From Day One 

For over a century, the Echols family has provided the best quality fruits and vegetables to local consumers. In 1912, Jimmy Allen Echols’ grandfather would stand on the side of the road and sell blackberries, blueberries and peaches in small trays that would hang by straps over his shoulders.  

“One of my favorite things about hearing my granddad tell our history is that we’ve always been in retail, from day one,” said Drew Echols, the 5th generation on the family farm and great-great-grandson of the sharecropper who launched what is now Jaemor Farms.  

New Opportunities 

The farming operating consists of 150 acres of peaches, 120 acres of pumpkins and 20 acres of strawberries. Under the management and production of Drew, his dad Jarl and his uncle Judah, the farm recently increased to 550 acres with the help of AgGeorgia Farm Credit.  

“It’s worked out well and AgGeorgia was good to us on the last farm,” Drew said. 

Through the acquisition, they increased their peach and strawberry production.  

“It was the right thing to do; it helped us expand, helped us hire more people and grow our production,” Drew said. 

In addition to their original retail market, they have a satellite market offsite managed by Drew’s sister, partner with local school systems to incorporate their produce into students’ school meals and host several educational field trips. 

“We remain primarily a farm, secondarily a retail/direct market and thirdly an agritourism business,” Drew said. 

This article was originally published in AgGeorgia Farm Credit’s Leader Magazine.