Kendall Rae Johnson’s bubbly personality and cheery smile easily won over the crowd at Small Farms Week 2025.
Kendall, the nation’s youngest USDA-certified farmer, made a surprise appearance March 25 at Small Farms Week, where she epitomized the event’s theme: Next Gen Agriculture.
More than 400 people came to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s campus to attend N.C. Cooperative Extension’s 39th annual Small Farms Week. The event included educational workshops and panel discussions focused on the needs of the next generation of growers.
Kendall, 9, became interested growing vegetables when she was just 3 years old, inspired by her great grandmother Laura "Kate" Williams’ admonishment not to throw out her collard green stems, but to plant them to grow more.
From there, Kendall began to grow everything she could, taking the seeds out of produce her father was planning to cook and planting them in containers on her back patio.
“All of a sudden, we had cucumbers growing everywhere,” said her mother, Ursula.
By age 6, Kendall was a pro, adding acreage to her patio garden and including bee hives and chickens along with her vegetables.
Now, at 9, Kendall has been on television and flown across the country, advocating for urban agriculture as U.S. Department of Agriculture’s first National Urban Agriculture Youth Ambassador.
Kendall and her family own and operate aGROWKulture, an urban farm in southwest Atlanta. She also founded a nonprofit, Kendall Rae’s Green Heart, to promote STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Mathematics) skills among young people and prepare them for leadership and sustainable farming practices.
Kendall’s appearance at N.C. A&T was part of the USDA program. She also visited three elementary schools while in Greensboro, to speak and read from a book she has written.
“Kendall targeting youth is changing the next generation,” her mother said. “Kids don’t know ag, but it’s a top industry in all the states we’re going to. We need food, and we need its byproducts, like fuel. Agriculture branches off into the beauty industry, health and wellness, food preparation.”
At the Small Farms Week luncheon, Biswanath Dari, Ph.D., an assistant professor and natural resource specialist with Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T, introduced Kendall and invited her to the lectern.
“Hello everybody,” Kendall said. Then, pausing briefly, she said: “I don’t know what else to say.”
The crowd chuckled and Dari thanked Kendall, who ran back to her seat, high-fiving her mother along the way.
“We are very, very proud of you,” Dari said. “That’s your next-gen farmer, right there!”
The mission of educating students and others about urban agriculture extends well past the USDA requirements. Kendall and her team have also started a 4-H chapter, an urban forestry enterprise, and an on-site marketplace. They also offer workshops for the public.
“We need to be self-sufficient, and you don’t need a lot of land to do it,” her mother said. “It will help a lot of our social issues if we can just get back to being connected to the land.”
