so bad at the same time. Farming is hard.”
Coombs Family
The love of farming is, in many cases, passed down from generation to generation. Each new farmer carries on the legacy of previous farmers from years past. While they may work towards expanding the farm, or making improvements in various ways, they tend to have one thing on their mind—make them proud. The “them” is the generations of farmers that came before. For Joshua Coombs, generations of his family have passed down the love of the farm, and it doesn’t seem that it will stop with him.
Bass Family
The Bass boys are right at home on the hog farm—racing, playing in the dirt, checking on the pigs, climbing feed bins. For them, this is what they’ve grown up with and know. This is their element. What they don’t realize, however, are the lessons they’re learning on the farm. Their parents, though, are hopeful that between the dirt path races, tractor rides, and farm play, something bigger is happening in their sons’ lives.
Sanderson Family
The Sandersons have farmed land in Eastern North Carolina as far back as the 1850’s growing crops and hogs. The family has been farming the current land in Southwestern Wayne County for 4 generations, and now, another generation is coming up on the farm. The 5th generation already has a passion for pigs, tractors, and the land.