why ColeHollister farms?

Farming is more than just a job, it is a relationship—a community. Farming is the profession of our ancestors. It is in our DNA—our very blood (and by our we do not simply mean the Cole Hollister team, but the whole of mankind). We were made to farm. As it says somewhere: in the beginning…

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (Gen 2:15).

At Cole Hollister we believe farming is the core of who we were made to be—both literally and figuratively. In one way or another we are all farmers. We toil and sweat. We plant seeds; we care for them and hope they will bear fruit. We plan, we work, we plant, we water, but in the end God provides the growth (1 Cor 3:7)—in every job and every walk of life.

Yet there is something special about farming—actual farming. A farmer does not merely bring life from the soil, he also gains life from it. The rough hands, the worn boots and sun bleached hat, the early mornings and late nights—these are not burdens, they are the lifeblood of what it means to be human. Work. Work was not given as a punishment, but a gift. For generation upon generation humans have been cultivating not only the earth, but their relationship with it. We are here because others farmed. Our fathers. Our mothers.

When we farm, we feel we are carrying on the legacy of our ancestors. Hence the name Cole Hollister. Cole Hollister is not a person, it is our family. Both names are surnames—the Coles and the Hollisters. And both family lines can be traced back to the 1500s. Over the years, the decades, the generations, the Coles and the Hollisters have been dedicated to faith, family, and hard work. There have been teachers, soldiers, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, children, and, of course, farmers. Cole Hollister Farms is built on this same foundation, these same values of faith, family, and hard work. We are swayed not by money or convenience, but only by the quality of the craft, the dignity of hard work, and the values of our ancestors.