Down a bumpy dirt road in Pike County, are seven chicken houses, 57 head of cattle, and 171 acres of hay. Nearby, overflowing flower pots and bright garden beds surround the home of Steve and Valorie Stroud, this year’s Outstanding Young Farm Family in the Poultry Division.Farming came naturally for Steve, who grew up riding tractors and working on the land with his family. He always knew he wanted to be a farmer, and today he is fulfilling his dreams. A third-generation farmer, Steve lives in the renovated 1914 home where his grandfather was raised, and the Strouds’ cows graze contentedly on land Steve’s great-uncle owned before the Depression.”I’ve been on a tractor since I was 6 or 7 years old,” Steve said. “That’s just what I do, and I love it…I don’t know how to explain it, but I wouldn’t take anything else for it.”Valorie, who’s from nearby Brantley, has lived in the country, “down a dirt road” as she put it, her whole life. Although her father, who owns and operates a logging outfit, enjoyed farming as a pastime, the girl who once swore she’d never marry a “poor farmer” has come to love her adopted way of life and looks forward to one day raising her children on the farm.”Raising your family on a farm teaches them morals and values,” Valorie said. “The value of a work ethic is worth more than a six-figure salary to me.”Both Steve and Valorie stay busy in their multi-faceted farm operation. Steve, who started his poultry operation in 1997 with two broiler houses he bought from his father, has since built five more houses. Each of the new houses holds 22,200 biddies and all together, his poultry houses turn out approximately 115,700 chickens per batch. The Strouds raise their chickens for Wayne Farms, and enjoy the agreement they share. “Wayne Farms has been good to me,” Steve said. “I’ve had to spend a little bit of money [on the chicken houses], but I think it’s worth it in the long run…every dime we’ve spent has been for the betterment of our farm.”Steve also grows hay for his own cattle as well as for neighbors. Besides farming, he is also a local volunteer firefighter. Valorie, who is attending Troy State to get her degree in elementary education, will graduate in December and hopes to find her “dream job” teaching kindergartners.”I think changing my career to education will give me an opportunity to help Steve in the summertime when he needs it most,” Valorie said. While the farm keeps them close to home, the Strouds find plenty of ways to enjoy themselves, from weekly Sunday afternoon get-togethers with Valorie’s three sisters at her parents’ home, to regularly eating out with a group of 15-20 friends at a local Mexican restaurant. Over the last several years, they have particularly enjoyed becoming involved in the Farmers Federation’s Young Farmers program. This year, Steve was elected chairman of the Pike County Young Farmers. “We’re just meeting new friends and having fun doing that,” said Valorie. “People who aren’t involved in farming don’t really think about it and don’t understand the struggles that we have to face with our business.”The struggles are real for farmers, but for Steve and Valorie, the benefits outweigh the problems. One of the difficulties the Strouds have faced was starting their own farm. While Steve bought his land and poultry houses from his father, he still had to go through the bank in order to get the loans he needed. Even though it took a lot of work, Steve would still encourage others to get into farming.”I would start small,” he said, noting that he got his first loan at 15, when he bought 10 cows and rented a small pasture. This made it much easier for him to secure financing when he bought his poultry houses and home. “From my past experience of borrowing money and always paying it on time, I got to know the banker really well, and he let me have the money. The only thing I know to tell somebody who’s starting out is, ‘don’t overload your wagon.'”The Strouds have been careful not to bite off more than they can chew, but for them, farming is more than a job; it’s a passion and a way of life.”It’s a gamble; farming is hard and you’re not sure of an income,” Valorie said. “To me, life is a gamble, but it’s the chance we have to take. If that’s what the Lord is calling you to do, that’s what you should do. That’s worth more than anything that I can ever imagine or ever want…just being happy.”