04
May
We’re just curious, but did you know….
Did you know we are a fruit and vegetable farm situated right here within your county lines and yet we grow food that is sent all over the United States and Canada?
Did you know we started as a four-man company that purchased one hundred acres, but have now grown into a farming operation that grows, packs, and ships produce in three locations – Georgia, Tennessee, and Yucatan – and employs hundreds of people over the course of a year?
Did you know that from right here in your hometown, we are able to supply fresh produce to some of the most commonly shopped at grocery stores across the nation?
Did you know that last year we picked enough cucumbers – on our Georgia farm alone – for every individual in this county to eat a cucumber a day everyday for four years? (Now, that’s a lot of cucumbers!).
Did you know whenever you leave our county for a night out at a national chain restaurant, there’s a good chance you are eating vegetables grown right here in Colquitt County on this very farm?
Did you know all of the produce grown at Southern Valley is picked by hand? All of it. By hand. To do so, we have a group of highly skilled workers who work like crazy and at a speed we wouldn’t dare to duplicate, even if we tried. They can pick produce faster than you can shake a stick at.
Did you know during the spring and fall seasons, we work like crazy because when the vegetables are ready to be picked, they must be picked? They can’t wait. So for approximately 10 weeks in the spring and 10 weeks in the fall we absolutely bust our butts right down the road from you to make this happen. While school is out for summer break (which is still our spring season), our “break” is spent taking advantage of every minute of daylight to pick vegetables and then working to get those vegetables prepped, packed, and shipped so they can be fresh for your purchase at the store.
Did you know that we then turn around and do the same thing during the summer and winter months on our farms in Tennessee and in the Yucatan? We grow out of those two locations for obvious weather-related reasons, yet even those farms are owned and operated from our home base here in Colquitt County.
We say all of this because we’ve heard people say they’ve lived here their whole lives and they never knew we were here. They never had any idea a farming operation of this size existed in their community.
(And not to undermine ourselves, but we are certainly not the only farming operation in this county that supplies food for our nation.)
We ARE here though. Right here in the same county as you. In fact, we’ve been here for going on 30 years. We are one of YOU. Our roots in this county run deep. Yet, our reach goes much farther than these county lines. So far, in fact, that it exceeds not just county lines, but country lines as well.
We are a little removed from town, we know. Perhaps you consider us to be out in the sticks. Some even call it the boonies. But we are still so proud to be part of this county and a part of the agricultural heritage of this community.
We just thought you’d like to know.
Because while not everyone grows food, food is essential for the growth of everyone. For us, it’s essential you know we are here working almost every day of the year to get fresh produce from our family’s farm to your family’s front door.
[image: John Trainor]