Manufacturing and construction may come to mind for big business, but in Georgia and South Carolina, agriculture is top dog, bringing in more than $126 billion according to the two states Departments of Agriculture.
What is the number one fruit in America? In Georgia and South Carolina, you might think of a peach. However, it’s a plump, juicy, sweet strawberry. Right now is prime time for buying baskets of berries or visiting farms where you pick’em.
McCurley Farms in North, S.C. is one of the largest family farms in the state. It’s about an hour outside of Aiken, but visitors to the farm come from the CSRA and between Charleston and Atlanta.
What started as a produce stand grew into a business in 2014. Paul and Erika McCurley have five children, including one boy and four girls. One of his daughters, Morgan, helps with the business. His daughter Megan’s son, James, is known as Little Man to customers at the farm.
“It was an accident. We were just going to do a produce stand, but it started growing and my daughter, Morgan wanted to expand,” said Paul McCurley.
Now, they are picking 30+ gallons of strawberries every 20 minutes. Get the picture? It’s much larger with 70 acres of produce including corn, okra, green beans, peas, squash, cucumbers, peppers, and watermelon. Get the picture?
“The strawberry season for us runs from now until early June,” he said. “Starting April 5, we are partnering with Southern Carolina Palms in Aiken to sell our strawberries.”
Beyond that date lies the produce that everyone loves in addition to the berries, which is why McCurley Farms is looking to expand into Aiken by building a second farm.
Besides what is grown on the McCurley Farm, they partner with many other farms to provide products that everyone seems to want including jams, jellies, milk, butter, and pimento cheese.
“The partners that we have from Florida to North Carolina help us stay in business,” he said. “The bigger you set the table the more people come.”
Prior to farming, Paul McCurley served in the military and as a pastor.
“It’s been a long journey. I grew up in Oklahoma showing lambs, hogs, and horses,” he reflected. “We don’t have TV or internet in our house. Our life hasn’t been easy, but it’s what we know and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
For more information on McCurley Farms, visit their Facebook page.
Editor’s Note:
Mitzi Oxford is a veteran broadcaster and features writer who also worked at the same television station in Columbus, Georgia as Augusta’s Brad Means! If you have a South Carolina story idea for Mitzi, please email her at mitzioxfordcreative@gmail.com.
