Sammy, Levi, Tammy, Sandra and Claude Starling were the guests of honor at the annual Suwannee County Farm Bureau meeting.  Suwannee County Farm Bureau along with the UF/IFAS Extension office in Suwannee County presented Starling Family Farms with the 2018 Suwannee County Farm Family of the Year award.

LIVE OAK — Each year, the Suwannee County Farm Bureau, along with the UF/IFAS Extension office, present the annual Suwannee County Farm Family award.

The 2018 honor belongs to Claude and Sandra Starling, their son Sammy and his wife Tammy Starling, who make up Starling Family Farm.

Claude and Sandra’s other son Cliff is also in farming and has 4-Star Farm.

Claude and Sandra’s love story is rooted in agriculture. They met at the old John Deere store (now Ag-Pro) and have been married for 49 years. Claude started farming on his own in 1966 after leaving Ag-Pro/John Deere in 1972 to farm full-time. Their property is a Century Pioneer Family Farm, a Florida Department of Ag and Consumer Services (FDACS) program that honors families who have maintained at least 100 years of continuous family farm ownership. The Starling Family has had four generations of farmers.

Tammy and Sammy’s family includes daughter Shania, a nurse who lives on-property, and 7-year-old son Levi. Sammy has worked his whole life in agriculture. His only other job was for Tri-Co. Irrigation putting up Center Pivots. He has been working with his dad for 27 years.

Tammy and Sammy met at the bank where she was working. Although she wasn’t excited about “hay baling” as a first date, she has since resigned at the bank to help at the farm. She explained that she never pictured herself checking on cows or driving a tractor, but says she wouldn’t trade her life for anything. The pride and love are evident when she talks about her husband and his parents.

Combining the land owned by Sandra/Claude and Sammy/Tammy with the land they lease, Starling Family Farm is about 1,000 acres. Back in the day they grew tobacco. Today, they grow sweet potatoes, hay, peanuts, cattle, corn, grass seed and iron clay peas. In fact, you used to be able to buy Starling Sweet potatoes at Huffman and Gilmore’s and you can still buy them at the Farmers’ Cooperative, John’s Feed Store and Mayo Fertilizer.

The love of farming and the respect for animals and the natural resources is evident when you see what has been passed on to the grandchildren. But, it shows in other ways as well. Recognizing the commitment and investment required to follow Best Management Practices (BMPs) to voluntarily ensure that excess water and fertilizers are not being applied, Sammy and Claude were recognized as CARES recipients in 2007. CARES stands for County Alliance for Responsible Environmental Stewardship. The Starlings were also chosen as the 2012 Suwannee County Conservation District Farm Family of the Year for their implementation of BMPs.

They have been great partners with the UF/IFAS Extension office and the North Florida Research and Education center in Live Oak, allowing researchers, agents and farmers to attend field days on their farm. Demonstration and research projects at their farm include: rotational grazing systems, wireworm control on sweet potatoes and soil moisture technology. In fact, a common phrase is, “Someone is coming out to the farm today.”

The Starlings have also been supporters of FFA and 4-H. For about 25 years, Sandra, known to many as “Sassy,” and Claude have sponsored and presented FFA’s prestigious Blue and Gold Award at the annual banquet. In addition, Sandra was a 4H leader for 15 years. The hay bales seen in front of the Extension office in the fall have been donated by the Starling Family for 4H clubs to decorate. Tammy and Sammy are carrying on the tradition of being involved in 4H, as Levi is now a cloverbud in the Suwannee County Trailblazers 4H club.

It’s not common today, but Claude and Sammy are men whose handshake is good for their word. From environmental stewardship to preserving the state’s agricultural industry through training and education, the Starling Family Farm has been an important part of Suwannee County.