Sweet Grown Alabama Blogs

My name is Lianne Barretto, and my husband, Brad, and I own and operate Family Roots Market Farm in Louisville, Alabama.

Our farm is located on land that has been in our family for generations, first purchased by my great-grandfather. Growing up, my grandfather always maintained a garden. He loved farming and planted with a purpose: food security. He made sure his family had food stocked in the freezer and pantry, and once their needs were met, he shared generously with neighbors and friends so nothing went to waste and everyone was cared for.

Some of my favorite childhood memories were made on this farm. Summers were spent harvesting vegetables alongside my grandfather and learning how to preserve them from my grandmother. Those experiences planted seeds that would continue to grow for years to come.

I attended Auburn University and earned a degree in horticulture. It was there that I met my husband, Brad, who was studying poultry science. After graduation, Brad's career took us across the country working in the poultry industry.

No matter where we lived, every phone call with my grandfather ended the same way:

"You know you can always come home. There's a place in Bakerhill."

At the time, I knew he said it out of love. But after our children were born, those words began to take on a deeper meaning. I wanted our children to know their grandparents the way I had known mine. I wanted them to grow up surrounded by family, traditions and the values that had shaped us.

For years, Brad and I talked about starting a farm of our own. We dreamed of combining our passions for plants and poultry while raising our children to appreciate both. It was always part of the plan, but a plan for the distant future.

Life, however, had different timing.

We moved several more times, and during one of those moves, my grandfather passed away. Suddenly, there were no more phone calls reminding me that I could always come home. Losing him was difficult, and his absence left a void that can never truly be filled.

After one final move, we found ourselves in Virginia. It was there that God made something very clear to us. He opened doors, provided signs and placed a calling on our hearts that we could no longer ignore. We knew it was time to return home.

Brad and I decided then and there to stop talking about our dream and start building it.

With the blessing of my family, we returned to Alabama and founded Family Roots Market Farm on a portion of our family’s land.

Our first year brought plenty of challenges. It seemed as though everything that could go wrong did. Crops failed. Mistakes were made. Plans had to be adjusted. More than once, we questioned what we had gotten ourselves into.

Still, we kept moving forward.

We believed God had called us to this work, and we believed my grandfather would have wanted us to persevere.

That first year taught us lessons no classroom could provide. We began building our farm using regenerative practices, allowing our chickens to contribute to compost production and natural soil fertility. We focused on improving our sandy soil by increasing organic matter, helping it retain moisture and nutrients for healthier plants. We learned which crop varieties performed best in our climate and gained a better understanding of what our community wanted. Most importantly, we learned that our small town was willing to support us, even when we had only a limited selection of products to offer.

The first year was a crash course in perseverance. It was also humbling to realize how many people were cheering us on and hoping to see us succeed.

Today, three years later, Family Roots Market Farm has grown beyond what we ever imagined. We have quadrupled our production space and significantly increased our harvests. With each season, we continue to learn, improve and explore new opportunities.

Our children have become an important part of the story as well. Our son, John Robert, has grown his own patch of watermelons, and our daughter, Sawyer, enjoys helping with nearly every harvest. Watching them develop a love for the land has been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey.

Week after week, we are grateful to see familiar faces at farmers markets throughout our area. Many customers who were once strangers have become friends, and a number of them have supported us since the very beginning.

We are thankful for the opportunity to do what we love. We are grateful to raise our children on land that has been in our family for generations, and we are humbled by a community that continues to support us so we can provide fresh, locally grown food.

Family Roots Market Farm is more than a business. It is a legacy built on family, faith, hard work and community — a legacy we are honored to carry forward for future generations.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Sweet Grown Alabama.