11/04/2026
I’m Tara Williamson, and welcome to Forgotten Fields by Williamson Farms.
Last spring, on a frigid, rainy day (yes, it seems like a fever dream considering the drought), I found myself sprinting down a hill carrying a barely-moving, on-the-brink-of-death, newborn lamb. I had crammed it inside of my coat, trying to keep it as close to me and as warm as possible as I ran towards the house. It was wet, cold, and hardly twitched as I rubbed its back, trying desperately to keep it on this side of life.
The absurdity of my journey struck me somewhere on that hill: I never wanted to be a farmer. It was never a dream, never a calling, never in the forefront or back corners of my mind.
I craved a life studying rocks, bugs, biology, philosophy, and art. I wanted to be where I could live amongst nature and try to grasp my place in the greater scheme of life.
So naturally, Life yanked me by the arm and slapped me across the face with farming—ironically the perfect blend of all passions, but also fed by curiosity and fueled by surprise, anxiety, and plans gone awry. A curious and chaotic mix of science, economics, mortality, machinery, and mud, all inconveniently occurring at once.
Tom and I reinvigorated the family farm about 15 years ago, and since then there have been real successes, but also a healthy sprinkle of failures and (in hindsight) hilarious misadventures. We began with just eight cows; today we manage hundreds of animals, ranging from grass-fed Angus, pastured chickens, and a handful of sheep, as well as also grow sweet corn, popcorn, and mill our own grains & flours. When we’re not actively out in the field, we’re still busy running to the Blacksburg Farmers Market or tending to our self-serve farm stand. It’s never a dull day (sometimes I desperately yearn for the dull).
In the past year alone, our farm produced the equivalent of 300,000 meals for our community. That number humbles me and it is a true honor to be able to provide local, real food for others.
Life in agriculture can seem unforgiving upon reflection, but requires a tremendous amount of forgiveness…of yourself, of weather, of biology, of machinery, and of gates that looked absolutely & securely shut, but were upon closer inspection, clearly left unlatched and open by a sleep-deprived and stressed idiot (me).
We deal daily in life, death, sickness, health, abundance, scarcity, and ecosystems whose complexity continually reminds us that humans are neither masters of nature nor mere spectators to it. We are participants (occasionally competent ones), briefly entrusted with stewardship of a living world that retains full veto power over our plans.
Is the life of a farmer peaceful? @ #$% no!
Is it calm? Perhaps in the small hours of the morning…just before the day’s monumental list of obligations swims sharply into focus.
Our farm was recently designated a Virginia Century Farm, and I feel an enormous responsibility to make sure the first hundred years are not merely something commemorated, but the foundation for a stronger next hundred. Legacy, after all, isn’t something we simply inherit, but like the land, it survives only if somebody tends it.
I didn’t set out to become a farmer, but here I am…muddy, tired, and occasionally outwitted by livestock and those infernal old gate latches, but deeply defined by a life that relentlessly demands curiosity, humility, responsibility, and the conviction to protect what matters even while the world races towards whatever comes next.
(And that lamb from the beginning? It lived.)
The United Nations declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026). The Year will spotlight the essential roles women play across agrifood systems, from production to trade, while often going unrecognized. Women farmers are central to food security, nutrition and economic resilience. IYWF 2026 will raise awareness and promote actions to close the gender gaps and improve women’s livelihoods worldwide.
Throughout the year, Botetourt County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee will be highlighting Women Farmers in our Community. We hope you enjoy!
Farm Bureau Women's Leadership Program
Botetourt County Farm Bureau
Virginia Farm Bureau Federation
Virginia Farm Bureau Women's Leadership Program
