By Jennifer Whitlock
Field Editor
To say Jacob and Laura Henson have a lot of irons in the fire would be an understatement.
Between partnering with their family on a custom silage business, commercial cattle herd and white-tailed deer high-fence hunting operation, the Hensons also own a small marketing company and a growing fruit and vegetable operation.
They live in Lingleville and have full-time “day jobs.”
Jacob is a gunsmith at Infinity Firearms, and Laura is a visiting instructor in Agricultural Communications at Tarleton State University in Stephenville.
But their shared dedication to agriculture keeps them going day after jam-packed day.
“My dad started the silage business when I was about five years old, so I really don’t know anything besides that,” Laura said. “Growing up where my parents had an agribusiness and I was an employee, I had a firsthand view of the issues and struggles that go along with the industry. It’s motivated me to go beyond the farm to help combat some of those issues.”
Jacob grew up in nearby Eastland, where his family had a small cattle and hay operation.
“I’ve always been involved in agriculture in some aspect, as early as I can remember,” he said. “I grew up raising and showing steers through 4-H and FFA, helping out on my family’s operation and participating in rodeo and team roping, just always with that connection to agriculture.”
After meeting at Tarleton State University and marrying, the young couple began expanding beyond the family businesses.
Laura was motivated to create a marketing agency after seeing an unmet need for affordable communications and marketing options for small businesses. She offers logo and website design, video and photography services, social media management, promotional products and custom screen-printed T-shirts and vinyl decals.
The fruit and vegetable venture came about as a way for Jacob to decompress after spending long weeks indoors at the gunsmith facility. What started as a small backyard garden has grown into several hundred square feet of production space, with plans to expand their production and market reach even more in the future.
Tomatoes, squash, peaches, blackberries and peppers, as well as canned goods made from the produce, are picked, washed, transported and sold at local farmers markets by the young entrepreneurs.
“My grandparents always had a big garden, so my desire to have a garden and grow vegetables was simply out of nostalgia for that connection to my family and that way of life of being self-sufficient,” Jacob said. “And now we’re finding our footing in vegetable production and fulfilling that need and desire for locally-sourced produce for other families.”
In addition to their many ventures, Laura enjoys her role as a college instructor.
“Many of my students are agricultural majors with no actual production background experience. Just a couple of weeks ago, I had a class where every kid in that room was an ag major and didn’t know what the USDA was,” she said. “That just shows the need for people who come from a production background to make the effort to share their knowledge. So, that’s my goal, to be able to stay in production because I love it so much but also to use my experiences to help this next generation, as well.”
As they build their business legacy together, they’re also building a life, memories and a family.
Their first child is due in January, and the Hensons are excited to raise their daughter in the same rural lifestyle they enjoyed growing up. They can’t wait to teach her about agriculture and have her learn those rural values as she grows up involved in their businesses.
“With a little one coming soon, we’re going to have to make some changes because we stay so busy,” Laura said. “But we can’t wait to do the same things for her and let her work in the garden or whatever businesses we have and learn all the good things about agriculture like we did.”
Click here to watch a video interview with Jacob and Laura Henson.
They are finalists in Texas Farm Bureau’s 2021 Excellence in Agriculture Contest. Click here to learn more about the contest and other young farmer and rancher opportunities.