LOUISBURG, N.C. – A NFL player has left behind his $37 million contract in order to do something he has never done before: become a North Carolina farmer.
According to CBS News, St. Louis Rams center Jason Brown quit football to be a full time farmer and now is on a mission to feed the state’s residents who are hungry.
Brown purchased 1,000 acres of farm land and has started growing crops like sweet potatoes and cucumbers.
“My agent told me, ‘You’re making the biggest mistake of your life,’” Brown told CBS. “And I looked right back at him and I said, ‘No I’m not. No I’m not.’”
Brown learned the tricks of the trade from none other than watching videos on YouTube, since he had never actually farmed a day in his life. He also spent time gathering advice from local farmers in Louisburg.
He is calling the farm, the “First Fruits Farm,” and as part of his plan, Brown is donating the first fruits of every harvest to area food pantries. He just recently finished his first harvest of a five acre plot of sweet potatoes; a whopping 100,000 pounds of food, which he donated to the needy.
He says his plan was inspired by God, and believes a life of service is much more fulfilling than his previous line of work.
“When you see them pop up out of the ground, man, it’s the most beautiful thing you could ever see,” Brown said, who says he’s never felt more successful.
With his farm he plans to make a dent in his state’s hunger population.
