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Katie Carter has been driving a tractor since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. But that’s not unusual for kids who grow up on a farm. Katie has learned a lot about plowing, planting and harvesting. She has also learned the friendly folks at Pike Farmers Co-op in Troy have the answers to a lot of her questions about farming.

TEEN HITS THE FIELDS
FOR HANDS-ON LEARNING
“I like farming,” says Katie Carter. “It’s all hard work, but I don’t mind.”
By Jaine Treadwell

Katie Carter is one in a million.

And, that could even be a stretch given the unique and elite group which she "runs with."

At age 15, Katie is receiving a "true grit" education along with her book learning.

Katie spends her early mornings and late afternoons under the very capable tutelage of her mother, Monte, an educator with the Ozark City Schools. Between times, she dons overalls and boots and hits the fields with her dad, Sammy, for hands-on learning that few young people these days have the opportunity to experience.

Katie is soft spoken and with manners that ooze Southern charm and politeness: a trademark of the South.

"I like farming," Katie said, with a shy smile. "It’s all hard work but I don’t mind. We have corn, soybeans, hay and cows. We used to have peanuts but we don’t have any this year and I don’t mind. Peanuts are real hard work. What I like best about farming is the cows."

Katie has raised several calves and had a hard time giving them up when the time came.

She had gotten so attached to "those big brown eyes" it was hard to say goodbye. And, she just couldn’t say goodbye to Prissy.

Several days a week, Katie can be found manning a produce stand at a farmers market in Troy, Enterprise or Ozark. She has helped her dad, Sammy, with the farm’s watermelon crop from planting to harvesting and selling.

Katie Carter helped to put down a drip line that would bring water to the melons when Mother Nature failed to bring showers of blessings.

"That was the first time I had seen a calf being born and it was so exciting," Katie said. "I do a lot of things with the cows. I make sure they have water and I give them the hot mix. Daddy does the worming though."

Katie’s work on the farm doesn’t end with the cows. She helps her dad with the irrigation of the corn and she helps with the harvesting of the cotton and with building the modules.

"What I do is operate the packer," she said. "Sometimes it doesn’t take too long and other times it takes a long time."

If the yield is good, building a module might not leave Katie with much time on her hands. However, if the yield is low, she climbs in the truck with a stack of books and uses her time wisely by studying.

Diversification is the name of the game and her dad is teaching her how to play it.

That’s why this year, peanuts were out and watermelons were in.

"We planted eight acres of watermelons," Katie said. "We planted four acres in plastic and the other four we didn’t. The plastic helps keep the weeds out and the moisture in."

Katie explained that a drip line was installed under the plastic so water could be "administered" when needed. And, with the drought conditions of the spring and early summer of 2007, the need was often.

The seeds for the Carters’ watermelon crop were grown off at a seed house in Tifton, GA, and Katie quickly learned that transplanting watermelon plants is a lot of work.

"We had a machine to help with the planting but we had to put the plants in the holes by hand," she said. "That was hard work."

In an effort to get the plants in the ground in a timely manner, the Carters planted 337 plants under the cover of darkness.

For Katie, that was an experience that she’ll never forget. There was just something very special about planting under the stars.

"We planted different varieties, Big Stripe and Star Bright," Katie said. "We planted one variety in plastic but not the other. We didn’t want the watermelons to come off at the same time, so we’ll have some late watermelons."

A lesson that Katie has learned the hard and hot way is that weeds in a watermelon patch will beat you to death.

"We hoed the weeds," she said, with a slow smile. "There were weeds everywhere. Hoeing weeds is hard work. With plastic you don’t have as many weeds. I’d rather plant in plastic."

Katie kept a photo journal of her "watermelon summer" and she quickly and proudly pointed out the first watermelon that was ready for picking.

The bulk of the watermelons grown on Carter Farms of Brundidge are trucked to a buyer in Birmingham. But some of the biggest and sweetest are reserved for local farmers’ markets.
Several days a week, Katie, her mom, aunt and cousins "load the wagon" and head to market. Next to eating the melons, Katie likes working the stand at the farmers’ markets.

"We go to farmers’ markets in Troy, Enterprise and Ozark," Katie said. "I won the prize for the sweetest watermelon at the Enterprise market. It weighed 44 pounds."

With the know how to grow big, sweet watermelons, one might think that Katie is planning a career in the melon business.

"No," she said. "I want to be a photographer, maybe a wildlife photographer. I love the outdoors. I like to fish and go hunting, not to kill deer or anything. Just to watch for them."

Katie has rescued several small deer that have been orphaned for whatever reason.

"There were the twins, Cotton and Cornbread, and Pumpkin," she said. "I like taking care of animals. And, I like farming."

There was no reason for Katie to say it twice, the light in her eyes when she talks about life on the farm leaves no doubt that she does loving farming.

Jaine Treadwell is a freelance writer from Brundidge.