Last week, our Farm Transitions team traveled to Southeast Alabama, the birthplace of our program, and it felt like coming home.
We had the privilege of visiting the new HudsonAlpha Wiregrass Innovation Center, where we introduced Maeve, our Bill Ferguson Legacy Fellow, to the team that helped make our first farm transition possible.
Two of HudsonAlpha’s summer interns joined us for a farm tour, giving us the chance to share more about Animal Outlook’s Farm Transitions program and the incredible journey that Riley Creek Farms has been on. We also got an exciting glimpse into the future—a research project underway on the farm to automate several of the hydroponic growing systems.
The highlight of the visit was catching up with the family at Riley Creek Farms. Bill’s son-in-law, Brandon, walked Maeve through the technical aspects of their deep water cultivation system and showed her how they reused infrastructure from the original poultry house in the retrofit. His passion for what they’re building and his willingness to share knowledge with other farmers embodies exactly what Bill Ferguson envisioned when he went through this program—it’s a powerful reminder of why this work matters and how far we’ve come.
Here’s to honoring Bill’s legacy by continuing to support farmers who are ready to write new chapters for their farms and their communities.
