Through Lujele Farms, Luther and Joyce Johanningmeier have been a driving force behind the Rushing’s seasonal cuisine for years. It all started after meeting at a local farmer’s market then one day there was a knock on the kitchen door and Luther ask “What would you think if I grew produce for your restaurant”. Luther and Joyce are constantly experimenting with new seed varieties and practices supplying MiLa with an abundance of all natural produce.
Q & A with Luther and Joyce
Where are ya'll originally from?
Luther is from northeast Iowa
Joyce is from Chalmette
How and when did you start farming?
Luther was born on a farm (he is a son and a grandson of farmers) You might say it is in his blood. Wherever we lived, Luther had always had a vegetable patch in our backyard. He got interested in organic farming about 10 years ago after reading a number of books and articles on the subject realizing the importance of growing food without the use of chemicals - something our bodies did not need. We moved from New Orleans (Lakeview) to Mount Hermon five years ago. Our intentions were to find some acreage where we could start a blueberry farm. But as usual, Luther not only planted blueberries, he grew various vegetables for our use. We ended up with an abundance of fresh produce that we were sending to the compost pile. That is when we made the decision to see if we could sell the extra produce. Joyce went to Hwy 25 and sat on the side of the road and quickly found out that there was a market for fresh local produce. We continued to sell from the road, and when the Bogalusa Farmers Market opened, we became involved with them. We then sold our produce from the road in Franklinton and then decided to check out the Covington Farmers Market. And that is where we met Allison and Slade.
How many acres do you farm?
15 acres
with:
500 blueberry bushes
12 peach trees
3 plum trees
1 persimmon tree
60 pecan trees
3 fig trees (we just planted these this year)
Along with our livestock
My babies - 21 baby chicks and 9 older girls (hens that is).
What are some intertesting facts about the property?
We sport a host of wildlife, ranging from deer, rabbit, fox, wolf, raccoon, bobcats and other small mammals. We have an absolute abundance of song birds, hawks, owls, woodpeckers and migrating fowl.
Our property is lined on three sides with huge trees (unfortunately, we lost many during the hurricane) - what caught our eyes when we first saw this property was the abundance of trees and how the tree lines divided the pastures - which we call - "our three rooms" 1 is a pecan room - 1 is our blueberry room and the other is our pecan and veggie room. we also had liked the fact that there is a tree line on the road with just a driveway opening to the property
Do you have any special farming philosophy or rules you work by?
"We eat what we grow, therefore, we treat our soil as our greatest asset"
Any secrets to your great produce?
NATURAL...NATURAL...NATURAL
Even though farming is a very labor intensive job, what makes it all worth while is when the time comes to harvest the crops. This is usually done in the morning hours, when the dew is still on the plants and you walk through the rows of various crops taking in the smells of each as you start to pick. You would be amazed at the array of aromas that you experience as you fill your baskets with each different veggie. And then when the harvesting is finished to see the wide spectrum of colors that you have just picked. Finally, in the end knowing that there are those who really appreciate all the hard work that went into this process. It is the smile on those faces that say it all!