Anne Lackey rises early each morning to tend her chickens, a daily ritual that connects her to the agricultural heritage of Madison County. It’s a small but meaningful practice for someone who once lived surrounded by the concrete and commerce of Gwinnett County.

“I love my chickens!” said Anne, whose egg-laying crew all have Flintstone-themed names, like Pebbles, Rubble, and “Bama J” after Bam Bam.

Anne and her husband, Mark, have long adored the calm of rural life compared to the chaos of urban hubbub. Years ago, the two traveled the back roads of Georgia looking for a place to call home in a country setting, and they fell in love with Madison County’s lush ag landscapes, purchasing property in the northern part of the county in 1999. However, due to business obligations, they didn’t cut the cord from urban life until 2023, when they sold their city home.

“We have a much healthier lifestyle because of our activities around ag,” said Mark about the life transformation from “chaos” to “calm.”

For years, Mark and Anne, two self-described “serial entrepreneurs,” put most of their energies into real estate, property management, and staffing enterprises without thinking too deeply about the big picture of U.S. food production.

That changed in an instant on I-85.

Mark was driving when a bumper sticker on another vehicle caught his eye: “No Farms, No Food.” The simple message hit him with unexpected force.

“I suddenly got worried that I like to eat,” said Mark. “It was a sudden realization that farmers keep us going. They’re far more important than the people sitting in big offices downtown in Atlanta.”

Before that moment, Mark admits he didn’t spend much time thinking about farmers. He also used to believe that everyone “needed to go to college and get a degree to be successful.” The successful businessman hadn’t considered the vital role of agriculture in daily life.

“Every now and then, I’d hear the citrus crop got hit with some bug or frost, and orange prices would rise,” he said. “I’d just say, ‘It’ll cost more,’ but you just went on. You didn’t connect.”

That disconnection ended abruptly with the bumper sticker sighting. The stark message forced him to confront the fragility of a system most Americans take for granted.

“If all the farmers disappeared, we would all suffer tremendously,” he said. “Agriculture brings us life. Without it, we’re in trouble.”

The Lackeys’ growing concern crystallized around a troubling trend: farm families in America have declined from 7.6 million to just 2.06 million over the past 50 years. Even more concerning, over 50% of current farmers are above age 55, with fewer young people stepping up to replace them.

“I have a friend with a good, viable farming business raising chickens for eggs and hay for feed. His kids have no interest in continuing it,” said Mark. “If there’s no kids taking interest, that’s a big problem.”

That realization sparked a mission: to inspire, equip, and support young people to consider agricultural careers. That’s why the Lackeys founded HireSmart Cares, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the agricultural future of Madison County and beyond.

Since its inception, HireSmart Cares has funded scholarships, barn expansions, agricultural education programs, and entrepreneurial ventures for Madison County youth. The mission of HireSmart Cares has expanded to support other workforce development pathways, such as support for youth considering trades and healthcare careers. But the nonprofit was born out of supporting ag.

“Our first grant was to help a kid that had a dream about a greenhouse,” said Mark. “Then we started seeing the kids in FFA, and they are some of the most impressive, responsible young people you’ll ever meet.”

Anne reviews thousands of resumes a year in the couple’s staffing agency, and she says FFA students offer what employers look for.

“The FFA kids are some of the most equipped kids to go out into the workforce,” said Anne. “They’ve got the personalities; they’ve got the soft skills. They know how to speak, how to address an adult, and how to dress. They honestly are some of the best-behaved kids. They’re probably more equipped than the traditional student looking for employment. And I think a lot of that has to do with the competition aspect and the time the teachers spend helping them become well-rounded people.”

The nonprofit helped expand the high school’s agricultural barn, allowing more teenagers who don’t live on farms to raise livestock and learn animal husbandry. They’ve donated to help renovate the high school greenhouse. They’ve sponsored students to attend national FFA conventions and competitions and helped young entrepreneurs start agriculture-based businesses. HireSmart Cares goes beyond Madison County into surrounding counties, with assistance given as far away as Texas.

“We helped a young lady who has a soap-making business using milk from her dairy cows,” said Mark of a local grant. “She wanted to grow and expand, so we funded that expansion, which meant she could get two more cows to make more soap.”

Their work extends to the youngest members of the community, too. HireSmart Cares funds elementary school programs where students maintain raised beds, care for chickens, and work in a hoop house. One unique initiative supported by HireSmart Cares in Jackson County, “Plant a Pizza,” educates children about agriculture by having them cultivate pizza ingredients and enjoy a pizza party using their harvest.

“All that ties back to helping get kids early on thinking about staying in agriculture,” said Mark. “Once they start thinking about it, they stay.”

The Lackeys are determined to keep their investments local, insisting grant recipients purchase supplies from Madison County businesses wherever possible.

“We try to keep money at the local community places where that money can have a bigger impact,” he said.

As Mark and Anne look to the future, they plan to expand their model to more farming communities, encouraging more young people to consider careers in agriculture and rural entrepreneurship. They envision a strengthened agricultural sector where more young people learn farming skills and return to their communities to put them into practice. They urge adults to encourage young people to consider staying in their home community and committing to adding value however they can.

“We need those kids that are learning these things to maybe go to UGA and get a degree, but not leave,” Mark says. “We need them coming back into our area. I would encourage the kids to stay here, develop skillsets and then come back to the county, because it’s a great place.”

Anne and Mark love to sit on a sunny spring day and watch the chickens interact. Anne notes that the chickens each have their own personality. As they watch, they feel connected to agriculture, to the outdoors, to the bigger picture of ag and what it means to all of us.

They don’t want the U.S. to take farmers for granted. They see ag support as vital to the country’s well-being. And they want every person to understand this, too: No Farms, No Food.

So, what can each of us do to add value to our community? How do we support farmers of today and tomorrow? Think about what you can do, and then just do it.

If you’re interested in helping more U.S. youth embrace ag careers, click here to support HireSmart’s mission.