Perched at the south entrance of the Saturday Red Stick Farmers Market, the Fullness Farm booth holds tidy, tiered arrangements of colorful organic veggies.
There are tender ready-to-eat lettuces and leafy greens, carefully washed and portioned in clear bags. There are bundles of carrots and radishes, raw materials for recipes or snacking. Broccoli and cauliflower make an appearance in cooler months, while plump tomatoes, eggplant and scads of different peppers beckon spring and summer regulars.
It’s a glimpse of the hundreds of varieties of veggies grown on about an acre-and-a-half on Nicholson Drive.
Founded by Baton Rouge natives Allison and Grant Guidroz, Fullness Farm turns 10 this year—an unlikely dream born of two people who experienced a eureka moment in college. Neither comes from a farming background, making their successful decade even more notable.
“Such a high percentage of businesses fail in the first year,” Grant says. “And then a smaller percentage make it to five years. Ten—wow. It’s been awesome. I’m excited about the next 10.”
Allison chimes in.
“It’s hard to believe,” she says. “We’ve been so busy on the farm and raising our family to really stop and think about it.”
Fullness Farms operates on about an acre-and-a-half on Nicholson Drive.
Indeed, while running one of Louisiana’s few exclusively organic farms, the two also wrangle kids ages 8, 5 and 2.
The Guidrozes grow produce to sell produce not just at the farmers market, but at Iverstine Butcher and to local restaurants, like longtime partner Cocha, as well. They also have a robust community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. Customers, or members, pay an upfront fee and in return receive a weekly allotment of seasonal produce. Fullness’ CSA, offered in the fall, spring and summer, has grown from about 25 members to up to 80 over the last six years.
The couple fell in love as undergraduate students at LSU, bonding over two shared interests: the importance of improving local food systems and a mutual commitment to the Christian faith. They would come to regard sustainable farming as their calling.
A pivotal moment came when they both took a class with LSU horticulture professor Carl Motsenbocker, an expert in organic methods. Motsenbocker had also helped found Slow Food Baton Rouge, part of an international movement promoting local fare and farmers.
“We started to really see the importance of our community having access to fresh, good food,” Allison says.
They also believed they could farm organically, despite the common belief that Louisiana’s hot, humid climate demanded the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
They married the summer after graduation and embarked on a three-year journey of working in organic farming. Stints included time as AmeriCorps members with Slow Food Baton Rouge, where they tilled local community gardens. They apprenticed at Inglewood Farm, an ambitious organic operation in Alexandria, Louisiana, and they worked on an organic farm in Arkansas.
“When we returned to Baton Rouge, we just kept putting feelers out about what to do next,” Allison recalls. “We had no money and no land, but we just kept putting it out there, and it was crazy how one connection led to another.”
Developer Mike Wampold offered them access to a plot in his Harveston development on Nicholson Drive. The farm remains there and has become a signature feature of the neighborhood.
Louisiana’s year-round growing conditions mean a relentless hustle for farmers. Grant and Allison seed new plants every week, rotating crops so there’s always a good variety. Grant works the farm full-time. Allison also works the farm, but has embarked on other pursuits, as well. She serves as the farm manager at the Rouzan community garden and consults with homeowners about organic growing.
Farming isn’t easy—it’s fraught with interruptions from Mother Nature, which can range from drought to flood and even snow. But despite the uncertainty, the Guidrozes remain in genuine awe of farming’s simple magic.
“It’s a form of alchemy. Like, it really works,” Allison says quietly. “You can actually turn seeds and soil and water and sunlight into a business that provides good food for our community.” fullnessfarm.com
Rewind
Back in 2016, 225 spent a morning in the dirt with Fullness Farm, which was then about a year old. “We intentionally started small,” Grant Guidroz told 225 at the time. “That was the advice we got from a lot of older farmers: ‘I don’t know what you think you want to do, but divide that in half.’ Starting small, you can focus a lot more on the quality.”
This article was originally published in the March 2025 issue of 225 Magazine.
