Clegg and Sons’ Farms LLC is not just another ordinary farm in Jackson County.
The farm is nationally certified as an Indiana Grown farm and a Homegrown by Heroes farm, owned by a disabled veteran, Christopher Clegg.
The 45-year-old served in the U.S. Marine Corps and is a member of the Farmer Veteran Coalition and Disabled American Veterans.
Alongside his wife and two sons, the veteran operates a sod farm on Madden Hill at 6739 E. County Road 950N, Seymour.
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Clegg grew up in Jackson County and graduated from Seymour High School. Then in 1996, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps to serve his country.
He had aviation training in Pensacola, Florida, before going to U.S. Marine Corps Aviation school in Jacksonville, North Carolina. He also went to National University in San Diego, California.
During the five years he served his country, Clegg sustained some life-altering injuries.
“I sustained two separate serious injuries involving CH-46 helicopters, in which my primary injuries are traumatic brain injury times two, as well as multiple spinal injuries,” Clegg said. “These accidents happened in 1999 and 2000 during training exercises.”
He said the injuries have controlled his life since they occurred.
“I have found that focusing on farming and business helps me to balance the good days of farming with the bad days of my injuries,” Clegg said. “This doesn’t mean the pain goes away, but it’s a positive direction for me to focus on other than my injuries.”
During his military career, Clegg was stationed at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida; Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina; Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in California; and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California.
After returning home in the fall of 2001, Clegg was faced with some major challenges.
“The biggest challenge I faced after returning home was what do I do other than turn my life into a daily doctor visit,” Clegg said. “This is because of challenges I faced and still face, such as extreme pain, physical limitations, neurological issues and spinal issues, to name a few.”
Sowing the seeds
Farming has provided Clegg with a rewarding outlet that allows him to customize the operation for the flexibility needed due to his current circumstances.
He met his wife, Kimberly, before his military service and has been with her since he was 18. She has always been by his side, Clegg said.
“She is probably the most unique person you will ever meet,” Clegg said. “If you put a roadblock in front of her, she will find a way around it to accomplish what she sets out to achieve.”
He said Kimberly’s tenacity and diligence in dealing with the various systems have been critical in helping him treat his injuries. She has spent years researching traumatic brain injury and advocating for disabled veterans.
“Kimberly means everything to me. I would have not ever come close to the progress with my health care and accomplishments without her,” Clegg said. “She has always been my advocate and has never stopped searching for any type of treatment that can assist me.”
Before they started the sod farm, Clegg and his wife spent time educating themselves on the topic, including spending a few years to acquire the necessary specialized equipment and farm inputs for sod farming.
“We chose the specialized agriculture crop of sod because it is year-round,” Clegg said. “Injured veterans need an outlet and coping mechanism when dealing with a magnitude of injuries.”
Clegg and Sons’ Farms LLC was officially registered with the state in 2018.
The farm has met the challenges and adapted to be a fully functioning sod farming operation that specializes in selling premium sod to both residential and commercial customers.
“Farming, like the military, is challenging and has demands that include deadlines as well as rewards,” Clegg said. “All of these are key elements that drive folks in the military, so it is a doable transition from battlefield to farm field.”
Driving force
He said Kimberly is a driving force for him and has an ability to push him when he needs to be pushed, even when he does not want to be, but she also makes him rest and take care of himself.
Kimberly was young when she met Christopher. She was working at McDonald’s in Seymour, and he was one of her customers.
“Prior to this, we have been together since Chris was 18 and I was 19, so in total, almost 28 years,” Kimberly said. “We got married in Seymour in 1997.”
Kimberly went to college for business management and information technology and is employed full time outside their farm. While at home, it’s her role to assist her husband with navigating the business side of the farm.
She also is a strong advocate for injured veterans and has spent many years advocating for her husband with the Veterans Affairs system.
“I have searched for years for solutions to assist my husband in dealing with and overcoming his challenges,” Kimberly said. “Also the obstacles he faces and lives with on a daily and reoccurring basis as a result of his service-connected injuries.”
Assisting veterans
She said injured veterans need a different type of approach that allows them to transition and adjust to their new and changed life.
“As Clegg and Sons’ Farms LLC grows, our goal is to have a program in place for injured veterans to come to work at the farm so that they can apply the great skills acquired during their military service,” Kimberly said.
That way, she said, veterans can have an opportunity to learn from their operation and consider farming or starting a farming operation in general as a way to provide focus and assist with adapting to their current circumstances.
“A lot of injured veterans have trouble transitioning when they get out of military service, and farming is a great outlet to assist these men and women,” she said. “A large portion of the current generation of farmers is at retirement age, so these veterans are perfect to come in take over the reins.”
She has made it her mission to support her husband with the tools he needs to try to live a normal life as much as he can, despite the cards he has been dealt, Kimberly said.
“Clegg and Sons’ Farms LLC has a purpose,” she said. “It gives my husband a purpose and allows our two sons, Christopher and Joshua, to assist and work alongside their dad.”
Family affair
She said the farm and sod sales side of the business is a wonderful opportunity for their sons to take pride in their hard work.
“It teaches compassion, understanding, tolerance, kindness and allows them both to understand business and most importantly how to treat customers,” Kimberly said. “We take pride in our family owned business and our customer service.”
The Cleggs’ 19-year-old son, Christopher, just finished his first year at Indiana University studying economics and business. He will begin his second year this fall.
Christopher said he chose economics because it is an extremely versatile field that will provide him several options to tailor his career.
“This education will also assist me with managing Clegg and Sons’ Farms LLC since this is both an agricultural venture as well as business that specializes in selling premium sod for both commercial and residential purposes,” he said.
His plans after college are to start a career in the business world and continue their family farm.
Currently, he helps out on the farm by doing all of the heavy lifting and labor.
“My dad’s injuries make it very hard for him to do the physically demanding work for extended periods of time, so I take care of it for him,” Christopher sad.
“I’m with my dad out on deliveries and giving quotes so that I may learn how to do that side of the business for the future,” he said. “As the oldest son, I am helping my dad in everything, learning to run the entire operation with my younger brother. Farming in every aspect is vital for our society.”
Joshua Clegg, 15, has several areas of the sod farming operation in which he assists his father and brother, ranging from harvesting sod to operating equipment to getting orders ready for our customers.
“I am interested in the agricultural equipment and operating the equipment,” Joshua said. “Spring and fall are the busiest times, but we operate year-round.”
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For information about Clegg and Sons’ Farm LLC, visit cleggfarms.com.
To apply for Homegrown by Heroes certification, visit farmvetco.org/hbh.
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“Farming, like the military, is challenging and has demands that include deadlines as well as rewards.”
Christopher Clegg
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