Next Gen Ag is a year long series that will run on our In The Field blog, Facebook page, Instagram page and Twitter account. Each Wednesday, we will highlight a young person pursuing a career in the agriculture industry. Individuals can be in high school, college, or recent graduates who are working to establish a career in agriculture. Stay tuned each week to meet some of our industry’s future leaders!
Many times in life the heart just knows what it wants. Growing up on a family farm, Matt Darden was immersed in agriculture and started helping on the farm at a young age. Today, Matt is working full-time on the family farm to further their agricultural legacy and expand their impact across the world.
Darden Family Farms, located in Clinton, originally grew a variety of row crops and produce as well as raised hogs and chickens. From the time he was old enough to walk, Matt remembers riding on the back of the combine with his father harvesting corn and helping in the chicken houses. “In Clinton, nearly everyone is involved in the agriculture industry,” he said. “It’s a way of life around here and I’ve always seen it that way. Our farm has provided food for our family, and many others throughout the community, for years.” In 2011, the farm transitioned from growing row crops and produce to strictly raising hogs and chickens. According to his father, Andy Darden, Matt helps manage 47 swine finishing buildings, 9 swine nursery buildings and 6 broiler chicken houses every day on the farm. “Matt is truly paving the way for the future of this farm,” Andy said. “At only 22 years old, his passion and love for this industry drives him every day to grow, innovate and drive production.” Although Matt knew for most of his life that he wanted to work in the agriculture industry, he didn’t begin working full-time on the farm until he was 18 years of age.
After graduating high school in Sampson County, Matt decided to continue his education at East Carolina University in Greenville. After one year, however, Matt became homesick and missed working with his family on the farm every day. “I never pushed any of my kids to follow in my footsteps,” said Andy, Matt’s father, “but Matt always had a love for this farm. When he called me that spring and asked to move back home and start helping full-time on the farm, I didn’t hesitate to say yes because I knew this is where he longed to be.” As a sixth-generation farmer, Matt carries a lot of responsibility on the farm and serves as his father’s right-hand man. “Every day, my coworker and I start by checking and maintaining the hog houses around the farm,” Matt said. “There truly is no typical day on the farm, but normally you can find us doing routine farm chores such as cutting grass, repairing buildings, taking care of hogs, and feeding chickens. Each day presents its own set of chores and challenges, but that’s one of the things that I like about this industry.” Matt and his father raise chickens for Mountaire Farms in Millsboro. “We are honored to partner with a company that not only helps to impact people across our state, but the world,” Matt said. “It’s rewarding to know that your hard work is helping to feed millions of families just like ours.” Although he loves many aspects of being on the farm, Matt has a particular soft spot for being outside and physically seeing the rewards of his hard work. “Farming brings something new every day. I get to be outside and work with my hands, which has always suited me, but it’s also extremely rewarding to see your hard work coming to life on the farm” he said. “From watching the hogs and chickens grow and mature to enjoying a farm grown meal around the table, this industry produces a strong sense of pride for what we do as farmers.”
Matt’s strong work-ethic, innovative ideas, problem solving skills, and passion for the industry are all factors that drive him every day to continue furthering the farms legacy. “To only be twenty-two years old, own his own house, buy his own swine farm, and help me every day make decisions on the family farm, is the greatest gift that any parent could want,” said Andy, Matt’s father. “His passion, commitment, care for community and other people is rare in such a young man, but I know these qualities will help him continue to build the legacy of this farm for generations to come.”
In the short-term, Matt wants to continue helping his father grow and innovate the family farm by maintaining the livestock they currently have and growing where his father would like to grow. In future years, Matt not only hopes to have his own swine farm, which he is currently working to achieve, but also further the legacy of the family farm throughout the community. “It’s an honor to know that the livestock we raise are helping to not only feed our family, but families across the world,” he said. “In the future, I would love to keep expanding both operations so that impact can continue to grow and flourish.”
For anyone interested in pursuing a career in the agriculture industry, Matt reminds you that the work will be difficult but the outcomes will be worth it. “Working in the agriculture industry, especially on the farm, isn’t easy and there are not a lot of days off, but it is incredibly rewarding,” he said. “Keep in mind that you are making a difference, even on the hard days, for people both within and outside of your community. Knowing that you are truly impacting people across the world through your work is the best feeling in the world.” We are so proud of Matt and all that he is doing to further his families farming legacy in Sampson County. We can’t wait to see how they will continue to grow and impact the industry in the years to come!
