A couple days ago Katie invited me to go canning with the Hamilton ladies – Mrs. Pam, Courtney, and Kaylee – and, with a vision of the four of us in a small kitchen preserving fresh vegetables like my grandmother did, I readily accepted. I would be helping preserve not only veggies but the long-lost art of canning… or so I thought.
Steamed Tomatoes
Jalapenos
Arriving at the canning plant, I was shocked. Every parking space was full. Colquitt County has the only canning plant for miles and it Read More
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 Read More
Wanda Hamilton-Tyler, or as she is often referred to around Southern Valley – Ma, Mama, or Aunt Wanda – is no stranger to all aspects of farm life. Born and raised right outside of Norman Park, Georgia, just minutes from where she still lives at the age of 72, she is the fifth of six children. Wanda grew up on a farm, like most everyone else in this part of the county, where everyone in the family helped out with the labor. Her family grew row crops and vegetables, which is how she ended up in the field picking cotton with a sack as early as age six.
After graduating Read More
Organic. Sustainable. Local. Natural.
These words fill up my Facebook newsfeed on a daily basis. Perhaps they fill up yours as well. Articles, opinions, scientific claims, research, advertisements, bashing, fear mongering – all aimed at steering the general public one direction or another when it comes to the food they buy, and ultimately the food they consume.
Still being the newbie here, I wasn’t fully aware of the ins and outs of our production practices at the farm in Georgia. After a lengthy conversation with a few individuals in the company who are instrumental in the day to day production, food safety, and environmental stewardship of the farm, I was reassured to find things Read More
There has recently been a minor uproar in the news regarding the labor standards in Mexico and as many would concur, perhaps rightly so. Some of the stories I read reported deplorable living conditions and a blatant disrespect of labor laws, not to mention a disregard for standard human decency. In response to these stories, one blogger went so far as to point out that she would no longer be buying anything at the grocery store that had Mexico listed as its Country of Origin. She advocated that others do the same.
I get it. I really do. Many of the stories I read of Mexican labor standards were repulsive Read More
Allow me to introduce you to Southern Valley…as I know them.
I grew up hearing about Southern Valley and the Hamilton family long before I ever got the chance to experience them. I lived amongst the agriculture community in small town South Georgia so it was inevitable that I would get word of this family way out in Norman Park that had a unique farming operation. However, I finished college and came back home before I was ever formally introduced to them.
My first interaction with the Hamilton family was with the wife of Southern Valley’s owner, Mrs. Pam. Mrs. Pam was renowned for coming to the local canning plant each Read More