Their ancestors were enslaved and forced to work in the fields. Now, one family hopes to help alleviate hunger abroad by drawing from generations of farming knowledge

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By Chandelis Duster, CNN
From left, Philip (Ricky) Haynie II, 69, PJ Haynie,
45, Colette Haynie, 21 and Philip Haynie IV, 19. CNN

Northumberland County, VirginiaCNN — 

Everyday when PJ Haynie wakes up, he prays to God for two things. 

“As farmers, we go out and as they say, we plant and pray,” Haynie said. “We plant a crop … we pray for rain; we pray for prices.”

It’s a hot Saturday morning and Haynie is sitting on the porch of his family’s farming office in Heathsville, Virginia. For years, he has prayed over his enterprise of crops here and a large rice mill, Arkansas River Rice, that his family co-owns more than a thousand miles away in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

The family’s ties to land in Northumberland County, Virginia – and to farming – stretch back generations; back to when their ancestors were enslaved and forced to farm to fuel the American economy.

But now, Haynie said his family’s story has come full circle and he’s using those generations of agricultural knowledge to continue their legacy of feeding others, both at home and abroad.

The weight of his ancestors’ sacrifices hit the 45-year-old farmer hard, as he spoke to CNN.

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Read full article @ CNN