Proud to be a Farmer: Tyson Joiner

BULLOCH COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - A young peanut and cotton farmer in Bulloch County is adapting modern practices on his family’s operation.

You find Tyson Joiner prepping fields this time of year along with his “co-pilot” Sawyer the dog. That means hours in the seat of his tractor - a stark contrast to the ones he saw his grandpa use.

“I get to get on that - heated, cooled, radio. He didn’t’ have any of that. I think that’s cool,” Joiner said.

The way he and others farm today is as different from that generation as the tractors they use. In addition to the GPS-guided “precision farming” equipment, farmers like Joiner leave stems and stalks behind from the previous crop and even plant cover crops in the dirt to curb soil and water erosion, rather than tilling it for the sake of tilling it.

“Sometimes now we strip through a field like that and never touch it with anything. That drives him crazy, but that’s how we do things now,” Joiner said.

He farms his families land, but also helps manage some of the larger operations. He says they’re all seeing higher prices for everything from fuel to fertilizer and that has everyone concerned whether higher crop prices will keep up.

“You’re not gaining much ground, but you’re risking more money in the middle,” Joiner said.

Despite the risks, he says there’s something about the independence of working.

“You can get out here early and run as late as you want. Nobody’s telling you to punch a clock or this, that, or the other. You work at your own pace and get it done, how you need to get it done,” Joiner said.

It’s that freedom that makes him Proud to Be a Farmer.

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