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Small, Unique Farm Store a Staple for Fresh, Locally Grown Products

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Newnan, GA

If it’s pasture raised beef and pork, locally grown fruits and vegetables or even raw milk you’re looking for, Country Gardens Farm has what you need. However, this third-generation farm in Newnan hasn’t always been such a one stop shop.

“I’ve been growing something all my life. My grandfather, this was his original farm. My Father farmed here, but I’m the only one that’s kind of taken it to the level of selling retail. But for about thirty years, we’ve had a retail, nursery, and garden center and sold ornamental plants that we sold to the public and this just kind of transitioned into food,” says Mike Cunningham, Owner of Country Gardens Farm.

That of course is an understatement, as customers get the chance to browse a wide selection of products grown right here on the farm or surrounding areas, which guarantees the highest quality and freshness.

“So, we offer our customer a small farmers market here on the weekends so they can get meat, milk, eggs, cheese, vegetables; kind of a one stop little farm stand; our own little farmers’ market. That’s what I’m trying to do. So, they’re always after local produced fruit, vegetables, meats and they’re looking for to know where their food’s coming from,” says Cunningham.

What sets this operation apart from the rest are the multiple classes if offers throughout the month, with the goal of making it both fun and relatable.

“We got the one area that we call the teaching gardens and that’s something that they can envision in their backyard. It’s not like a huge hundred foot bed, but little, small gardens that they can envision doing this in their back yard. We’ve seen a lot of people that have never gardened before in the last few years and they’re really excited and we like to see them have a good experience with it,” says Judy Cunningham.

With a number of topics such as canning and fermentation to go along with the gardening, the Cunningham’s are hoping to bridge the generational gap when it comes to agriculture.

“It’s been kind of a disconnect over the years and they may have remembered their grandparents cooking and canning and now they’re thinking back to that and they say, ‘well, that’s something that I really want to learn’. We have a big population here, close by now,” says Judy

This 150-acre farm always stays busy as it grows a year-round selection of vegetables and plants. However, it’s a time and labor commitment they wouldn’t have any other way.

“When we’re planting seed and we’re seeing things germinate and come up out of the ground or we’re in the greenhouse back here in the wintertime, we’re starting our peppers and tomato plants and things, I think it’s something that’s wired in me to appreciate things that are growing and seeing things mature,” says Mike.

By: Damon Jones

Georgia Soybean Growers Optimistic This Season

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Pelham, GA

Even though corn, cotton and peanuts receive most of the attention here in Georgia, there is another crop that’s seen a major uptick in planted acres over the past couple of years. While it might still be early on for soybean growers, so far, they have no complaints.

“Planting season went well. We had a rain come through and we were able to get the all of the beans in the ground in a couple of days,” says Walter Godwin, Owner of Godwin Farms. They’re calling for some dry weather. So, as long as we get a couple of rains here and there, I think we’ll have a good year.”

With prices approaching fifteen dollars a bushel, it’s no wonder more growers are considering soybeans as a viable option. Plus, they do grow pretty well here in the state.

“I enjoy growing soybeans. They’re not really a crop you see in Georgia a lot, but it’s kind of an alternative crop. If you don’t want to grow cotton or if your peanuts are limited, you could throw soybeans in the rotation,” says Godwin. “We grow a group seven bean, which is a later maturing bean, but we can have irrigated yields in the seventies and dry land yields in the seventies. It just depends on the rain.”

Just like with any other crop, it’s a delicate balancing act between controlling costs and using the proper amount of chemicals and fertilizer. Fortunately, it this year, hasn’t been quite as big a problem.

“If you don’t use the inputs, you’re not going to grow a crop. So, you got to have the inputs. You got to have the fertilizer. You got to have the chemicals, the preemergence, the postemergence chemicals to grow the crop. Input prices have come down a little since last year. We saw fertilizer come down from November of last year to March of this year a fair amount. Chemical prices have come down a little bit. They’re still hovering about the same as they were last year. Then there’s your Roundup, which has come down a whole lot since last year,” says Godwin.

If the increased market price and yield potential weren’t enough incentive, the timing of soybeans also provides a benefit for farmers as it gives them a source of income after most of the other major row crops have been harvested.

“To me, they’re an easy crop to grow, says Godwin. “They’re not a high input like peanuts or cotton is. They usually come off, well, they come off at the end of the year. So, we’re harvesting usually in October, November. We’re done with peanuts at that time. So, it kind of spreads our harvest season out a little bit so we’re not so rushed, and soybeans can go into your rotation and give you something else to grow that you might have more of an income off of.”

By: Damon Jones

Glenville Hosts Sweet Onion Festival

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Glennville, GA

There was no shortage of food, fun and floats in the small city of Glennville, as they recently celebrated another successful harvest with their 47th annual Sweet Onion Festival. And the thousands in attendance were treated to not just all the festivities, but also a chance to catch up with old friends and family on this special weekend.

“Well, they’re going to get an opportunity to socialize, get some Vidalia onions or some Glennville onions, whatever you want to call them and just socialize with their neighbors and friends here,” says Wayne Dasher, Chairman of the Glennville Sweet Onion Festival. “Every, community, every family needs a family reunion, so to speak. So, here, it’s Mother’s Day weekend. What a better day could you have to bring all the folks in to visit their families and their mothers and show honor to them and come to the Glennville Onion Festival and get some treats for them or some gifts.”

Even though Glennville might not have their name on the bags at the grocery store, it is actually the birthplace of Georgia’s official state vegetable.

“The original onion originated in Glennville. There was a man from New York that brought the onions down and married a local woman here and started growing them here fifty years ago,” says Dasher. “Piggly Wiggly Southern was in Vidalia and they were the ones that bought the onions. And on their bags, they furnished the bags, and they had on there the sweet onions, the pride of Piggly Wiggly Vidalia, Georgia. So, that’s where it picked up the name from.”

While this event is designed to recognize all the hard work that goes into producing this world-famous product, it’s also shining a spotlight on just how much impact the entire agricultural industry has on this community.

“There’s a lot of economic growth out of it. You know, the workers that are here, the people that these larger farms – Bland Farms, G & R Farms, two of the largest growers here in the county, each one of them probably employs two hundred people each. You know, we’ve got other industries here. We’ve got the Rotary Corporation. They’re the largest manufacturer of lawn mower blades in the world. They have about three hundred employees total all over. It’s just an opportune time to come and share this fruit with our neighbors,” says Dasher.

By: Damon Jones

Farm Service Agency Working to Help Beginning Farmers

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Athens, GA

With less than two percent of the population involved with production agriculture, attracting a younger demographic to the industry is vital for food security, especially with a third of farmers being sixty-five or older. That’s one of the main goals for FSA, who recently held this meeting in Athens to encourage farmers new to the business.

“You know, our food and food security is of vital importance,” says Chuck Tyson, FSA Farm Loan Chief. “We’re having the new and beginning farmers come in and we’re going to try to give them a helping hand to lift them up so that they’ll be able to produce and develop a program to help in the future to provide safe and secure food for the nation.”

However, that security doesn’t come cheap as the cost to start up a new farming operation is the number one obstacle young producers must overcome.

“I would say the biggest hurdle they have to face is the availability of credit. It is very, very expensive to break into agriculture and farming. Whether it’s aquaponics, whether it’s a small niche market; that is a big hurdle. But the availability of credit, being able to get started and not be such a burden; being able to work with them, I think is the key to bringing in the new and beginning farmers,” says Tyson.

That is exactly what the Farm Service Agency is looking to accomplish with a variety of low interest loans that is sure to satisfy each farmers need, no matter how big or small.

“We have direct loans and we have guaranteed loans. The direct loans are administered by FSA itself and they go up to six hundred thousand dollars for an operating loan. Farm ownership loan, four hundred thousand, which can be a term loan, which can be termed out up to seven years. We have a microloan for people who have very limited experience that are coming in as new farmers that goes up to fifty thousand dollars,” says Tyson.

The good news is that taking advantage of these programs is now easier than ever, as getting information and filling out applications can now be done in a much shorter amount of time.

“I’m excited, especially on the farm loan side, with some of the new tools that are coming out that are geared towards our younger farmers that makes it easier to apply for a loan,” says Tyson. “We have a new loan application tool. We have a shortened application process, but it’s very important that we begin to bring in a new generation of farmers because we’re seeing some of the farmland move out of the traditional older farmers hands.”

By: Damon Jones

Georgia 4-H & FFA Student Leads by Example

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Athens, GA

This is just a small sample of the awards that grace the trophy case of Lexi Pritchard, whose career in both 4-H and FFA has been nothing short of remarkable. Growing up on a ninety-acre family farm right outside of Oconee County, agriculture was a path Pritchard knew she was destined for.

“I started showing cattle in the seventh grade. I got involved with 4-H and FFA right around that time too,” says Pritchard. “I’ve done anything from forestry judging to livestock judging, to consumer judging. It’s just been a whirlwind since then, and I’m really grateful for all the opportunities that I’ve had because it’s really developed me into who I wanted to be, and it’s shown me what I want to do with my career in the future.”

It’s that passion for agriculture and all there is to learn about the industry that led Pritchard to become actively involved with both her 4-H and FFA chapters.

“What I think sets Lexi apart is she is such an advocate for agriculture in 4-H and FFA,” says Kelle Ashley, Oconee County 4-H Agent. “We often find that kids are very loyal to one club or the other. And that’s great. I mean, both have the same mission, but Lexi is a kid that really advocates for both because she encourages her peers to do it all.”

All that hard work has certainly paid off as she now up to six masters in the 4-H program, including one that recognizes her entire body of work.

“Lexi has excelled in all things agriculture in both clubs,” says Ashley. “She recently became a master 4-H’er in the Dean’s Award project. That’s a culmination of a 4-H’er’s whole career from fifth grade until whatever point; for her it’s the eleventh grade. Lexi’s a kid who has not just focused in one area; she loves the beef industry, she loves poultry, but if you look at her resume, she’s hit dairy and equine. She really touches it all.”

That love for cattle has manifested itself into her very own startup operation thanks to plenty of hard work and determination.

“In the fifth grade, I decided that I wanted to be a cow farmer, just kind of like out of the blue, but my grandma sat me down and was like, ‘this is going to take a lot of work. You got to understand it’s not as easy as that decision.’ So, I worked my butt off cleaning horse stalls for her every day for a couple of years and they supported me through it, and they helped me buy my first two cows. It’s just grown since then, and now I have about a herd of thirty head of cattle,” says Pritchard.

Even though she’s accomplished so much in a short period of time, this is just the beginning for Pritchard as she has big plans for the future.

“I really hope to go into poultry science, which is something I got involved with in 4-H poultry judging in the seventh grade,” says Pritchard. “That’s been something when I haven’t been doing poultry judging I’ve been thinking about. When it hasn’t been the season where we’re practicing, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. I miss it so much.’ So, that has been something that I have figured out. I want to do that with my future, and, I’m always going to have a herd of cattle as well. I just know that in some point in my life, I will figure out how to have a herd of cattle because it’s my favorite thing in the world.”

By: Damon Jones

Georgia Peaches Impacted by Late Cold Snap

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Griffin, GA

While California might be the largest producer, no other state in the country is more synonymous with peaches than Georgia. However, it’s been a trying year for growers as a late freeze has caused some of the worst conditions in more than a decade.

“The thing that made this one a little bit rougher than last year was that we were about ten days earlier in our bloom, in our status if the crop,” says Jeff Cook, UGA County Extension Coordinator. “The warm February pushed everything to start blooming and start moving a whole lot earlier than normal.”

It’s a problem farmers had to deal with last year as well, but to a much lesser extent.

“I would say last year we had about a sixty percent crop, which was a good sixty percent once it developed. This year, I would say it kind of flip flopped. We’re probably looking at forty percent and it’s still a little early, but the damage is a lot easier to see riding through orchards right now than it was last year,” says Cook.

One of the silver linings is that quality shouldn’t be affected as despite the warmer that average winter, the crop did receive the proper number of chill hours and the damaged fruit won’t even make it to the shelves.

“It shouldn’t because what got zapped, got zapped. So, it won’t be in the market. It wasn’t like it was slightly damaged and you’ll have some fruit quality issues. The fruit that’s left, if we have decent weather from here on out should be good, quality fruit,” says Cook. “We were a little bit short on some of our higher chill varieties; we were right around seven hundred fifty hours of chill if you look at just chill hours, not chill proportions, or units. So, we were just a little bit under chilled on some things, but most everything was coming out normally. Some are a little slower, but for the most part it, it satisfied what we have in middle Georgia.”

That does mean consumers might have to wait a little longer to buy sweet, Georgia peaches and pay a little more for them.

“I mean, it’s really fewer peaches across the Southeast, probably. It’s just going to mean higher prices probably and it’s going to mean you’re going to have to wait a little while longer to get peaches. When I was in Brooks County, they should be harvesting pretty soon. So, you know, you may have to drive south to go get your early peaches if you want some early peaches. Hopefully we can hang on and have late June or early July peaches still in Georgia,” says Cook.

With late freezes being a constant threat to the producers, UGA is working on some alternative growing methods to mitigate some of the risk.

“We might do a few things a little bit differently, trying to minimize any mid-March freezes,” says Cook. “We’ve been working on different things and some different production practices that help mitigate that; leave more limbs, leave more flowers, more fruit. Maybe even pruning a little later, but they’ll just continue; we’ll take care of the trees from here on out and take care of the crop we have left.

By: Damon Jones