Impacting the Community with Locally Grown Products

By Taylor Parrish

Hard work deserves appreciation, especially in agriculture. As a sixth generation farmer, Hannah Hayworth has been around agriculture her entire life, but has truly come to appreciate it as the years go by. “The more that I get involved, the more I appreciate the work of our farmers because none of it is easy,” she said.

Hannah’s family owns and operates HS Howell Farms LLC where she grew up and learned all about farming a variety of crops, especially greenhouse tomatoes, from her parents. Currently a 21-year-old senior at East Carolina University in Greenville, she is gaining all the experience she can on the family farm, where they grow many field and greenhouse fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and corn.

Hannah really enjoys working with her family because they have a good time together. “We definitely make it memorable,” she said, “we work well with each other and try to have fun with it every day.”

A typical day on the farm for Hannah depends on the season, but often includes a variety of tasks from helping in the greenhouses to marketing and social media. In the spring, she is busy ordering seeds and helping with the planting process. Then summertime brings the harvest and customers, as tour groups start coming to the farm to learn about the process and buy local products.

In addition to all that, Hannah is often helping get CSA boxes together and delivering them, posting to social media, managing the website, scooping ice cream in the store and more! In fact, the farm has recently established a partnership with Nash County to provide produce boxes to senior citizens. These boxes are available to interested individuals ages 60 and up that live in Edgecombe, Halifax and Nash counties. The farm also offers CSA boxes to their customers, no subscription required, 10 months out of the year.

The contents of the box are posted on the farm Facebook page each week and customers can decide if they wish to order or skip the week. All boxes include a variety of produce that is promised to be fresh and of the highest-quality.

Although the unpredictability of Mother Nature can be challenging, Hannah says she wouldn’t trade anything for the joy she feels in meeting the customers and members of the community. “We want the community around us to become a part of our family,” she said, “so my highest priority is establishing those relationships, getting to know them and ensuring they are 100% happy with our products.”

Products from HS Howell Farm can be found on the farm in Zebulon from April to October, Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. During the weekends between Memorial and Labor Day, you can find them at Lake Gaston as well as year-round at the Nash County Farmers Market in Rocky Mount.

As a young person in agriculture, Hannah is excited about where her future will take her and seeks any opportunity to help others get involved in the industry. “I have already had the chance to mentor a few people who want to become agriculture industry professionals, which I am really proud of at just 20 years old,” she said. “That would be my biggest advice to anyone looking a career in the industry. Find a mentor, make connections, get involved, always have a positive attitude and be ready to work!”

Although she is not 100% sure where the future will take her, Hannah is passionate about agriculture and excited to be a part of the industry, leaving her impact wherever she can. Congratulations Hannah! We are looking forward to seeing where your future in agriculture takes you.