Mary Blackmon: Farm Star

MARY BLACKMON MOVED FROM THE GLITZ OF EAST AND WEST COAST LIVING TO TILLING SOUTHERN SOIL. THE RESULT HELPED ESTABLISH A COMPANY THAT SUPPORTS FARMS, FARMERS AND FRESHLY GROWN PRODUCE.

Article by Vanelis Rivera and Photography by Kelly Moore Clark

You never know how far roots reach until you try to dig them up. A hefty pull usually suggests exactly how deep into the earth southern roots can run. As the saying goes, the deeper the roots, the greater the fruit. Mary Blackmon, CEO and founder of Farm Star Living, found out just how deep-seated her Northeast Louisiana roots were when she had to take over her family farm. Like a Hollywood rom-com, Blackmon moved from the glitz of east and west coast living to the quaint quiet of tilling southern soil. Though she has since moved to Atlanta, her love for growing things hasn’t waned. The result—the establishment of a company that celebrates farms, farmers, and freshly grown produce.

Blackmon was born in Arkansas, but when she was in the fourth grade her father was given the opportunity to move to Louisiana and start an emergency room. The family settled in Monroe, relatively close to her grandparents’ farm near the Arkansas border. Once Blackmon graduated from Tulane/Newcomb College, her ambitions were set on becoming an actress. She went to L.A. and landed some roles in television, film, and commercials, but ultimately found the work unsatisfying. Her interests began to shift toward advertising and magazine publication. A path in ad sales moved her from Los Angeles to Atlanta, where she soon got promoted, prompting a move to New York City where she would live for almost ten years. During that time, she worked for Worth, a luxury financial magazine, and the magazine for the Museum of Natural History. Luckily she landed a key position at Wired’s internet division right when they invented the ad banner.

Acquiring a plethora of skills from teaching internet marketing to companies and agencies in fourteen states, she later was hired by Walt Disney Internet Group and Vivendi-Universal Internet, then launched her own company Spa-Addicts, which provided affordable spa services to the every woman. As the first discount website in the spa industry, the business took off and she moved to Beverly Hills, building and running her brand for ten successful years. In 2008, Blackmon received an unforeseen message from her uncle informing her his portion of the family farm had been sold, as was the remaining portions because no one was left to run it. Though she knew keeping it meant running it on her own, she decided it was too painful to let her heritage go. The area still held a strange attraction in spite of the twenty-year hiatus. “If I didn’t have so much love for my family or for the region, I would have stayed in Beverly Hills, which certainly has its pluses. But that’s how much I care about it all,” she says.

“I’m a fourth-generation farm owner, although I never lived on a farm until my forties,” admits Blackmon. During the 1950s, her grandfather “Big Daddy” converted her grandmother’s (also named Mary) timber production into a rice farm, which was innovative for the region. As a child, she loved visiting with her parents and brother: “We had so much fun on the farm, riding four-wheelers, taking art classes with my grandmother, rowing through the ponds, having picnics, and gazing upon the stars at night.” Enchanting moments turned into a laborious undertaking upon her return as an adult. She quickly learned “what it took” to be a farmer, and from that toil-driven hustle, her respect and admiration for the profession “grew immeasurably.”

Eventually, she moved to Atlanta to be closer to her brother Dr. Douglas Blackmon and his “beautiful family.” But her time working the farm had made her nostalgic for that way of life, and seven years ago, she was compelled to launch Farm Star Living, a first of its kind lifestyle brand praising the work of growers and the significance of the agricultural industry in America. “Taking over the family farm was a very daunting, humbling experience,” says Blackmon, and she wants to make sure the daily grind of those who work the land is effectively recognized. She believes farmers should be viewed as “stars,” as we have done with so many chefs. Through her company website, she is raising a flag and showcasing cultivators all across the United States, particularly through profiling particular Farm Stars™ so that “we can better understand who our farmers are and what makes them unsung heroes,” she says. One of her first interviews was Larry Williams and his sons, from Sterlington, Louisiana who grow rice, wheat, soybeans, and corn.

Another distinguishing feature in the Farm Star Living online space is an agritourism directory, where searches are categorized by type of activity, type of farm, and farm by state. Apple picking, petting zoos, bed and breakfast, tours, and corn mazes are all only a click away. “This is a very robust agro-tourism directory,” says Blackmon, adding that it’s also available via their free app. Currently, there are ten results for Louisiana, including Mitcham Farm Peach Store in Ruston and Papa Simpson’s Farm in Arcadia. Another nifty directory connects you to farm-to-table restaurants from coast to coast. Going to New Orleans and want to support restaurants who are sourcing menu items regionally? Farm Star Living has ten recommendations. Among them, Commander’s Palace, Domenica, and High Hat Cafe. Use this tool when traveling and cut the time it takes trying to find the best place to eat.

Adding to the creative mix of information, the website also features accessible and tasty recipes featuring a spotlighted farm-produced food item. Recent recipes include Loaded Potato Nachos using mini gourmet potatoes from Klondike Brands, as well as the Apple Bake Oatmeal using organic gala apples from Starr Ranch Growers’ Organics. Each recipe also includes a helpful video, which provides background information about the featured grower, nutritional facts about the food product, and a food tutorial. Blackmon encourages visitors to “dig in” and enjoy!

Moving to Atlanta ultimately allowed her to build her business to what it is today—an immersive exploration of food and crop production at a national level. Her vision is to bring the farm to table movement to light and “instill appreciation and respect for our farmers,” she says. Concerned with the gap between agriculture and mainstream America, she hopes her company can communicate the importance of farming for the overall wellbeing of the populace. She attributes her passion for this subject to her family’s history of being growers. Sweet home Louisiana is not just a feeling, but an action for Blackmon. She consistently has recruited team members from Monroe as designers, writers, and, when possible, photographers. “What I’m trying to do is tip my hat to the people in the area who mean so much to me and who help shape the experience that I had.”

She gets very moved when she thinks about working her family land because it has made her feel more fulfilled than she has ever been. One of her best experiences was as an adult, four-wheeling with her father and fixing up the dilapidated farmhouse. It allowed her to bond with him in a brand-new and entirely unexpected way. Viewing and interacting with such a significant part of her identity also allowed her to see her mother Mary Ann in a way she never quite understood until she ventured into walking in her shoes. The re-bonding gave her solace and further justified her decision to return home. Even then, “It was a lonely process taking over the farm,” she says. Luckily, her best friend from Monroe, Allison Jones Chapman, would visit her, which helped her have fun and keep her sanity in the midst of her transitory period and allowed her to keep paving the path to her passion.

She likes to say she has given traditional farming a “makeover” that has been sorely needed, particularly for the sake of public knowledge. Not everyone “gets” inner workings of the agricultural world; even more of us don’t consider how the food on our plate got there. The level of dedication and precision farmers employ on a daily basis merits a sense of wonder from the public. By returning to her roots, Blackmon was able to discover a “whole new level of joy, appreciation, respect, and humility,” as well as open her heart to the diligent men and women that regularly feed their communities through rigorous workdays.

When she’s not at the family homestead, which she often travels to, she has a lot of her folks around her in spirit and in the form of keepsakes in her home. Her grandfather’s western bronze statues, grandmother’s original paintings, and photographs of the farm that Blackmon has taken herself are scattered thoughtfully where she can run into them often and absorb the memories they elicit. Though she now lives in an elegant environment, surrounded by the city’s fast flow, country living remains close. Her pictures of trains and dirt roads inspire and move her. She takes great pride in keeping the Delta all around her. Blackmon is currently enjoying the fruits of her labor, a result of keeping her roots close to home.

Follow Farm Star Living on Facebook and Instagram and visit their fun and educational website at https://www.farmstarliving.com/ for directories, food guides, and engaging articles. Don’t forget to download their app for on-the-go quick searches about farms and restaurants.