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Missouri Founding Farms recognized for generations of family ownership

Several farm families that have been around since Missouri became a state are being recognized as Founding Farms at the Missouri State Fair.

Andy Clay, the vice-president of Missouri Farm Bureau, is a seventh-generation farmer in Moniteau County.

“We were originally settled in 1816,” he says. “At the MOFB building this fair, we have on display my family’s original land grant signed by John Quincy Adams, that we’re fortunate enough to still have in the family. We’re just one of about 30 farms in Missouri that are still in the family ownership from the original settlement.”

Clay raises cattle and crops and tells Brownfield that diversification has been key to helping his family survive. He says it’s hard to imagine what past family members would think of agriculture and farming today.

“I couldn’t even imagine what my grandpa would say and unfortunately we lost him about 20 years ago,” he says. “The technology and we’re running 60-foot planters now instead of 30-foot 20-some years ago.”

Clay says he also rents and farms another bicentennial farm in Moniteau County.

The theme for the Missouri State Fair this year is “Show-Me Stars and Stripes,” a nod to the 250^th Birthday of the United States. Clay says that’s why his family is being recognized.

The Founding Farms recognition is sponsored by Missouri Farm Bureau and the University of Missouri Extension, as part of the Missouri Farm Bureau and Farm Family Day at the Missouri State Fair.

A full list of Founding Farms can be found on the MU Extension website.