In case you’re under the impression that all millennials do is kill things, meet one who is dedicated to literally keeping things alive.

Ross DeOtte — or Farmer Ross as residents affectionately call him — is helping Harvest by Hillwood live up to its name according to the Star-Telegram.

Located on Interstate 35W and Farm Road 407 in Argyle, the 1,200-acre master-planned community opened in 2014 as the flagship Live Smart community of Hillwood Communities, the residential development company owned by Ross Perot, Jr. who also developed the majority of Alliance Corridor on the northside of Fort Worth. 

Though the land now contains 800 upscale homes with beautifully landscaped yards, it was previously a farm that five generations of Faught family members worked since the 1800s. And despite the wheels of progress, the farming heritage is still at the heart of the community.

Since March, DeOtte has been the development’s on-site farmer. In addition to maintaining Harvest’s six-acre commercial farm – which includes a greenhouse, demonstration garden, and community garden where residents can rent space to grow their own veggies – he teaches gardening classes to residents and children or “sprouts” as he calls them. Instead of eating avocado toast, this millennial is busy teaching others how to grow their own avocados.

 One young boy, Blake, was so enthralled with the Junior Gardeners Program that he asked his mom to rent him community garden space for his birthday. Consequently, he raised a bumper crop of okra, cucumbers, and tomatoes with his birthday present.

“To me, that was so inspiring and uplifting that he wanted to do that,” DeOtte told the Star-Telegram. “And he did a great job.”

While 27-year-old DeOtte is a Texas A&M graduate, his major was not agriculture. To the contrary, he was prime for the corporate world with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master’s in business management. But after serving a three-month internship with a large accounting firm that led to a job offer, he couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life behind a desk. 

“It’s what I had gone to school for. My parents had paid for school and were really encouraging this whole making money in the business world thing,” DeOtte says. “But I decided nope. I can’t do this and be happy.”

He opted to pursue his passion for farming. At Harvest by Hillwood, DeOtte is in his element when he’s cultivating relationships with residents and harvesting crops to donate to the North Texas Food Bank and sell to local farmers and restaurants.

“It just made sense to me in terms of connecting with the bigger picture,” DeOtte said.