Half a century before America declared independence, John Lester broke soil on a 150-acre plot of land in East Hampton, N.Y.Little did he know, the next 300 years would see nine generations of his direct descendants cultivate that land.
As our young nation took root and endured hardship, so did Round Swamp Farm.Today, Carolyn Lester Snyder carries on the family tradition by growing and selling produce on the property, with the help of her husband, children and grandchildren.
They are a living, breathing, working testament to the American Dream and to America’s long legacy of family farming.This summer, the Trump administration is honoring that glorious inheritance by launching the American Family Farm Legacy 250 Program.In partnership with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture is building on proud traditions established during America’s bicentennial and elevating them into a unified national commitment.A long chain of uninterrupted family ownership is no small feat.That’s why this program publicly recognizes the inspirational perseverance of multigenerational farm families, from 100-year legacies to the extraordinary handful of patriots who have stewarded their land for 250 years or more.TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EXPANDS 'PRODUCT OF USA' LABEL AS PUSH FOR AMERICAN-RAISED BEEF GROWSFrom the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the wooded hills of western Massachusetts, from the South Fork of Long Island to the country roads of rural North Carolina, these farms remind us just how much rural America matters to all of America.
Critically, they have sustained us with the food we eat and the clothes on our backs.But even more importantly, they have been the wellspring of our most cherished values and time-honored traditions.President Donald Trump walks past tractors as he arrives to participate in a roundtable on "American Agriculture" at Custer Farms in Chippewa Falls, Wis.
(SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)In time...