Every year the N.C. State Fair thrills people of all ages and backgrounds from across the state for 11 exciting days. Fairgoers get the chance to enjoy exciting rides and delicious new foods. The State Fair is also a time to celebrate N.C. agriculture and the hardworking families who make it our state’s leading industry.
Farm Family of the Day, sponsored by Tractor Supply Co., is a program that recognizes one standout farm family each day of the N.C. State Fair. To honor these families’ accomplishments and contributions to North Carolina agriculture, they are awarded tickets to attend the fair on a day of their choosing, where they will be recognized through PA announcements and signs on the fairgrounds.
Behind the Pines is a fourth-generation family-owned and operated flower farm located in Nashville and is being recognized as the Farm Family of the Day, today, Oct. 20th! Run by sisters Marilyn Fincher and Michaela Stallings, the farm has transitioned from their family’s original tobacco farm into a thriving flower farm. While the original family values are still at the core of their operation, the sister’s farm is a perfect example of how farms can transform to meet modern needs.
It all started when Marilyn and Michaela accidentally grew a few too many flowers. After exhausting their family and friends with flowers, they decided to buy a small Suzuki mini truck and take some flowers into their community to sell. They preceded to sell every flower they brought within an hour.
“It was kind of like we’re just going to go set up in our local community and sell some of the flowers, and within like an hour, we had sold out,” Marilyn said. “We just continued to see the need that people wanted to buy local flowers versus going to a grocery store.” From that point on, the shop only continued to grow and blossom into what Behind the Pines Farm is today.
While flower farming is a little different than the traditional row crop farming that most of us picture when agriculture comes to mind, the sisters think of flowers that are not only something for every occasion, but a more personal product too.
“We’ll have customers that are celebrating an anniversary, a baby or a wedding. Then we also have it for when their loved ones pass away, that way we’re able to give them comfort through our flowers,” Marilyn said. As she puts it, flowers are a crop for every season of life.
Before creating behind the pines farm, the sisters already had a long history of agriculture growing up on the tobacco farm that their family ran dating back to their great-grandfather. They would participate in 4H growing up too, before heading off to college and then creating the farm in 2021 with land purchased from their grandmother.
When Marilyn spoke about growing up farming, she couldn’t help but share some of the favorite memories that they share.
“We would skip school to go with our dad to the tobacco warehouse. Hands down my favorite thing when I was growing up,” she said. “Now, I think it’s just the little memories we get to make. We look back on every year and we just laugh at all the funny things that happen, or the mistakes that we can laugh at and learn from.
Off the farm the sisters make sure to make a positive impact in their community too, partnering with a retirement center in their community providing for seniors and even holding flower arranging classes. The beauty of the flowers and the happiness they provide for others reminds them of their own grandmother, giving the sisters a special way to recognize and remember her through helping others.
In addition to the retirement center classes, the sisters have gone back to their 4H roots and created a sponsorship for their local chapter. “As we’re 4H alumni, that’s huge for us to be able to give back to that organization,” Michaela said. Fostering education around pollinators and their importance in the ecosystem is another priority for the sisters.
As one of this year’s farm families of the day, Marilyn and Michaela and their families are looking forward to enjoying some of their favorite parts that they have been enjoying since they were seven years old! Some of their favorite parts include Peachy’s Donuts, or getting to see the livestock shows.
“Things like the apples, sweet potatoes, the honeybees and the livestock. Even though we see it all the time here, you just can’t get away from them, it’s just the nostalgia,” Marilyn said.
We are honored to recognize Behind the Pines Farm today and look forward to seeing where they continue to expand their farm in the future! If you see them on the grounds at the N.C. State Fair, be sure to congratulate them on this honor and thank them for their hard work in N.C. Agriculture!