David served in the United States Military in both the U.S. Army Reserve from 1980 to 1981 and then transferred service to active duty in the U.S. Air Force from 1981 to 1987. In the USAF, he was trained as an electronics calibration and repair technician and served three years in the continental U.S. and three years at Ramstein AB in Germany. He was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant in January, 1987.
"As a new startup farm, displaying the Homegrown By Heroes logo has had an immediate positive business impact by attracting the veteran community and their supporters; it starts the conversation. Having access to funding is critical to a new Veteran farmer and the FVC helped me install a seedling greenhouse, in 2023, when I was awarded a $1,000 Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund grant in partnership with Tractor Supply Company. I also truly appreciate having access to online business training and hands-on boot camps should I need them."
Rask Farm is the sister farm, to the adjacent family-owned Christmas tree farm, Sherwood Acres Christmas Trees, which serves as their public facing farm during the holiday season. Together, they have 5,000 trees in the ground and offer “choose and cut” as well as pre-cut trees. They also have a unique gift shop; converted from an old tobacco barn and grain silo. A 1935 Ford truck serves as the backdrop for family photos of everyone visiting the farm. Their gift shop offers local, handmade Kentucky artisan products as well as free hot cocoa, apple cider, and a kids ornament making area. Fresh Christmas wreaths add to the ambiance and unique family experience.
"After I had been out of the military for 35 years, and was recently retired from the corporate world, my brother-in-law approached me with our family’s desire to start a Christmas tree farm, since there was a lack of them in the area, and the family wanted to keep the old tradition of having a real tree. Not just buying a live tree, but creating a unique experience while bringing families along on the journey with us through social media. From our first tree planting in the Spring of 2022, and two years of barn and silo renovations, to our grand opening in the Fall of 2025, we have been gradually transforming the family cattle farm to Christmas trees and a place for families to build a Christmas tradition and memories with us."
"Veterans and active-duty members of the military are a tiny community (only 5 to 7 percent of Americans); we share a bond. We grow up fast, often with teenagers, and men in their early 20's, having the responsibility over millions of dollars’ worth of equipment and power of life or death over combatants. In the late 1800s, roughly 40% to 50% of the American workforce was employed in agriculture. Today, direct on-farm employment accounts for less than 2% of the U.S. workforce. Farming is a tiny community that shares the bond of trying to continue an American tradition and, as a whole, are fiercely patriotic and love this country. This parallel feeds my desire to be part of something bigger than myself and my love for this country and its people."
