Monty and Katie Carter Hold Their Own on the Farm in Roeton, Alabama

Monty Johnston Carter is well acquainted with soil. She's been working it since she was old enough to know what seedlings were. This girl who grew up on a farm went and married a farmer. Together Sammy and Monty Carter developed and sustained their agrarian lifestyle in a rural town called Roeton, Alabama in Coffee County. They had one daughter - Katie - who seemed to inherit her parents' genetic tendencies to raise crops and livestock.

As the years went by, Sammy worked tirelessly like other farmers in Alabama and across the nation to produce the population's need for food. Can't say he had an easy time of it, since some summers brought not enough rain and others brought too much. Both scenarios inevitably hurt the crops yield. He did have his wife's devoted help, support, and undaunted work ethic, no matter what the crops brought. Monty taught school and still worked with her husband on the farm.

That all came to a screeching halt last year. Sammy Carter died in a granary accident. Suddenly, Monty was faced with the same challenges that any widow is faced with. Her biggest challenge was to continue the livelihood she and Sammy had started together. Only she would be the sole farmer, with Katie and her family working by her side, especially her brother Jarrod Johnston. Jarrod shares the row cropping with Monty. In this way she keeps her husband's memory and his vision alive.

Monty took a leave of absence from school, rolled up her sleeves and got right to work by developing the old Pike County Farmer's Cooperative building into her store - Carter's Feed and Seed located in Brundidge, Alabama.

I found Monty and Katie at the feed and seed store one afternoon not long ago. What struck me immediately was the original design of the building with tree trunks for columns and natural wood for siding. A bale of hay offered an alternative sitting spot if customers didn't want to rock in the swing. Tin was used inside for siding and ceiling. The counter was a combination of wood and tin.

Monty was helping a customer when I arrived, so I busied myself with a look around at the rows of items for sale inside and outside of the building. Along side fresh vegetables and seeds, Monty sells animal health care products and feeds, poultry farm products and feeds, garden supplies, landscaping supplies, birdseed, hay bales, tools, and fertilizers. She added some specialty items, such as cards with seeds embedded in handmade paper that you can tear and plant. One other specialty item that is most special to both Monty and Katie are Katie's paintings.

"When you walk in, I want you to say this is a cool place," she said. "I want you to want to come back."

Monty doesn't seem daunted by statistics that prove there are very few farms in Alabama headed by women. In 2007, farms owned and operated by women comprised only one of seven of the total number of farms. Her farm land is located in Coffee County, which was one of the top five counties in the state in agricultural sales in 2007. When she continued what she and her husband had started together, she gave no thought as to whether she would be accepted by her male counterparts.

Carter's Feed and Seed has been open since the end of May.

"This year has been . . . it has cost me my produce. We had four frosts early on. And then we had high winds. Then there were days and days of rain."

In spite of setbacks, Monty exudes a quiet strength and faith. As we talk, she continues to help customers. Most of them she knows by name and knows what they need when they walk in. I watch this little woman lift a 50 pound bag and tote it to the truck for one of her patrons.

I am equally awed by Katie, a home schooled eleventh grader, who handles a big diesel truck hauling produce to market. She loves the farm life with a bent toward raising cows.

"Katie has cows at home," Monty said. "She'd want a ranch lifestyle."

The young farmer agreed. "I love cows especially. I love tractors."

Monty may not know what the future holds, and most of the time, she wishes someone was there to bounce ideas off of. But she's got her many years of experience, her love for the land, and her husband's contributions to help her keep running the farm.