Farm History
The Gilmer family has been farming for over 100 years in the Shiloh community in Lamar County, Alabama. The farm began when George F. Gilmer purchased much of the property from his father-in-law, Evans Jackson. He and his wife built their home and began farming in the style typical of the times. They planted cotton as a cash crop, raised livestock, and grew a variety of food crops to feed their family and the animals. In 1951, Gray Gilmer returned home to the farm after more than a decade of service in the TVA and USF&G Insurance. Like his father, he ran a diversified family farm, but the dairy operation quickly became his main focus. He spent the next thirty years cementing his reputation as a successful, hard working dairyman.
Gray's son, David Gilmer, returned to the farm after graduating from college and within just a few years assumed its ownership and management once his father retired. The dairy industry has had many ups and downs since that time, but David has kept the farm successful by implementing innovative herd and crop management strategies throughout the years. David's wife, Lin, serves as the farm's treasurer.
Like his father, Will Gilmer returned to live and work on the farm once he graduated from college. He is now a partner with David in Gilmer Dairy Farm, LLC, and shares in the operation's day-to-day management and labor responsibilities, keeps the herd, crop, and fertilizer records, and maintains the farm website.
In December 2005, the milking operations were moved from the family's long used double-six barn to a new double ten, rapid-exit herringbone parlor facility. The new milking barn has increased efficiency as more cows can be milked in a shorter time frame. The current milking barn is the third to be built on the farm and sits on the site of Gray's original stall barn/two-cow milking parlor. With the milking facility upgrade complete, the family began focusing efforts that would improve both waste management and animal welfare. A new feeding barn expected to be constructed in Summer 2009 will addresses both of these issues as well as feed efficiency.
Today, the dairy industry shares all of the volatility facing modern American agriculture. To survive ever-increasing costs and the inevitable market roller-coaster, small, family dairy farms must be efficient and make wise decisions in every aspect of their businesses. The Gilmer family stands ready to meet the challenge and move towards a prosperous future.
