Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jc Jones. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

JC, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear your thoughts about family businesses.

We are a veteran owned, family run farm in Hartselle, AL. It works well for us because we outline who does what and that person then becomes responsible for those tasks. Court (my husband) he is mainly in charge of building and servicing the equipment. Conrad (my son) his primary job is taking care of our chickens, making sure their health is intact, collecting eggs and feeding them. Jewell (my daughter), she takes care of feeding our rabbits, as well as maintaining our horses. Every season requires everyone to jump in and help. I (JC) will tap our sugar maples in January through the beginning of March and process the sap. We typically hatch out year-round, both chicks and pheasants. By the end of January, I will have my seed order ready and ordered. February I will have my soil samples done on all my trees and grow spaces. I will get the seed house ready to start seed in just a few weeks, usually just before March. We are on a year-round breed schedule with our holland lop rabbits as well. This shows just how we don’t really have a normal schedule, with two teens in school, travel soccer, volunteering at local organizations, coaching archery and so much more. We are a constantly going with little down time but it teaches our kids the importance of hard work and gives them the opportunity to make a little money along the way as well. We have our disagreements from time to time but we work together as a great team.

JC, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is JC Jones, I am one of two owners of Lucky Lop Farms in Hartselle, AL. When my husband and I were chatting about his retirement from the Marine Corps we decided to follow a dream we had for a while. Our goals were to be more self-sustainable and sell off our excess. During the spring, summer and fall we sell at our local farmers market in Hartselle. I tell people ” I will not sell you something that I wouldn’t eat myself.” We use organic practices with our animals and our growing as well. Typically, we sell eggs, fruit, vegetables, teas, canned items, plants and occasionally my daughter brings sweet treats. I have a degree in Environmental Science, so that typically comes into play more than you would think. Before we moved in 2020, I researched a ton about bees, holland lop rabbits and chickens. In addition to what we started with, we also now we have babydoll sheep, horses, golden pheasants, ring necked pheasants, meat chickens, turkeys, 3 orchards, commercial grow house and multiple grow spaces including a hay field. I am a master herbalist that uses the education that I have obtained to blend my own teas and make medicines for my family. We grow everything on site that I use in my medicines and teas. We have had a lot of interest in how we have set up our operations for our farm, so from time to time I consult on other farms with our ideas or get an occasional email asking how to do something. I do weekly videos on Facebook, in hopes of helping to educate others in all the different areas of farming and homesteading. I am very proud as to how far we have come in such a short time, how much we have accomplished. This past year we started growing our own meat chickens and turkeys that I processed for personal consumption. I would have never thought 20 years ago that I would have ever been processing my own food. Our newest venture has been our ring-necked pheasants, this fall we will be processing them as well for personal consumption. We bred our babydoll sheep , that are due April 2025, this will be a first for us as well. If you take away one thing from our site, it is to learn and get a good laugh in the process. I have been cooking my whole life and from time to time will do segments from the kitchen. We keep our social media presents as real as it gets. We want people to follow along with us and feel like they are sitting down with us and having a conversation about real life things.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partner I met almost 23 years ago, he is now my husband. His neighbor was grilling out and I was helping her with dinner. I asked her did she have any Ziplock bags and she responded with ” sure don’t”, so off I went to the neighbor to ask for one. Courtney opened the door and after I ask him for one and explained who I was, he asked what I needed the bag for. We invited him and his two roommates to come over for the cookout and after talking with me about my travels, we really hit it off. Well, I have loved the chances I’ve had over the years to meet new people, travel and live unique places. After his retirement we thought now is the time to do something different. We wanted our kids to have a slower pace in life, eat food that was home grown and have a place to create their own fun. We started Lucky Lop Farms for us but also to show others at every level that they too can make a difference.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When we first moved, we didn’t have our agricultural status. My husband asked me ” Do you want me to go with you to the meeting to get ag status”. I told him “No”. Well, it was me and a bunch of men in that meeting and they short laughed me out of that meeting. I don’t give up, a few years later we were at it again. This time with a different approach, I was already doing things in our community with our schools to promote farms and animals. So, after having all my neighbors sign a petition, we reapplied for Ag status. This time we came to the meeting with supporting neighbors, pictures of the things I’d done, supporting letters from people within the community and the attitude we were leaving with that in hand. So, both of us worked as a team on this task at hand and it was voted on unanimously and we won. Sometimes ” I’ve got this” but sometimes team work, makes the dream become a reality.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: jcclarkjones
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luckylopfarms

Image Credits

Courtney Jones