HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Andrea Smith remembers when a farm was strictly for farming. She likes how things have changed.
“My kids enjoyed it when they were little. Now I’m bringing my grandkids. So, we’re having a good time,” Smith said.
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Jaemor Farms in Hall County may be best known for peaches, but pumpkins are now a close second.
“Diversifying the farm was a good move,” Jaemor Owner Drew Echols said.
He says agritourism helps pay the bills when a freeze damages the peach crop, or super high diesel fuel prices make it super expensive to haul the produce to market.
“When folks are coming out to the farm to experience it, the margins are clearly better.” Echols said.
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The farm’s annual Harvest Festival is a strategy the state’s farming industry is being encouraged to cultivate.
“It’s something that has allowed a lot of family farms to stay in business, and that’s certainly a great thing,” UGA Agriculture Extension Agent Garett Hibbs said.
Jaemor’s first corn maze dates back 20 years. This year’s design is a tribute to Dolly Parton.
“My friends want to come see it and spend the day here. You can spend the day up here. It’s grown from a couple of hours to a full day of activities and fun stuff,” Jaemor Experience Coordinator Chloe Echols said.
Drew Echols says he can’t control diesel prices, so he’s grateful Governor Brian Kemp temporarily suspended the fuel tax.
He also can’t control the weather, so he’d like Channel 2 Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz to suspend the rain.
“Brad, we need sunny Saturdays from here until the end of the month, and Sundays preferably,” Echols said.
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