Sharla and Gary Mortimer are making this a family affair with their four kids helping make Mortimer Family Farms as special and memorable as Young's Farm was so many years ago.
Farm family draws on tradition to launch the rebirth of a Landmark
By Julie Murphree, Arizona Farm Bureau
The Mortimer family of Mortimer Family Farms launched farming operations on what many consider legendary soil in northern Arizona.
Young’s Farm, long known in Arizona for its fresh sweet corn in the summer and pumpkins in the fall, is being brought back to life by Sharla and Gary Mortimer of Mortimer Family Farms. The Mortimer family recently negotiated with the current landowner to begin farming again on the corner of Highway 69 and 169 in Dewey, Arizona under the Mortimer Family Farms name.
It’s been almost five years since Young’s Farm closed. Gary and Sharla Mortimer, owners of Mortimer’s Nursery in Prescott and the Ash Creek Ranch off State Route 169, changed all that in April when they held a press conference and had local dignitaries help them plant the first seeds in the newly plowed ground.
“Words can’t describe how excited and honored we are to help bring Young’s Farm back into food production,” says Gary Mortimer with Mortimer Family Farms.
In plant nursery production, farming and ranching for the last 25 years, the Mortimer family identifies with the traditions of the past in this landmark farming community. “We can’t do this without the community,” says Sharla. “It’s what made the Young’s farm so special and we intend to do the same.”
Editor’s Note: Sharla and Gary Mortimer are leaders in Arizona Farm Bureau and Yavapai County Farm Bureau.
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