The Hardestys are always in motion. The family, parents Glenn and Terrie, and son Justin, 14, works together on their farm, Working H, raising cattle, pigs, and poultry in rural West Virginia. Glenn and Terrie moved from Florida to West Virginia 15 years ago, seeking a different life, but farming was not originally in the plans. Working H Farms grew from Terrie’s desire to have better food for her family, and gradually the operation grew, as friends and family wanted locally raised food. The farm expanded in the fall of 2014 to include a slaughterhouse and butcher shop in Friendsville, Maryland, a small town on the border of West Virginia and Maryland. Glenn and Terrie quit their jobs in the summer of 2014 to devote more time to the businesses.

Justin is also spending more time at the farm and butcher shop. In the fall of 2014, he began homeschooling, in order to devote more time to the family businesses. Unlike his parents, Justin has grown up farming, and despite the long hours, he enjoys the work. The Hardesty’s oldest son, Grant, used to work on the farm as well, but he left the business in the fall of 2014. Days are often hectic, with new problems and challenges arising frequently. However, the Hardestys view the struggle of maintaining the farm and launching the butcher shop as something that they can all do as a family.

Hear more from Glenn and Terrie in Voices of Farming.