Ask a businessman if he believes in a higher power, and his answer could equally be yes or no. Ask a lawyer, a bus driver, your family doctor, a fast food worker, a courthouse clerk, your hair stylist, and they might say yes or they might say no. Ask a farmer — male, female, young, old, new, experienced — if they believe in a higher power, and the answer is almost always yes.
The truth is that farmers can control certain aspects of farming, but there are many other factors that are simply out of their hands. They control things like what seeds are purchased, how many seeds are planted, and harvest methods, Read More
Before stepping onto the soil of Southern Valley, I had never been on a farm. Despite growing up ten minutes down the road, I’d never sunk my boots into the fresh earth before sunrise or plucked a fresh-grown fruit from the vine. Never smelled the farm-truck exhaust or heard the bees buzz about as they pollenate flower after flower, field after field.
This is farm life at Southern Valley.
While the fields are full of muddy boots and fresh-picked fruits and vegetables, the office of Southern Valley works just as hard. The Operations team sinks their boots into the hustle and bustle of packing and shipping while the PACK Logistics team Read More
As spring gets nearer, so does the likelihood of what could be mistaken as a head cold actually turning out to be nothing more than allergies. In the last couple of weeks, South Georgia received its first coating of yellow pollen for the year. We know winter isn’t over yet, but spring has begun its entrance into the area and leaves behind little telltale signs of yellow pollen everywhere it touches.
Despite the fact that the farm in Yucatan is still smack-dab in the middle of winter season, in the words of Dug Schwalls, “When we see pollen on the plastic, we start thinking about Memorial Day.” We know it’s Read More
It’s mud, slick as snot and sticking to your boots.
It’s work days from sunrise to sunset.
It’s riding fields and supervising farm labor.
It’s farm life. And it’s not unfamiliar to Austin Hamilton.
But this is farm life in another culture.
It’s carrying out everyday tasks in a different language.
It’s living in an on-farm apartment with his wife and child.
It’s eating food that is foreign and unfamiliar.
This is farm life in Yucatan.
In the last few years, the trucking industry has seen a multitude of changes. Following the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed in 2011- shippers, carriers, and supply chain professionals have been required to follow a list of new strict requirements. The latest of these requirements, and arguably the biggest hurdle, being The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) mandate which requires nearly all U.S. truck operators to use electronic logging devices (ELDs). The mandate went into effect on December 16th of last year and impacts not only truckers, but trucking insurers, carriers, suppliers, and shippers and shipping costs.
The full spectrum of industry-effected areas is much too vast to cover, but there Read More
As we hold our Thanksgiving celebration next week, our Southern Valley family will gather around the table in order to fellowship and give thanks for our many blessings. There will be lots of food, plenty of laughter, and cheerful discussions of our accomplishments as well as our renewed approach to the way ahead. This past year has truly been one of growth and development for our Southern Valley family.
We started the year off with the completion of the upstairs office that enabled us to stretch our legs and grow in a variety of ways. The room enabled us to add the PACK Logistics staff to our Southern Valley Team Read More
The South has long been known for its love of the finer things in life, like sweet tea, mama’s cooking, the great outdoors… and of course, football. As the weather begins to cool off and everyone holds their breath waiting for the first signs of fall to blow in, football seems to be the topic on everyone’s mind and discussions about who is expected to win the weekend game is the topic on everyone’s tongue as well. Whether it’s Friday night football in a high school stadium or Saturday tailgates on the lawn, us Southerners are known for our love of football and the boundless energy, enthusiasm, and passion we Read More
It only takes a few moments in the fields around Norman Park to realize English is not the only language spoken in these parts. More often than not, the words being thrown around off the backs of trailers and over the rows of cucumbers are in Spanish.
But if you listen closely while in those same fields, you’ll hear another language being spoken. A language that isn’t associated with a specific ethnic group. There’s a lot less “hola” and “buenos dias” and a lot more “product” and “yield”. It’s crop projections and weather predictions. It’s the language of “farming”.
Trace the path of the plants back a few steps and go Read More
We’re a progressive and innovative farming operation with traditional farm roots and family values. Family operated and female owned. 30 years and growing!
Each and every seed is brought to life the same way at the beginning of our Spring season, but we never truly know what the season will hold for those individual seeds. They are nurtured and nestled and nudged along until time for them to be transplanted into the soil anywhere from 7 to 60 days old depending on the product. From there, it’s all up to Mother Nature and a Sovereign God.
Much like first-time parents with a newborn baby, there are so many hopes and dreams and plans we have for these seeds. Like those same parents, we don’t always control the outcome despite our best efforts to Read More