Produce for the People

article by Starla Gatson
photography by Kelly Moore Clark

Fourth-generation farmer Ashley Armstrong never intended to follow in her family’s footsteps. But if you could see the proud expression she wears as she looks out over acres and acres of family farmland in Bastrop, you’d never guess she ever doubted ending up here. 

“I FOUGHT [FARMING] FOR A LONG TIME,” she says. She planned to pursue electrical engineering and even enrolled at Southern University to study it after high school. But her time there was short-lived. The farm was calling her back, she says, and she had to go. So, she transferred to the University of Louisiana Monroe to be closer to the farm and study business administration, a degree program that would no doubt give her the skills she uses every day to help keep the farm running and profitable.

The connection she felt to the farm isn’t all that surprising given how long it’s been in the family. 

“[My grandfather] bought this place,” Ashley explains. “It was supposed to be 120 acres, but when he tried to purchase it, they said that was too much land for a black man. So, he brought in a brother or cousin to buy another part of it. They worked together, and it stayed in the family.”

Later, her father, Harper, would take over. Anyone familiar with the Morehouse Parish farming community has likely heard Harper Armstrong’s name. He’s made quite a name for himself, boasting a more than five decades-long farming career, winning the 2013 Louisiana Farmer of the Year Award, and expanding his father’s operation significantly. At one point, Ashley shares, he was farming on around 3,500 acres of land. 

When Ashley realized how connected she felt to farming — “It’s deeply rooted in me,” she declares — she joined her father in the fields. And it doesn’t appear she’s looked back since.  Armstrong Farms’s focal point was commercial farming and cultivating crops like corn, wheat, and soybeans when Ashley joined the operation and decided to take it seriously. She enjoyed the work, but the commercial side of things wasn’t completely fulfilling. She wanted more connection with the people who were buying her crops, and this kind of farming wasn’t giving her that.

“Once you grow [commercial crops] and get them out of the field, you take them to the grain elevator, and that’s all you know,” she explains. “I like to know where my product’s going. I like to meet the people handling it.”

So, Ashley shifted her focus to something that would satisfy her needs for connection and farming: produce production. The Armstrongs began growing crops like purple-hull peas and greens to give away for free. People responded so well to the father-daughter duo’s offerings that they decided to capitalize on it. 

They developed a business model and equipped themselves to handle large quantities of produce by purchasing heavy-duty machinery, including pea pickers and shellers, and hiring extra hands to help carry the load. Now, in addition to maintaining about 1,000 acres of commercial crops, the farming family grows almost 100 acres of produce. They’ve also managed to create jobs for others, Ashley says, explaining, “Day to day, I have about two or three [workers]. But with seasonal workers, it gets up to about six. It fluctuates, but it’s working.”

One of the first things you’ll see upon pulling up to Armstrong Farms is the produce stand Ashley has set up, open for business Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday 8:00 to 1:00 p.m. The stand is stocked with produce grown and picked by Ashley and her workers, plus additional products like honey and seasonings. When people stop by, Daughter Armstrong is often the one to greet them, but she doesn’t mind. After all, chatting with her customers is the reason she dove into the produce business in the first place.

Ashley regularly interacts with locals at the stand and at the pop-up produce markets she does around the region. But it isn’t unusual for her to encounter an out-of-towner of two every once in a while, too. Armstrong Farms has managed to build a solid base of supporters outside of Morehouse parish and Louisiana in general. 

“You’d be surprised how many people from out-of-state stop here when they’re passing through,” she says. “Just yesterday, a guy from Texas came and said, ‘I had to stop here to get my greens. I know y’all have the best.’”

Ashley’s proud of her crops’ reach, but she’s hoping to expand even more. Or, perhaps declaring is a better word than hoping. When asked about her goals for Armstrong Farms’s future, she confidently states, “We’re going to be nationwide.”

Besides dreaming of shipping her produce across the nation, Ashley is also hunting for a grant that will allow the Armstrongs to purchase more product storage and equipment, which will ultimately expand their operation. 

“If I can find the right person and the right place for us to get a grant, there’s no telling what we could do,” she says, her voice filled with determination. 

The idea of collaborating with other businesses isn’t off the table for Armstrong Farms’s future, either, Ashley says. Now, except for Indian Village peaches and sweet potatoes from a farmer nearby, everything she sells at the produce stand is grown or made in-house. But she’s open to one day working with others and expanding her little market’s offerings. 

“I’m always open to [collaboration],” she says, adding, “It’s better for the customers.”

Clearly, Ashley has big plans for the future of Armstrong Farms, but make no mistake: she is focused on the present. As she looks ahead to what is possible, she remains focused on and grateful for the work they’re able to do now. 

Part of that work includes partnering with several food banks in the state, regularly contributing fresh greens for distribution through these facilities, and participating in the Louisiana Farm to School Program. Armstrong Farms also works with Greaux the Good, a statewide nutrition incentive program that covers half the price of EBT cardholders’ produce purchases. And, just as they did years ago, the Armstrongs continue giving out free produce, only now, they do so just before a hard freeze.

“I did that last year,” Ashley says of giving away crops before freezing temperatures hit, “and we had a field full of people. Once we get the freeze, I can’t do anything with it anyway, so I give back.”

Her motivation to give back seems to have two primary drivers: her father Harper — “He’s always giving to anybody, and it’s part of me as well,” she says — and her gratitude for her customers, most of whom discovered Armstrong Farms through social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.

“We had to build an audience,” Ashley says. “I worked really hard on our social media presence to try to get the word out. Once we hit our third year, we noticed the pickup in customers.”

Ultimately, though, if you are one of their customers, it doesn’t matter to Ashley or Harper how you stumbled across Armstrong Farms. They’re just glad you did. 

“I didn’t think [business] was going to grow like it has,” Ashley admits. “During the coronavirus era, we saw a little dip in sales, but people wanted fresh food. The demand has been high.” 

That high demand enables the Armstrongs and their employees to earn a living, connect with customers, and do work they find rewarding, including making high-quality, local produce as accessible as possible.

“We are a family-oriented corporation, and we love what we do,” she says. “I wake up every day, and I know I get to be out here knowing that I can provide a better selection of food for somebody is worth it. Fresh is better. Period.”

The Armstrongs have the words, “Farming is our purpose,” written on the farm’s Facebook page, and Ashley’s conversation with BayouLife reveals just how true that is. The third- and fourth-generation farmers are passionate about providing people with fresh food, and Ashley has no plans to stop doing that any time soon Besides, she says, the farm is “Armstrong legacy.”

Learn more about Armstrong Farms’s offerings on Facebook (Armstrong Farms) and Instagram(@armstrong_farms_). If you’re in the market for fresh produce, visit Ashley, Harper, and the rest of the Armstrong Farms crew at 5821 Mer Rouge-Collinston Road in Bastrop.