Interview with Johnnie Pigg, Jr., January 11, 1992

Partial Transcript: This is a, uh, Kentucky Farm Family oral history interview with Mr. John Pigg[s].

Segment Synopsis: John Pigg, Jr. is introduced. He talks about his parents and grandparents and where they were from. He talks about his family's history with farming and how they acquired their land.

Keywords: Brothers; Corn; Crops; Fathers; Grandparents; Inheritance; Lancaster (Ky.); Learning; Lincoln County (Ky.); Mothers; Parents; Renting; S.T. Noe; Stanford (Ky.); Tobacco

Subjects: Childhood; Families.; Family farms.; Farm life.; Farms, Small.

Partial Transcript: Do you--could you, um, describe sort of the, when you were growing up, the type of work that you were doing then?

Segment Synopsis: Pigg talks about growing up on a farm and helping his father with his tobacco crop.

Keywords: Cutting tobacco; Danville (Ky.); Fathers; Learning; Markets; Tobacco; Work

Subjects: Childhood; Country life; Families.; Family farms.; Farm life.; Rural children; Traditional farming

Partial Transcript: I was wondering, how did you, um--what kind of farm did you end up getting into?

Segment Synopsis: Pigg talks about why he and his brother bought their own farm, how large their farm is, and what they grow. He talks briefly about other jobs he has worked outside of farming.

Keywords: Acreage; Brothers; Corn; Crops; Hay; Jobs; Land; Trane Inc.

Subjects: Family farms.; Farms, Small.; Land use, Rural.; Traditional farming

Partial Transcript: Where did you go to high school?

Segment Synopsis: Pigg talks about attending a segregated school in Lincoln County, Kentucky for elementary through high school. He talks about school activities and their facilities.

Keywords: All-Black schools; Basketball; Churches; Equipment; Facilities; Farming; Field trips; Football; Lincoln County (Ky.); Lincoln County High School; School buses; School consolidation; Stanford (Ky.); Teachers

Subjects: African Americans--Education; Childhood; Education--Kentucky; Rural children; Rural schools--Kentucky; Segregation in education--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: What had y, what had you s--do right after high school?

Segment Synopsis: Pigg talks about all of the jobs outside of farming that he has had since graduating high school. He worked for a tobacco manufacturing plant, a fertilizer company, and at Trane, among other jobs. He talks about farming for other people.

Keywords: Farming methods; Fertilizer; Jobs; Learning; Lexington (Ky.); Machinery; Manufacturing; Re-Dry; Seasonal work; Test grades; Tobacco blends; Tobacco grades; Trane Inc.; Work

Subjects: Employment--Kentucky; Tobacco--Processing

Partial Transcript: Are there any, um, sort of things that had happened when you were working then?

Segment Synopsis: Pigg talks about accidents he has seen on farms, mainly involving tractors.

Keywords: Tractors

Subjects: Accidents.; Farm equipment; Wounds and injuries.

Partial Transcript: Um, when was it that you had--or you and your brother had decided that you wanted to just get into your own farm?

Segment Synopsis: Pigg talks about how he and his brother got loans to buy their land, expand their farm, and to build facilities on the land. He says they usually paid cash for equipment.

Keywords: Agricultural Credit Association (PCA); Banks; Brothers; Buying; Financing; Hay; Houses; Land tracts; Lincoln County Savings; Loans; Machinery; Stanford (Ky.); Tractors

Subjects: Agriculture--Finance; Family farms--Finance; Family farms.; Farm buildings; Farm equipment; Farms, Small.

Partial Transcript: Okay, maybe we could talk a little bit about like actually some more specific things about what your--how your farm has--you and your brother's, how the farm has changed since you bought it...

Segment Synopsis: Pigg talks about how his farm has changed over time, and how he and his brother have added land to their property over time. He talks about the crops they currently grow.

Keywords: Acreage; Alfalfa; Barns; Brothers; Buying; Changes; Crops; Fences; Growth; Hay; Land; Tobacco

Subjects: Family farms.; Farm buildings; Farms, Small.; Land use, Rural.; Traditional farming

Partial Transcript: And what, what were you doing mainly on the--

Segment Synopsis: Pigg talks about raising cattle on his farm, breeding them, and selling them once they get big enough.

Keywords: Agricultural Credit Association (PCA); Birthing; Breeding; Bulls; Construction; Corn; Cows; Danville (Ky.); Growth; Markets; Sales; Selling; Stockyards; Veterinarians

Subjects: Beef cattle.; Family farms.; Food animals.; Livestock; Traditional farming

Partial Transcript: Okay, we were talking about the, um--bringing in the tobacco crop.

Segment Synopsis: Pigg talks about growing tobacco and the differences between grades of tobacco. He briefly speaks more about his cattle operation. The interview is concluded.

Keywords: Bales; Beef cattle; De-worming; Hanging tobacco; Markets; Stripping tobacco; Tobacco barns; Tobacco grades

Subjects: Family farms.; Farm buildings; Tobacco farms--Kentucky; Tobacco--Grading; Traditional farming