Proud to be a Farmer: Jason Franklin

CANDLER COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - One Candler County farmer makes the most of small acreage to raise his crops and family.

Jason Franklin likely has something growing at any time of the year. He grows a mix of cotton, peanuts, soybeans, and produce across 400 acres in Candler County’s Excelsior community as a sixth generation farmer.

“Getting out of college I had another career. But I still stayed around the farm. About five years ago, I made it a full time job,” Franklin said.

He says the balance of row crops, along with an orchard of pecan trees, helps protect them if one crop goes bad. They’ve also branched into fresh greens and other produce.

They sell their produce to locally-owned grocery stores and farmers’ markets from Candler County to Chatham, all the way to Atlanta. The idea sprang from the family’s traditional garden.

“I had the crazy idea ‘why don’t we grow some extra, and sell it?’ We always gave it away and let the neighbors get all they wanted.”

He says farmers face a constant challenge. Even when prices for crops like peanuts rise, the cost of seed or fertilizer do too. Despite the challenges, he says the positives make all the work worthwhile.

“My kids enjoy it. It’s something I hope, no matter how their lives go, they can look back at this as a good time in their life.”

He says it’s a tradition he hopes to offer to a 7th generation so they can be Proud to Be a Farmer as well.

Copyright 2021 WTOC. All rights reserved.