
Fifth-Generation Farmer Finds New Ways to Care for the Land As a Conservation Fellow
October 16, 2024 | Source: Center for Rural Affairs | by Liz Stewart
As a teenager, Corinne Kolm wanted to live in a big city and have nothing to do with her family’s farming legacy. With time, her strong agricultural roots took her back to the land, and she’s glad it did.
Originally from northeast Nebraska, Corinne is a fifth-generation farmer, a heritage of which she is very proud. Her grandfather and his siblings all farmed, as well as several of their children.
“When you get to my generation, my brother and I are the only ones still working the land and both of us have off-farm income as well,” she said. “It is very difficult to make a living on a small farm these days, and I think the consolidation of farms into entities that own thousands of acres is a huge loss to our culture, health, and the environment.”
Corinne grew up around crop ground, cattle, pigs, and chickens. She studied agroecology in graduate school and has worked in local foods and organic certification for nearly 20 years.
“My parents were always great lovers of the outdoors, but much of their concern about the food system came after I became ill at the age of 8 and was diagnosed with an endocrine disorder,” Corinne said. “My mom eventually went to graduate school and did research on pesticide runoff, and my dad started questioning the use of chemicals in farming.”
In 2018, Corinne and her husband purchased their 80-acre operation, Giving Tree Farm near Beatrice, from retiring farmers who wanted to keep the land in diversified sustainable production.
“Our farm is so beautiful and very diverse,” said Corinne. “We have a small market garden, orchard, pastures, restored prairie, grass-fed cattle, and laying hens. We also have several hedgerows, windbreaks, ponds, creeks, and solar and wind power.”
Corinne’s passion for local, organic foods and the desire to live in the country played a big part in her decision to begin farming.