A Farm’s Next Crop: Gerard Frey Opens the Door for a New Generation

By: Karl Wiggers, Anna Holmes

Louisiana Farm Bureau News

ACADIA PARISH, La. — At his grandfather’s retirement barbecue, Garrett Cormier wasn’t playing with the other children. Instead, he sat alone on a picnic table, worried the farm life he loved might be ending. 

Gerard Frey, a relative and longtime farming partner of Cormier’s grandfather, noticed something was wrong. 

“I went up to him and said, ‘Garrett, what’s wrong?’” Frey said. 

Cormier responded with a question Frey still remembers. 

“Gerard, are you going to let me farm with you?” 

“At that age, he was wanting to farm,” Frey said. “That’s what he wanted to do.” 

Years later, that childhood question became reality. 

This year, after working full time with Frey for six years, Cormier became his partner at GX2 Farms. The partnership brings Cormier and his wife into the operation with Frey and his wife, creating a path for the younger farmer to eventually take greater ownership of the business Frey has spent nearly five decades building. 

Cormier knew from an early age that he wanted to farm. 

“I wanted to be on the tractor,” Cormier said. “I wanted to be in the field. I wanted to be driving the combine. I wanted to be on the farm.” 

After studying civil engineering at McNeese State University for two years, Cormier returned home to farm full time. He spent the next several years learning the operation and proving to Frey that his childhood dream could withstand the long hours and challenges of production agriculture. 

“He had seen how hard I worked over the years,” Cormier said. “I put a lot of hours into it and proved to him that I wanted to be here.” 

The opportunity Frey provided is becoming increasingly difficult for young farmers to find. According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, the average Louisiana agricultural producer was 58 years old, while producers younger than 35 made up just 8% of the state’s producers. 

Frey began farming as a 17-year-old high school senior with a $28,000 loan for a tractor, plow and other equipment. Today, he said, a combine and header can require an investment well above $1 million. 

“If Gerard hadn’t offered me this opportunity, it would be very tough to start on my own,” Cormier said. “With everything in the economy right now, I wouldn’t be able to do it if I didn’t have somebody like him helping me get started.” 

For Frey, the transition is about more than passing down equipment or land. It is about trusting the next generation to make decisions in an operation he has managed through 48 harvests. 

“I’m stuck in my ways,” Frey said. “I have to give him his opening. He has to create his own ideas, and he’ll have to make mistakes like I did — and I still do.” 

Frey brings decades of experience, while Cormier brings new ideas and comfort with modern technology. 

“We have experience, but not necessarily the best ideas all the time,” Frey said. “We need these young guys.” 

The partnership has given Frey a reason to remain involved in the farm. He said he likely would have sold the operation and retired several years ago if Cormier had not come aboard. 

“Everyone needs to feel needed,” Frey said. “You have to have a reason to get up in the mornings.” 

For both men, the partnership represents more than a business decision. It represents a way of life they hope continues for another generation. 

Cormier’s wife and two children often join him in the field, and his 3-year-old son is already fascinated by the combine. 

“It’s something that’s bigger than money,” Frey said. “It’s the smell of the soil in the spring. It’s the smell of the straw in the harvest season. It’s just the way of life.” 

For Cormier, the partnership is a chance to build a future without starting from zero. For Frey, it is a way to ensure the operation he built continues beyond his final harvest. 

“I’m just excited that he’s here,” Frey said. “I’m going to do everything in my power to see him survive it and get started.”