The 54th Annual Santa Rosa County Farm Tour will be held virtually this year. The video tour is available for free on the UF/IFAS Extension Santa Rosa County Facebook page, the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners YouTube channel, or at the end of this article. The longest standing agriculture and natural resources tour in northwest Florida will feature videos on a number of agricultural enterprises that involve peanuts and cotton. There will also be a video featuring landscape trees as well as videos to introduce the Farm Family of the Year and the Friend of Agriculture recipient.

Santa Rosa County agriculture generates $73 million per year and provides numerous jobs. The county’s population continues to become more and more removed from agriculture and the Santa Rosa County Farm Tour aims to help the citizens understand the value of agriculture and natural resources. While a typical farm tour sees around 200 attendees each year, the virtual tour is open for everyone to view from the comfort of their own home.

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2020 Farm Family of the Year

The 2020 Farm Family of the Year was awarded to the Tim Roberts family. Tim Roberts’ Farm was established in 1979 and is a 400-acre farm that grows peanuts and cotton. Tim is a third generation farmer who knew at a young age that row crop farming would be the career choice for him. He was fortunate to have learned about farming from his grandfather, C.D. Bragg, and later started his farming career with his uncle, Gerald Bragg. Tim has enjoyed many years of farming with family and friends; this is especially true during harvest time when family and friends all help in the fields.

Tim and his wife, Katrina, of 27 years have two sons, Joseph and Jacob. The boys grew up working alongside their dad on the farm since they were big enough to walk and have a love for their family farm and the farming industry. Even though Joseph, 23, and Jacob, 19, both have careers outside of the farm, they are determined to continue to work on the family farm to help it stay successful.

Tim stated, “Farming is not an easy life, it takes a tremendous amount determination to succeed in this line of work for 40 years. My wife and I are very blessed to have two hard working and dedicated sons that help me with the farm. To have a successful farming business it takes the entire family pitching in and helping wherever is needed.”

Tim’s hope for the future is that the farm continues to grow as the fourth generation of family farmers take over once he retires.

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