Proud to be a Farmer: Ryne Brannen

BULLOCH COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - A Bulloch County farmer carries on his family’s tradition in agriculture.

Ryne Brannen says they’ve faced challenges in and out of the fields this year.

Ryne Brannen says his family has been farming for as long anybody can remember.

“I know and can name names five generations back. Some people tell me it goes further back,” said Brannen.

They grow roughly 3,500 acres of peanuts and cotton. He says they’ve had enough rain to make a good peanut crop this year and a good harvest.

“...until it rained last night and that’s shut us down.”

This time of year brings the pressure to get the crop harvested. Every extra day it sits in the field takes away a little quality that will show up at market.

This year, they’ve battled elements beyond the weather. Parts and supplies have been hard to find, to the point they second guess whether to return a shipment of the wrong part.

“The guy was like ‘I don’t know if I’d do that, because you have two tractors that take that part and that’s the last one of those in the United States of America.’”

Ryne says the supply chain challenges this year remind him of the tales his grandpa told him about rationing in World War II.

While circumstances might be different, the lesson remains the same.

“Don’t spend money you don’t need to spend. Don’t buy things you don’t need. And do as much as you can yourself.”

He says it’s almost a divine calling he and his family feel and that makes them Proud to be a Farmer.

“..it’s what we were made for, at least that’s what I think.”

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