August 2020 Veteran of the Month: Dustin Grooms
Military Service
Motor Transportation Specialist in the U.S. Army and later the U.S. Army Reserve. Left the Army in 2007 after eight years of service as a Staff Sergeant (E-6).
Agriculture Service
Farm Manager for Fancy Farms Inc., a family-owned strawberry farm in Plant City.
Biography
Dustin Grooms is an Army veteran and fourth-generation farmer from Plant City, Florida. He is the Farm Manager for Fancy Farms Inc., a family-owned strawberry farm. Dustin’s father, Carl Grooms, began the farm in 1974, and Dustin grew up on the farm and helped his father manage it.
After graduating high school in 1999, Dustin enlisted in the United States Army as a Motor Transportation Specialist. Dustin’s first duty assignment was in Baumholder, Germany, where he transported fuel and ammunition for an armor unit. During this time in the Army, he deployed to Kosovo twice, where he served in a peacekeeping mission and then a contraband interdiction. Dustin then served at the First Recruiting Brigade in Fort Meade, Maryland as Brigade Truckmaster. In this position, he was tasked with driving the brigade’s command staff, as well as other Army VIPs.
Dustin is a graduate of the Army’s Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Once his time at Fort Meade came to an end, he decided to return to Florida, and he joined the Army Reserves as a drill sergeant. While in the Reserves, Dustin was mobilized to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, to train recruits to be soldiers. After his time serving as a drill sergeant, he left the military to return to Florida and pursue farming full time.
Dustin became a farm manager at Fancy Farms Inc., where he was responsible for leading the harvesting crew and managing the spray program. Dustin and his father, Carl Grooms, worked side by side for 10 years until Carl retired and Dustin took over the farm. Since then Fancy Farms has increased its crop variety. It now grows blackberries, pickles, okra, peas, peppers and squash during the summer months. Dustin continues to use the skills he acquired while in the military to bring innovation, insight and leadership to the agriculture industry.
Dustin has received several awards and accolades from the agriculture industry, including the This Farm Cares award, the 4R Advocate award, and the Hillsborough County Young Farmer of the Year award. He is a member of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association and Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association.
