Born to Farm: The Story of a Second-Generation Pig Producer

With California’s agricultural land becoming increasingly more expensive and regulations tightening, some farmers are seeking new opportunities elsewhere. For the Robinson Family, the answer was Oklahoma — a place where wide-open land and a deep-rooted farming community offered a setting for a fresh start.

“We started our first hog farm in 1997 when we moved to Oklahoma,” says Tanner Robinson, farm manager at Robinson Family Farms.

Tanner’s father, Eddie Robinson, worked at a fiberglass store in California but had always loved animals, especially pigs. Eddie went to Oklahoma to see one of his uncles and toured a friend’s hog farm. He loved it and moved the family to Oklahoma when Tanner was 8 years old.

“My uncle Rich and my dad became partners and created Robinson Family Farms,” Tanner says. “Our lives completely changed.”

After graduating from high school, Tanner pursued an animal science degree at Oklahoma State University where he graduated in 2012.

“I came home after college and fell into the family plan of pig farming,” Tanner says. “I loved the family aspect of going to work every day with my dad, uncle, cousins and brothers.”