Country Gazette
FRANKLIN — About 98% of farms throughout the country are family-owned, according to a 2020 "America's Diverse Family Farm" study from the U.S Department of Agriculture, and for many years, sons historically inherited the properties from their fathers.
Becoming a farmer felt like a pipe dream for Ali Coakley, who grew up in Medway — but not on a farm, she said. Her dad wasn't given acres of land to carry on a family tradition — he was a graphic designer.
But now, nine years after first interning at a local farm in her hometown, Coakley will begin running her own in neighboring Franklin.