Lue Lor was born in Laos to a family of modest means. His father was involved with American CIA operations, and his mother managed the family’s small farmstead. The years that followed US troop withdrawal from Vietnam were a “long, sad story” for Lue's family. His mother and siblings were killed in the Vietnam War. In 1979, ten-year-old Lue and his eleven-year-old brother escaped as refugees to Thailand with an uncle. Fifteen years later, after marrying Kia and having three children, the Lors immigrated to the US. It was difficult at the beginning, adjusting to the harsh weather and a strange new language. But now, Lue says, he feels prosperous and “everything is good.”
After their arrival in Minnesota, the Lors welcomed three more children into the family as Lue rediscovered his farming roots. A few years ago, he was introduced to Big River Farm’s educational training program through friends. The Lors started farming here as "The Early Birds" on a quarter-acre, but quickly felt the desire to expand. A man with “a passion for the outdoors, the sun and the wind,” Lue has found his work at Big River Farms to be very satisfying. The Lors plan to eventually acquire their own farmland, which will enable them “to give back” and contribute to community health while feeding their own family. Every day, in pursuit of their dreams, they are “up before the sun,” says their son Houa, hence their farm name. You have to “beat the heat if you love farming the land,” says Lue.
Lue has passed wisdom onto his children acquired during his life’s journey. Houa, his second born and a college graduate, says that chief among the values he’s taken from his father are patience and diligence. Farming “takes a lot of work,” says Houa. The work is often invisible, and many consumers underestimate the intense amount of labor involved. For his part, Lue thinks it is unfortunate that so many people gravitate toward conventional produce that looks beautiful but lacks taste and nutritional value. If they could only do a taste comparison, Lue believes, they’d make different choices. He also wishes people could see crops growing firsthand to get exposure little-by-little over time. As the Lors note, most consumers don’t realize that planting begins in January, or that farmers often work nights and weekends in addition to second or third jobs to make ends meet. Lue adds: “Farmers survive heat, darkness, and rain,” and they do it with “love, passion, and care.”
