CommonGround Farmers


Love for the land, our families, our friends and our food – that’s what fuels our CommonGround community. Scroll down to learn where our volunteers are located, or Contact Us to get involved.

CommonGround Kentucky

Back to Our Farmers

Megan Bell

Mayfield, Kentucky

Our Farm: corn, tobacco, soybeans, wheat

My Work: farmer, wife, mom, education coordinator

My Hobbies: singing, reading

Ask Me About: biotechnology/GMOs, sustainability and conservation

About Me: My husband and I, along with my father-in-law, farm about 2,200 acres in Graves County, Kentucky. My role on the farm involves taking care of my children and the business end of the operation: paying bills, payroll and yield maps. We have three young boys who love anything related to farming and they hope that someday they will become the third generation on our farm.

Blog: Faith, Family, Farming and Everything In Between

Amie Buckman

Benton, Kentucky

Our Farm: corn, sorghum, soybeans, wheat

My Work: farmer

My Hobbies: arts and crafts, blogging, photography

Ask Me About: animal welfare, antibiotics and animal health, farm ownership, GMO foods, organic and local food

About Me: Growing up in a small rural Kentucky county gave me a passion for agriculture and having conversations with consumers about where their food comes from. I love God, sweet tea, horses and monograms. 

Facebook: Amie Beth Buckman

Twitter: @Abbuckman

Miranda Chaplin

Cynthiana, Kentucky

Our Farm: alfalfa, beef cattle

My Work: farmer, wife, mom, operations coordinator for agricultural curriculum provider

My Hobbies: baking, cooking, canning

Ask Me About: animal nutrition, animal welfare and antibiotics, food safety, family farms vs. corporate farms

About Me: It was very important to me to raise my family on a farm. I believe that hard work and values taught on the farm are incomparable to any other business or lifestyle. My passion for agriculture and education translates into my work with a national initiative offering professional development and curriculum in agricultural science education.

Lesa Clark

Paducah, Kentucky

Our Farm: dairy cattle, corn, oats, soybeans, wheat

My Work: farmer, wife, mother

My Hobbies: photography

Ask Me About: animal welfare, antibiotics and animal health, farm ownership, hormones in meat and milk

About Me: My parents instilled in me a passion for faith, family and farming. I have farmed with my parents for as long as I can remember. I am continuing this tradition with my daughter and now my grandchildren. My daughter and I both married “city” boys, but we have slowly brought them into the farming operation, too. I love to share my passion for farm life and to tell the story of the multiple generations that currently live and work on our farm.

Website: www.growingupdairyhappy.wordpress.com

Facebook: LeCows Dairy

Twitter: @Lesa_Clark

Instagram: @Lesaeclark

Carilynn Coombs

Shelbyville, Kentucky

Our Farm: dairy cows

My Work: farmer, wife, mom, social media specialist

My Hobbies: baking, being outdoors, cooking, photography

Ask Me About: animal welfare, antibiotics and animal health, farm ownership, food safety, organic and local foods

About Me: I grew up on a dairy and tobacco farm in western Kentucky. Now I enjoy working on our third-generation farm, Jericho Acres Dairy. We milk approximately 100 Holstein cows, grow 100 acres of corn to feed the cows and manage a never-ending hay crop. I love riding in the tractor, spending time with my family and working out.

Website: A Modern Milk Maid

Twitter: @amodernmilkmaid 

Instagram: @amodernmilkmaid

Mary Courtney

Bagdad, Kentucky

Our Farm: corn, soybeans, tobacco, vegetables

My Work: farmer, wife, mom

Ask Me About: local and organic foods

About Me: After my husband spent several years as an agriculture teacher, while I worked as a financial services officer, we followed our dreams to become self-employed farmers. I love the opportunity to talk with consumers in hopes of earning appreciation for farming locally and globally.

Website: Courtney Farms

Carrie Divine

Morganfield, Kentucky

Our Farm: beef cattle, corn, soybeans, wheat

My Work: farmer, wife, mom, insurance agent

My Hobbies: walking, running, volunteering, spending time with my husband and children

Ask Me About: conservation, family farms vs. corporate farms

About Me: While my husband and I both have jobs off the farm, we are still active in both of our families’ farms. I am the 7th generation to be raised on our family farm and have a passion for educating others about food and farming.

Celeste Harned

Paducah, Kentucky

Our Farm: beef cattle, pigs

My Work: farmer, wife, mom, communications consultant

My Hobbies: baking, cooking, writing, photography, blogging, arts and crafts

Ask Me About: animal nutrition, animal welfare and antibiotics, hormones in meat and milk, food safety, family farms vs. corporate farms

About Me: Now that I’m a mom, I realize how much pressure parents put on themselves to feed their kids safe and nutritious meals. I can’t imagine how hard that must be if you don’t know anything about how food is grown or about the farm families who raise it. Since I can’t bring every person I ever meet to visit the farm, I love to share the story of our farm in other ways. I want to show other parents how hard my farm family works to grow safe, healthy food for our family and yours.

Website: Celeste Harned: A Farm Mom’s Perspective

Twitter: @CelesteHarned

Instagram: @CelesteHarned

Danielle Hayden

Whitesville, Kentucky

Our Farm: beef cattle, chickens, hay

My Work: farmer, wife, photographer

My Hobbies: blogging, cooking, movies, travel

Ask Me About: animal welfare, antibiotics and animal health, farm ownership, food safety, hormones in meat and milk

About Me: My husband and I raise beef cattle together on our farm in Whitesville. We recently developed a relationship with a local community college and are providing students with the opportunity to bridge the gap between what they learn in the classroom and what happens in real life through hands-on training with our cattle. In my day-to-day life, I blog on a personal level because of my passion for agriculture.

Blog: High Heels and Shotgun Shells

Twitter: @haydanib

Instagram: haydanib

Snapchat: xxdanibxx

Lindsey Hendricks

Auburn, Kentucky

Our Farm: corn, soybeans, wheat

My Work: farmer, wife, mom

My Hobbies: arts and crafts, baking, reading, traveling

Ask Me About: farm ownership, GMO foods, sustainability

About Me: My husband, Adam, and I are fourth-generation farmers. I love the fact that farming is a job that can involve the whole family. Like so many other farm families, we hope to pass it on to our children one day. Hearing our 5-year-old say that she wants to be a farmer makes us so proud.

Leanne Ragland

Magnolia, Kentucky

Our Farm: corn, pigs, soybeans, wheat

My Work: farmer, wife, mom

Hobbies: cooking, photography, blogging, travel

Ask Me About: animal nutrition, animal welfare and antibiotics, family farms vs. corporate farms

About Me: Before marrying my husband, who is a farmer, I had no idea how food made it to the grocery store. I grew up in a city in Florida, so becoming a farmer in Kentucky was an adjustment for me. Now, I love the wide-open spaces, my farm responsibilities and teaching my children about the farm.

Website: Florida Girl on the Farm

Facebook: Shady Rest Farm, Florida Girl on the Farm

Ashley Reding

Howardstown, Kentucky

Our Farm: corn, soybeans and winter wheat

My Work: farmer, wife, mom

My Hobbies: reading, scrapbooking and traveling

Ask Me About: GMOs, fertilizer and insecticide usage

About Me: My husband and I farm with his parents and six of his nine siblings. I was a city girl who never liked dirt and grew up an only child (can you say culture shock!) I have learned to love agriculture and enjoy sharing our farm story.

Website: Homestead Family Farms

Facebook: Homestead Family Farms

Stacy Sipes

Ekron, Kentucky

Our Farm: alfalfa, beef cattle, corn, soybeans, tobacco, wheat

My Work: farmer, wife, program director

My Hobbies: cooking, reading, traveling

Ask Me About: animal welfare, food safety, farm ownership

About Me: My husband and I were recently married. Although I have a farming background and work in the agriculture industry, our marriage made me a partner in my husband’s farming operation. We both have a love for the land and livestock and hope to continue to grow our operation. 

Facebook: Stacy Lowe Sipes

Twitter: @srlow

Instagram: @srlowe

Laney Snider

Franklin, Kentucky

Our Farm: barley, beef cattle corn, soybeans, wheat

My Work: farmer, wife, office manager

My Hobbies: baking, cooking, reading, traveling, writing

Ask Me About: animal welfare, antibiotics and animal health, GMO foods, farm ownership

About Me: Like many women, I wear several different hats. In addition to being a wife, I work on the farm, as well as off the farm as an office manager. In my free time, I enjoy volunteering with 4-H and riding horses. My husband and I hope to grow our farm and eventually turn it into a fun and educational destination for tourists.

Website: The Ranchy Ruby

Facebook: Laney Snider

Becky Thomas

Elizabethtown, Kentucky

Our Farm: alfalfa, beef cattle, corn, soybeans, vegetables, wheat

My Work: farmer, wife, mom

My Hobbies: baking, cooking, arts and crafts, travel, reading

Ask Me About: local and organic foods, food prices and safety

About Me: I am a lifelong farm girl. As a young child growing up on the farm, I learned the importance of caring for animals and tending to the land. On our farm, we raise beef cattle, soybeans, corn, wheat, alfalfa and Timothy hay. We also grow sweet corn to sell at the local farmer’s market. The main farm where we live is the farm that I grew up on and we purchased from my parents. I love that my children grew up on the same farm that I did, and now my grandchildren are enjoying that same experience.

Ellie Waggoner

Paducah, Kentucky

Our Farm: dairy cattle, corn, oats, soybeans, wheat

My Work: farmer, wife, mom

My Hobbies: arts and crafts, baking, cooking, movies, reading, traveling

Ask Me About: animal welfare, antibiotics and animal health, farm ownership, hormones in meat and milk, sustainability

About Me: I am the proud mom of three children, including twins. Multi-generational family meals have been a tradition in our family. Now, the primary cooking responsibility has been passed down to me, and I enjoy it. These meals give us an opportunity to raise our children with the extended family, which is quite rare outside of the farming community. My children’s friends love to play at the farm. It is this huge playground and wonderland for them to explore, to exercise their imaginations and to get really dirty. While I am still involved on the farm, the children are my priority and they are with us to experience life’s lessons.

Facebook: Ellie Gore Waggoner

Instagram: @Milkingmaid

Suzanne White

Owensboro, Kentucky

Our Farm: corn, fruit, tobacco, soybeans, vegetables

My Work: farmer, wife, mom

My Hobbies: overall fitness, reading, running, traveling

Ask Me About: farm ownership, food safety, organic and local foods

About Me: I grew up on the farm, but I spent 10 years as a high school mathematics teacher in Bowling Green, Kentucky before I returned home to the farm. On our farm, we grow both organic and conventional crops. Our family enjoys being involved in our community. We especially love to host groups from our local Boys and Girls Club and surrounding schools to teach them about agriculture and give them “hands-in-the-dirt” experiences.

Facebook: Cecil Farms Produce

Twitter:@CecilFarmsPD