A century-old Oldham County farm finds a big market for their pumpkin crop and a lot more

CRESTWOOD, Ky. – Tis the season for pumpkins in our state and for many places around the world. According to our friends at the History Channel, pumpkins are a member of the gourd family, which includes cucumbers, honeydew melons, cantaloupe, watermelons, and zucchini. These plants are native to Central America and Mexico but now grow on six continents—all but Antarctica.

Closer to home, pumpkins are a very popular item at local farm markets and roadside stands throughout the Commonwealth.

The Caywoodland Farms in Oldham County is one of many in Kentucky that feature pumpkins as part of their overall agriculture operations. Make no mistake this 102-year-old farm has made its cattle and hay business a staple for many years. But its fourth-generation caretakers, Wes Husband and family, have incorporated a variety of crops and livestock to complement a century-old tradition.

“We’ve got a lot of different things that are all thrown into the pot at the end of the day,” Husband said. “I've also learned through this process that you need to try to do as much as you can, but at the same time, whatever you're doing, you’ve got to do it well.”

In addition to cattle and hay operations, other farm ventures include several acres of produce, CSA, direct-to-consumer pork and beef sales, a roadside market, and, of course, a pumpkin patch.

Husband has a strong connection to the past when it comes to his family's farm. But he has learned over the years that diversification may be the key to long-term sustainability. 

“We've had the farm in the family for 102 years, and when I stepped into the role of running things, I was going to do it the way that we've always done it, with a cow-calf operation and selling some hay,” he said. “But I remember having a conversation with my dad, who was working with me on the farm, and telling him we had to start developing more cashflow on things that you don't have to spend $10,000 to make a hundred.”

In addition to the farm, Husband is also a high school business teacher. It was the business side of him that knew something had to change to keep the farm in the family for future generations.

“Farming has become such an upfront cost type of thing, that the margins are pretty low for the amount of money that you're putting into it,” he said. “I got to thinking that there has to be a way we can decide what we're going to charge, and the price that we need to charge, in order to be profitable. We wanted to name the price, not just get the price.”

That kind of thinking has led the family farm to where it is today—and “family” is truly the operative word.

Husband and his wife, Christy, along with their four children and countless other family members make farm life, school life, and regular life, happen seamlessly, mostly, especially at this busiest time of year.

“All of the kids are involved in extra activities including sports and it takes all of us to make the schedules work,” Husband said. “But they all pitch in on the farm.”

Husband credits his children with being a big part of the farm's success, especially during this busiest of seasons.

“We've lost a lot of our rural feel in this area, and we don't have a whole lot of ag kids,” he said. “So the idea of my kids picking pumpkins at 7:30 in the morning on a Saturday is not what their friends are doing, and I really appreciate their willingness to help. My son, he's only nine, but I mean he absolutely eats this up right now, and he might be the one to continue to be the fifth generation.”

Logically, this time of year is the busiest for the pumpkin operation on the farm. For the last 10 years, Husband has provided pumpkins and corn stalks to the Louisville Zoo for their annual fall events and fall decorations. They also supply pumpkins to the Louisville and Southern Indiana area YMCAs for an event called the “Pumpkin Swim.”

“We started growing pumpkins about 15 or 20 years ago when we had a small area of a cornfield we weren’t doing anything with,” he said. “My wife, Christy, had always wanted to grow pumpkins and suggested we plant some in this area. And it has grown from there to about three-and-a-half acres now.”

Husband said they grow about 15 pumpkin varieties, many of which are sold at their roadside market. But the pumpkin growing season for him began last June during planting season. He has converted an old tobacco setter into a pumpkin seed planter incorporating the help of his expert pumpkin seed planting daughters.

“It’s sort of amazing to watch,” he said. “They have become very good at it.”

Caywoodland Farms embodies the meaning of a family farm while using a wide variety of crops to make the operation work.

“When I first started this, other farmers would tell me, you have to either get big or get out, and I just refused to do that,” Husband said. “We are running about 300 acres here and I was convinced we could do something to be profitable on a smaller level, and it's worked out.”