I serve as a Town Councilman for Town of McConnells and on the board of directors for Farm Bureau.  My wife is also active off farm filling many roles, one of them being a Sunday School teacher.  

Family time is usually enjoying a meal together during a break.

Everyone in our family has had to "pull their weight" over the years.  Our family has survived on the farm.  It has paid for college tuition and more.  The farm has allowed us to pass on values to younger generations.  It's hard to separate our family from the farm as its an essential part of our life.  

That food comes from a farm, not the grocery store!  Farming is a 24/7 job and very hard work, but rewarding!

We began back in 2010 with 4 boer goats. That has now transformed into a whole lot more! We run quality breeding does and have recently added 3 donor does to the program. We have met many people who have helped us along the way. The friendships are priceless! 

We produce meat goats that are Boer influenced. They are suitable for show goats for 4-H and FFA projects, but are also high quality producers of goat meat. We like to focus on quality instead of quantity and only like to produce and sell things for students to show that we would be proud to show or keep ourselves. 

We have several busy seasons. Our busiest season is our kidding season. That can start Mid January until the first of March. When kidding season begins, we have to watch our does and make sure they are accepting babies and all is well. If a doe rejects a kid, we have to either bottle feed it or graft it on to another doe within 24 hours. Does can have anywhere from single births to quadruplets. So, do the math, it can be pretty busy! Another busy season is fall breeding season and show season.  We have recently started utilizing embryo transfer in our program to maximize our genetics. 

Our only younger generation help is our 4 year old Border Collie, "Tater." She's the hardest working family member of us all! 

Family is what our farm was built on. It was a way to relax and enjoy each others company, while combining our interest and love for agriculture and God's land. 

I think all non farm families should know that no matter how big or small, our farms matter. We are producers and stewards of the land. We farm so you can eat and enjoy things. We don't do it because we have to, we do it because we want to. Farm families are some of the kindest and gentlest people you will meet. 

I am JEB Wilson.  My wife Jane and I are in our early thirties and we have one son Mac who recently turned five years old.  Our farm is named Cotton Hills Farm and is located in upstate SC in the counties of Chester and York Counties.  Jane helps with payroll and other farm tasks but also works in administration at a local Christian school.

My great-great grandfather and grandmother began working the original 200 acre farm in 1880 as it was given to them as a wedding gift by my great-great grandmother’s father.  They grew cotton and other row-crops. The farm has been passed down through the generations.

My brother and father also farm along with me.  My father focuses on cotton production while my brother and I focus on growing and selling produce. The produce crops include strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupes, tomatoes, peaches, and pumpkins.  We all work together as needed.  We make ½ bushel peach baskets in the winter time to keep our vegetable labor employed.  We sell these baskets to other farmers. I manage two retail produce stores in addition to our wholesale produce business.  During the fall months we open our farm up to the public and do farm tours. We try to educate the public about the importance of agriculture and give them a chance to see what we do on a daily basis.

July is a very busy month for us as the peaches and all other vegetables are at peak production.  September and October are our busiest months though as we are harvesting pumpkins, giving farm tours and are picking cotton.

Mac and my two young nephews, Thomas and Tucker enjoy riding the harvesting equipment with my brother and me.  Mac is also learning to do chores such as feed the few animals that we keep during tour season.  I think it is very important to involve children from a young age so that they learn a love of farming.

I am involved with the SC Farm Bureau Federation on the county and state level.  I also participate in the Young Farmer and Agribusiness Association.  My family also attends our local church where my wife and I serve as treasurer.

We enjoy riding the cotton picker together.  We also enjoy getting to have other families tour our farm and talk with them about farming and agriculture.

Family is very important to our farm as it is a mulit-generational business.  For the farm to survive the next generation has to be taught a love for farming and taught how to be successful as a farmer.  

I want non-farm families to know that we are good stewards of the land and resources.  We try very hard to take good care of the land that we are entrusted with.

Caring for livestock keeps us busy all year round.  The busiest times tend to be during harvest and planting, fall and spring, when we are fitting in the extra jobs related to our crops.   We use all of our corn and alfalfa for the cattle and sell our soybeans.   In the fall we also receive larger numbers of calves.  New cattle take more intensive care for feeding, vaccinating and monitoring for sickness.

When our children were growing up they helped in any way they could.  We planted hundreds of trees that needed watering and mowing.  All five of our children were in the 4-H program and learned how to care for cattle through the bucket calf program.  The kids were also very good at answering the phone and giving directions to our farm or taking detailed messages.  The two boys became the most active on our farm by feeding cattle and helping with crop work.  Our five children are all grown now with one still in college.  So far we do not have a son or daughter planning to come back to the farm.  Our granddaughter loves the cattle and spending time on the farm so we are hopeful and accepting of whatever happens.

My full-time job now is the farm.  My involvement with care of the cattle increased as the children started school.  Many times I did the bookwork late at night when everyone was in bed!  I have a love for landscaping so besides the daily routine we have with our feedlot work I also spend time planting flowers, mowing and cleaning to create a place that is enjoyable to look at.   My off the farm activities include volunteering as an EMT, 4-H leader, parish catechist and miscellaneous organizational activity.  One of my favorite volunteer activities has been my role on a committee for an annual conference for women in agriculture.  Many of us on the committee have become great friends through our work together and we get to put together a day to support other women in agriculture.

A family knows the value of working together for the good of the whole.   My father-in-law has been involved in doing odd jobs for us because he wants to help out.  On a farm there are all sorts of jobs that aren’t always fun to do but they must be done.  With employees we have found a lack of the same spirit of teamwork and willingness to do all that is needed.  When our children were working with us they learned the value of long hours, the lack of control we have over weather and finding solutions to problems.  While we would love to have any of them working with us we are happy for them in the choices they have made and I believe the skills they learned growing up on a farm greatly influenced their successes.

Seek first to understand.  I did not grow up on a farm so I learned a lot about what goes on by living it day after day.  As a cattle feeder I have heard many concerns that are based on fear instead of fact leading to misunderstandings about how we produce food.  I am a mom and I did the best I could to raise strong, healthy, smart, active children.  I believe most moms strive to do the same and today there are more sources of information trying to influence what a mom should or shouldn’t do.  Find women in agriculture that have something in common with you, like being a mom, and ask questions about how we raise your food.  In the United States we are surrounded by plenty of food and plenty of food choices.  I would like to keep it that way and it will take continued new technologies to do that.  Our farm started with horses pulling the implements, then in the 1930’s this farm had small tractors and electricity.  With the increase in technology we are able to produce more food using less land and water while increasing the fertility of the soil for the next crop.  

Brett, Jessica and our son, Luke Little.

We are Little Family Farm!

We are located in Denver, North Carolina.

Brett graduated NC State with a degree in livestock management and with some family land and his parents help, Brett got his first two chickens houses built and placed his first flock in June 2006. In 2009 Brett added 2 more houses making a total of 4 poultry houses.

I met Brett later that year (09) and fell in love with him and his farm! While I had no farm experience I loved learning, watching and riding along when I could!

Spring, making hay and fertilizing fields, and calving in early spring. 

Brett also works for another farmer that is currently in the process of building a dairy, to start milking in December. His operation also includes corn, wheat and soybeans.

My husband works so hard so I can stay at home with our son.

We love going to check cows as a family! Our son, Luke, loves the cows! 

 But, I love working with them! Sale days are my favorite because we have to work the cows together, and there is just something about getting them up and working them through the panels and finally getting the ones you want on the trailer. We load up and head to the sale. It’s a special time to me, because its just me and my farmer and we are doing what we love, together. It is something simple, that not a lot of people could understand, unless you work cattle too.