A New Breed of Farmer Supplying Savannah Restaurants

They are young, dynamic and well-educated. A new generation of young farmers that care deeply about the quality of food they eat, and what gets put on area tables. And Savannah restaurants are benefitting from this new breed as the farm to table concept takes off and enriches the food experience. We got a sense of their work by visiting them at their farms and at Savannah’s downtown Farmer’s Market.

We had already heard good things about Hunter Cattle Company, which provides the beef behind the much-touted burgers at Savannah’s Green Truck Pub. We wanted to see the farm for ourselves, so drove 45 minutes west to near Brooklet. Hunter Cattle Company is family-owned and specializes in grass-fed beef, pastured pork, poultry, eggs and more. There is a farm store on site with family-produced goods. The family takes its role as custodians of the land seriously and offers educational tours to help teach younger generations about best practices.

The farm building itself is inviting, with plastic crates of fresh vegetables on the side porch, along with a mishmash of old equipment, a rusting coca-cola machine, tall cabinet, milk cans, bird houses and a weathered wooden bench inviting a rest. Inside the farm store, we found owner Deb Ferguson making pickles in mason jars. We spoke at length with her about the farm, family and how things got started.

The business began by just providing food for the family, then neighbors asked for supplies and it grew from there. The farm supplies beef and pork and to a lesser degree chicken and eggs. A quick self-led walk around the farm gave us a close-up view of free-range chickens, guinea fowl, a pet potbellied pig and two sleeping dogs. Cattle and horses and hogs were off in more distant fields. Donkeys protect the herds from predators by sounding their vocal alarm, allowing their animals to stay safely in pasture.

What better way to spend a Saturday morning than a wander through beautiful Forsyth Park and a visit to the weekly Farmer’s Market, held every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.? Note: With the closure of outdoor markets due to the Corona virus, many of the farms and growers are providing alternative methods to purchase their products, either online or direct purchase at the farm or other pickup destinations.

We strolled through the park, admiring the 1858 white cast iron fountain, monuments and the spacious grassy areas, ending up on the southern end where the farmers bring their wares. It was a hot, beautiful day and the tall trees provided the only relief from the beating sun.

The Forsyth Farmers Market was founded in 2009 and was conceived and planned to provide all members of Savannah’s community a welcoming, inclusive place to purchase local food and address food access issues. It is a producer-only market (meaning all vendors have to be producing at least 75% of the products they sell) and allows only food and plant vendors.

The Saturday we visited there were not as many tents and providers as we expected, but we were able to talk with a few farmers, including Better Fresh Farms founder Grant Anderson who had beautiful heads of lettuce for sale. He had a business background in banking before turning to farming as a sustainable business where he could make a difference. He was inspired by reading about a retired couple from Boston who began urban farming using recycled shipping containers and hydroponic growing methods.

Founded in May of 2016, Better Fresh Farms’ mission is to produce sustainably grown non-GMO, herbicide and pesticide free produce for local people. A Georgia tech graduate, Anderson grows a variety of lettuce, greens and herbs, including swiss chard, kale, radishes, dill, cilantro and mustard greens on his farm in Guyton, Georgia. His method of growing his crop means that fresh produce is available the same day it is harvested. He wants to challenge current perceptions of fresh, and by being capable of going from seed to fully grown plant in 8 weeks, he can react to market needs much faster, including growing something on request for a chef who wants to introduce a new dish in his restaurant.

Our next farm visit took us on an hour and 15-minute drive to Sylvania Georgia to Savannah River Farms, run by the Deen family. Their all-natural products include beef, lamb and poultry along with their specialty, pasture raised pork.

Ben Deen took us on a tour of the farm. Most of the farm’s output is pork production—there are several hundred pigs on the farm of several breeds. They supply 26 restaurants in the area. There are some cows too but there’s not enough space on the farm to provide much quantity, just a few for upon request orders. There are also 3-4 donkeys in the fields which sound the alarm with their braying if creatures like foxes or wild dogs get onto the property. In the back we saw some goats and kids, added just because the mother loved them!

Ben took us on a motorized buggy ride to see the hogs and piglets, including the shed where the pigs give birth to their litters. Ben was a genial host for an hour and was generous in sharing his story and that of his family’s farm. Ben is a fifth-generation crop and livestock farmer and farming is in his blood. He has worked on the farm for over ten years and plans to carry on the family tradition of farming.

We drove off the main road past a small white church, then onto a dirt road and followed it to its end past fields, fences, and moss-laden trees until we reached Canewater Farm. Owners Rafe and Ansley Rivers were away the week we wanted to visit, but they welcomed us whole heartedly to their Darien Georgia farm and graciously offered the services of their crew to show us around.

We met Brendan Gannon, Vegetable Manager, at the barn. Brendan explained his background as he took us around the farm. He went to the College of Charleston and got a journalism degree but ultimately decided on a career in agriculture. He worked at farms in New York’s Hudson River Valley. What was his inspiration? Brendan said he cares about what he puts inside his body.

We got the short history of the farm, which first had to be cleared of a 20-acre pine tract to create today’s farmland. Pulp was sent to the mills, and the land cleared of tree stumps. Ten acres are under cultivation for vegetables. The owners live on site overlooking the marshlands and surrounded by woods.

Brendan took us on a farm tour, beginning with the hoop house where we saw three types of tomatoes under a greenhouse-like structure. Crops are grown year-round at Canewater. Crop rotation is practiced to rest the soil. The winter fields lay fallow now with cover crops which are turned under to provide nutrients to the land. The farm is enchanting in its bucolic simplicity, southern-style, with live oaks and Spanish moss. Letizia said the farm owners and managers are emblematic of a young and good-looking new breed of farmer, well-educated and passionate about what crops they cultivate and how it is grown.

We saw watermelon, purple-flowered eggplants, and summer kale in the fields, and got to sample tomatoes right from the vine. We said hello to the rest of the young crew, sweating in the fields during their planting and irrigation work. The heat, humidity and pests make for tough working conditions. Owner Rafe Rivers says on the farm’s web site that the bugs are worse on the farm crew than on the plants! Canewater provided produce to a large number of Savannah and regional restaurants in Georgia and South Carolina.

Note: Since the time of our visit, Canewater Farms has moved to the Tetons where production will begin in the spring of 2020. We wish them well in their new location!

Seeing these farmers in their fields and hearing their passion for their animals or how they grow their produce gives one a fresh perspective on the dining experience in Savannah, where talented chefs work their culinary artistry using the best products these young farmers can provide.