His greatest achievement was a bronze medal in the 5000-meter run for the United States at the 1992 IAAF World Cup.

[2] Farmer attended Broughton High School of Raleigh, North Carolina.

On May 27, 1983, he won North Carolina's state high school championships in the boys' 1600 meters with a time of 4:11.0.

[4] His best national finish came at the 1988 USA Cross Country Championships where as a relative unknown he pushed Pat Porter – who had had five consecutive victories – in the latter stages of race and ultimately ended as the national runner-up.

Later that summer, he finished in fourth in the men's 5000 meters at the 1991 Pan American Games.