When you step onto Raines Farms, it’s hard to miss the large greenhouses filled with beautiful annuals and perennials. If you look closer, you’ll also see a deep family history rooted in a love of farming and growing to serve the community.
Brothers Greg and Todd Raines currently run the operation with help from their children. Their great-great-grandfather on their father’s side purchased the land where the greenhouses sit in 1928, and their great-great-grandfather on their mother’s side purchased the western part of the farm in 1895.
“The best part of farming and this operation is the family aspect,” Todd said. “I got to farm with both my grandfathers, my father and my brother. Now, my kids are farming with my nieces and nephews.”
Raines Farms originally started as a tobacco farm. When the tobacco market began to decline in the 1990s, the family started to look for ways to diversify the operation and increase revenue.
Today, the family has about 1,500 acres of grain farming, about 100 acres of burley tobacco, 400 purebred Angus cows and a greenhouse where they raise annuals and perennials for wholesale. With such a diversified operation, each family member plays a critical role in keeping the farm running.
“I support delivery, maintenance and repairs,” Todd said. “Greg takes care of the greenhouse operation. My son Ty takes care of the cattle. It takes everybody to make it all work. We all have our specialties, but we also help each other.”
With such an expansive farm, the family wanted a financial partner with a deep understanding of each aspect of their business. Farm Credit Mid-America has been that partner from the beginning.
“We've relied on Farm Credit through every generation that's worked on the farm,” Greg said. “Everything that we have financed, from property to equipment and from row crops to flowers, they're right there to help us. Their partnership has allowed our operation not just to continue but also to thrive.”
At the end of the day, the brothers are most proud of the legacy of this land for their children and future generations.
“What we have here is to leave to our kids,” Greg said. “It’s amazing that they’re going to have the opportunity Todd and I had. We want to be good servants of the land to make it better for them when they get to our age. We want to teach our children how important it is to leave this land better than when they got it.”
