Meet Mississippi Farmer Lisa Barker
In partnership with: Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce
Mississippi native Lisa Barker never planned on working in production agriculture, but she couldn’t resist the pull back to farm life. As a result, she’s been running her own row crop operation for 13 years.
“It might sound crazy to some people, but to me, there’s just nothing quite like the smell of fresh dirt, and there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing your hard work come to life right before your eyes,” Barker says. “I had to leave home to learn the truth. I’m a Mississippi farm girl through and through, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Deeply Rooted in Mississippi Agriculture
Raised in Yazoo County, Barker has never been a stranger to agriculture. She fondly remembers her mother making meals for their family and hired farmworkers. Then, eating supper together in the field every night during the wheat harvest, which was normally May through August.
“My dad, Jim Barker, is a custom harvester, and every summer from 1979 to 1998, I was by his side,” Barker says. “We would travel to Texas, then head to Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska, eventually ending up in Montana. After coming back home to Mississippi, we would cut corn and soybeans. It’s not how everyone wants to spend their summers, but I loved it.”
After high school, Barker attended Mississippi State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in marketing. Next, she headed to Washington, D.C., and began a career in commercial real estate, which eventually led her to Charleston, South Carolina. But when the financial crisis of 2008 hit, she decided to change course and return to Mississippi.
Her first job once she was home had her back on the road, and in the fields, with her dad, driving a combine.
“I got right to work with my dad that summer, going back out on the wheat harvest,” Barker says. “In the springtime, I had the opportunity to start my own farming operation, so I took it. Even though I had a shaky start with a terrible hurricane the first year, I knew I was on the right path. I’ve never looked back.”
See more: Mississippi Women Take Lead Roles in Agriculture and Food Industries
Finding Her Footing in Farming
Barker began her foray into farming with 250 acres of corn and soybeans in March of 2009, and today, she farms approximately 1,000 acres in Madison County.
In 2021, she expanded her operation to include wheat, which she says was particularly meaningful because of her background harvesting the crop with her father.
“I’d always wanted to plant wheat because it’s truly my favorite crop of all,” Barker says. “It’s so beautiful, and I have such happy memories of harvesting it year after year with my dad. This year, being able to finally cut my own wheat felt so good; to say it was special is a total understatement.”
In addition to tending to her crops, Barker still helps her father with his custom harvest business, Delta Cottonland, and she says she plans to follow in his footsteps – growing, harvesting and enjoying all things agriculture into her golden years.
“There’s no industry that’s more invaluable than agriculture, and I cannot think of anything else I’d rather be part of,” Barker says. “Agriculture is essential to our survival – after all, we all have to eat – and is a major economic cornerstone for both Mississippi and the entire U.S. It’s rewarding to know I’m waking up every day to contribute to something so important. It’s really incredible that I get to continue working with my dad, too, and that’s something I’ll never take for granted. We help each other all the time; I couldn’t do what I do without him.”
See more: How One Mississippi Chef Makes Farmers the Star of the Show at Upscale Elvie’s Restaurant