Proud to be a Farmer: Daniel Johnson

BACON COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - A family farm in Bacon County has been raising food and fiber for decades.

Daniel Johnson sees hope where the rest of us just see dirt. He and his family prepare his 40th season of peanuts, cotton, and tobacco.

“It’s ‘all hands on deck.’ Here in Southeast Georgia, we’re always 24 hours from either a drought or a flood. You’ve got to use every hour of daylight you have!”

A third-generation farmer, he started with a few hundred acres. Now, they grow nearly 3,000.

He says you won’t find another profession where “doing more with less” applies any more than agriculture.

This year, they’re creating dirt mounds to plant from as a way of conserving moisture and more.

“We’re saying fuel, we’re saving time. We’re saying labor. That’s the name of the game these days. If you’re not cutting every corner you can without cutting what you need, you won’t make it very long. We’re trying something new every year to find that niche...is the key to agriculture.”

Despite the challenges of higher prices and smaller profits, he says it’s a calling to tend the soil and pass it to his sons.

“If the Good Lord ever had anybody that was born to farm, it was me. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

That committment certainly makes him Proud to Be a Farmer.

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