Hidden Gems: Meet Laney Snider of Ruby Branch Farms

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laney Snider.

Laney, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My husband, Drew is an 8th generation farmer here in Franklin, KY. We (Laney and Drew), met in college at Murray State University and together we made the move back to take over his family farm. Because of the volatility of commodity markets we knew we wanted to diversify the established row crop operation. We tossed around a few ideas and then decided on raising mums to sell directly to consumers.

At this point, I had started getting passionate about advocating for modern agriculture, so we made the decision to grow our farm into an agritourism destination to allow our customers to learn about and enjoy what a modern-day farm has to offer. We opened in 2015 with 400 mums and a basket of gourds, and in 2021 we raised over 8,000 mums, 4 acres of pumpkins, a 5-acre corn maze, and a 3-acre sunflower maze. We have also started selling our own farm-raised and finished beef and this year, for the first time, we will be selling live-cut Christmas trees, wreaths, and poinsettias.

Drew has been a full-time farmer since 2019 and in 2021, I (Laney) joined the farm full-time as well. We also have two great full-time farm employees and Drew’s dad is “retired” but still works every day. We also have amazing family and friends that step in and help during our busiest seasons. We credit our growth and success to growing our business slowly and purposely, not obtaining mountains of debt, and not letting fears and doubts stand in the way of trying new things.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Every business absolutely has its bumps along the way as we learn and adapt, but throw in a business that relies on mother nature and you’ve got a whole new ballgame. There is no such thing as a “typical” year in farming, so every year we are preventing, acting, and reacting to what the weather has to offer us. That’s part of what makes farming so challenging, but also so rewarding.

Learning to be a good and effective manager to full-time and part-time employees is also a challenge that we work on daily. We also struggle with the challenge of being open as much as possible to serve customers but also having enough time to do the “behind the scenes” work (like maintenance, taking care of plants, picking, daily farm work, etc.)

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Ruby Branch Farms is a family-owned farm that specializes in creating memories and family traditions. We pride ourselves on raising high-quality, affordable products and creating an atmosphere that is fun for the entire family. We are open in three seasons, summer, fall, and winter.

In the summer, we offer sweet corn and our sunflower maze, in the fall we have our famous mums, pumpkin patch, corn maze, and kids activities and in the winter we offer Christmas trees, wreaths, and poinsettias. We also sell our beef throughout the year as supply allows. While we do try to grow as much as we can on our own farm when we do outsource products we choose farms as local to us as possible in Kentucky and Tennessee that also raise products that meet our standards.

Our hope when you come to our farm is you have a relaxed and fun experience and that you are met with friendly faces and exceptional customer service. We also offer multiple special events throughout the year including our Farmer for a Day event, Mums for Moms, and Ladies Nights.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.rubybranchfarms.com
• Instagram: @rubybranchfarms
• Facebook: @rubybranchfarms
• Youtube: Mum Rancher TV

Image Credits
K. Frields Photography, Two Arrows Photography, and Legacy Farm Photography