By Seth Smallwood
This Friday, meet the Hinton family of Breckinridge County, Kentucky. Hinton Legacy LLC is a multigenerational family operation where the rolling hay fields, row crops, bright cut flower patches and forestland show the care the family puts into their land each day. For the Hintons, farming is rooted in family, tradition, and a commitment to caring for the soil to keep it in production for generations to come.
Steven Hinton runs the farm with his wife, Carol, and their daughters, Mary Hinton and Elizabeth Gipson, son-in-law, Dylan Gipson, and three grandchildren.
Putting Conservation Practices to Work
After noticing several issues on their farm, including soil erosion, compaction, poor plant health, and water quality concerns, the Hintons reached out to USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in 2024. With the help of NRCS staff in the Hardinsburg USDA Service Center, the family began shaping a conservation plan through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to improve their land and strengthen their operation.
“The NRCS programs have helped our operation become more sustainable,” said Steven. “We have used the programs with NRCS to make the land better for the next generations so that when they have the chance to be a part of the farm, they will have a base to continue to build.”
Source : farmers.gov