Cranston farmer in running for ‘farm mom of the year’

ANN STAMP, of Stamp Farms in Cranston, has been named one of Monsanto Co.'s regional farm moms and is now in the running for national farm mom. / COURTESY MONSANTO
ANN STAMP, of Stamp Farms in Cranston, has been named one of Monsanto Co.'s regional farm moms and is now in the running for national farm mom. / COURTESY MONSANTO

CRANSTON – Ann Stamp of Stamp Farms is in the running to be named the “National Farm Mom of the Year” by Monsanto Co.
Stamp said that she was surprised to learn she is one of five regional farm moms recognized by the agriculture company.
Her name was submitted by her 26-year-old daughter, Laura, unbeknownst to her or her husband, Bill.
Tracy Mueller, Monsanto’s corporate brand manager, said what the regional farm moms accomplish on a daily basis is “phenomenal.”
As a regional farm mom, Stamp received $5,000. If she wins the national title, she will receive an additional $5,000. Voting for the national farm mom is underway at americasfarmers.com through May 4.

“I was truly privileged and honored to be nominated the farm mom of the Northeast for 2016,” Stamp said recently.
She was in Scotland, visiting her baby grandson, David, when she heard the news. Her children mark the fifth-generation on Stamp Farms on Comstock Parkway. She homeschooled her eight children, all while helping to run the farm. She said she loved being able to raise them on the farm.
She said the farm was started by her husband’s grandfather in the 1920s, and they are getting ready to open their retail greenhouses for the season. She and her husband are in business with her in-laws.
“It’s a small family farm that’s been around a long time,” she said.
Besides their Cranston farm, they also have farms in Richmond and Exeter, on the North Kingstown town line. Something they are known for is sweet corn. They also offer hay rides at the Exeter property in the fall.
Stamp grew up in Michigan – “not on a farm, but surrounded by agriculture and farming” – and she met her future husband at Cornell University, where she was a plant science and horticulture major and he was agricultural business.
She said she has been farming ever since she moved to Rhode Island 31 years ago.

“I love farming. It’s such a privilege to be producing food and beauty … for your local community,” Stamp said. “Farming has had its challenges. We had to fight for our property rights, but through it all, it’s who you are and we recognize the importance of agriculture and recognize the importance of keeping agriculture in the state of Rhode Island. Rhode Island is so small we cannot lose that for our future generations. It’s important people realize the amount of work it takes.”

Asked what she will do with the $5,000 award, Stamp said, “I told my husband the house needs to be painted.”

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