Melville Woman Wins Top Honor
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
Courtney Gerace never grew up on a farm or perhaps never dreamed about helping operate one.
Then she married Nicholas Gerace.
At this point in her life, farming plays a dominant role for Gerace, who was named Outstanding Louisiana Young Farm Woman Of The Year last week at the annual Louisiana Farm Bureau Conference held at the New Orleans Marriott.
Gerace, 34, handles multiple roles at the family farm, located in the Melville area.
Although the family of her husband Nicholas has been rooted in the soil, Gerace is pivotal in handling farming activities for the operation which cultivates sugar cane and raises cattle.
In addition to those responsibilities, Gerace is also in charge of home schooling for the couple’s five children, who range from four to 12 years.
Courtney Gerace said in a Farm Bureau news release that she has acquired an appreciation for agriculture.
“(Nicholas Gerace) has farmed his whole life and now I know why,” Courtney Gerace said in the Farm Bureau Magazine interview.
Gerace said she has learned that farming operations require “humility, responsibility and accountability.
Her major responsibilities for the farming operation, Gerace said, requires her to assist with livestock feeding, bailing hay, managing the equipment transportation, overseeing paperwork, decision making and educating the children.
