The family farm didn’t die with Neal Martin.

His daughter Bobbie is making sure of that.

While other 20-year-olds might struggle just going to college, she tackles a full course load at Richmond Community College, a job at Dairy Queen and still keeps the farm alive.

She believes Dad would have wanted it that way.

Until his death, Neal Martin worked for the North Carolina Forestry Service driving bulldozers while also working on their farm outside of Rockingham. His wife, Elaine Martin, said at one point Neal was one of the biggest soybean farmers in Richmond County.

Bobbie stands a lean 5-foot-5 and doesn’t look like she’d spend her weekends on a combine or throwing bales of hay on the back of a flatbed.

“I’m a girl and because of that, people underestimate me,” Bobbie said about telling people she farms the 30 plus acres her father left behind. “I did it to make my daddy happy. I kind of felt like he expected me to and I’m glad someone did.”

So even when she’s scooping ice cream and cramming it into a waffle cone at Dairy Queen, she’s scanning the customer base looking for someone who might be in the market for hay.

Growing hay and raising horses is what the farm is all about now.

“He loved his job and he loved working on the farm,” Elaine Martin said of her husband. “He had to do both because it’s hard to survive by just farming.

Bobbie knows that. She worked on the farm with her Dad since she was old enough to really even make an impact. Her father had her sitting on a tractor since she was 6.

“Mom didn’t like that too much,” Bobbie joked across the table to her mother.

Elaine Martin said ever since Bobbie was a kid she rarely stayed inside and is even less likely to be found watching T.V.

Yet, when it comes to farming, Bobbie shies away from the label of being a, “female farmer.”

“I don’t know, it just seems weird to hear that,” she said.

Her mother noted as Bobbie left the room, “she’s extremely modest.”

According to Elaine, the family has a pedigree of being prominent farmers in the area. Even though Martin is a fifth generation farmer, it may not be her only goal.

“I really don’t want to make this my career, but hopefully me and my husband someday will help keep the farm going,” Bobbie said. “More like a hobby.”

Currently attending Richmond Community College, she plans to transfer to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke to obtain her Bachelors in Biology so she can work in environmental health.

“You get to do something different everyday,” Martin said. “I really don’t want to be stuck in an office.”

As an Environmental Health Specialist, she will test soils, water and surrounding environmental samples. She will also monitor day cares and restaurants for health issues.

“I’ll basically check anything that could cause harm,” Bobbie said.

She’d work throughout the week as an Environmental Health Specialist and keep the farm going at nights and on the weekends, but until then, she works her job, goes to school full time and maintains the farm.

On the farm, she is responsible for tethering hay, bailing hay, tending to the horses and doing basic maintenance.

“She doesn’t mind trying to tackle it and if she can’t, she’ll find someone who can,” Elaine Martin said.

After Bobbie’s father’s death, his best friend Earl Graves, along with close friends and family helped get the farm back up and assisted with the maintenance.

And when she didn’t know what to do, they were there to show her, according to Elaine Martin. It was a daunting task for anyone to take on, let alone a single 20-year old.

“I told myself, ‘don’t be a wimp’,” Bobbie said. “They guided me and provided the supplies when ours went down. It was frustrating and I wanted to give up on it. But they’ve helped me keep it going.”

She said she’s driven by the desire to keep the farm running out of both passion for the job and its necessity.

“I could stop right now, but I know there’s not enough (agriculture) in Richmond County,” Martin said. “You hear them (Cooperative Extension and 4-H) all the time say, ‘No farms, no food’ and it’s true. I wish more people were into it.”

Her bond with 4-H and local agricultural entities are strong as she was a member of the Richmond County 4-H until she aged-out a couple of years ago.

A member since first grade, she was involved with several other organizations working with livestock and also part of the Future Farmers of America.

“One day I hope to buy more land, maybe some cows along with the hay that’s already here,” Martin said. “To make Daddy proud is the only reason I started. And because I’m capable.”

Staff writer Bryan Stewart can be reached at 997-3111 ext. 15 or by e-mail at bstewart@yourdailyjournal.com.