LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bill Dohn lives on a farm in a subdivision of Kentucky’s largest city. His 10-acre plot is what’s left of a 60-acre truck farm purchased by his family in the 1930s.

Situated on three sides of his farm are one-story, three-bedroom homes built in the ’60s and ’70s, and on the other side stands a two-story apartment complex. At age 60, Dohn still remembers when all he could see was one or two houses off in the distance.

He has always been a farmer, and kale, mustard and collard greens have been the main crop since he took over the farm from his father; however, he also grows herbs such as sage, rosemary and thyme.

Dohn has become somewhat famous in recent years because of the numerous stories written every spring about the mint crop he sells to Churchill Downs in Louisville. Spearmint is an important ingredient in of the making of mint julep cocktails, which are a much-loved tradition at the world-famous annual Kentucky Derby.

“Weeds and insects are going to be a problem on the farm this year,” said Dohn, who employs high-schoolers to work in his fields and pack his produce. One of the three boys Dohn and his wife raised also works with him.

“We planted kale and collards already so that’s out in the field,” he said in early April. “Next, they’ll help harvest the kale, and then we’ll harvest the mint.” Mint is a perennial plant; greens, however, must be sown.

Dohn often tells the story of how he got started supplying mint for the Derby. It was in 1975 when opportunity knocked – he was delivering greens to a produce house in downtown Louisville and the owner asked if he had any mint at home. As luck would have it, his mom had a longstanding patch of mint for cooking, growing near the house.

His mother gladly gave up her garden, and he sold it all. For the next season, Dohn planted more, and doubled his crop every year. Soon after, the man who had been supplying mint for the Derby died and Dohn took over that account.

Today he also supplies the Kroger grocery chain in Louisville, Indianapolis, Ind., and its distribution hub in Columbus, Ohio. He also sells to an independent distributor in Indianapolis.

“They come down with a tractor-trailer and pick the stuff up,” Dohn said of the distributor.

His employees pack and box the produce in a large pole barn on the property. He has a lift affixed to the back of his John Deere tractor that he uses to load trailers from his dock. He owns all of the tools and equipment needed for his operation and has a small office where he keeps records in a shop building.

Over in the pole barn building he has a 16-by-20-foot walk-in refrigerator where he keeps pallets stacked with greens ready for shipment.