We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jody Prosser. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jody below.
Jody , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?
My husband Troy & I bought our farm in 2019 so we are fairly new to large scale farming. One thing we are really passionate about is providing our community with fresh, local food. Over the past couple of years we have noticed a lot of people learning how to garden/grow their own food or buying from their local farms/farmers market.
People are more aware of where their food is coming from.
We hope this trend continues!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
When I moved to S. Carolina in 2018 I knew I wanted a career change but didn’t know what that was. I have always had a love for gardening & flowers so in 2019 when my husband and I bought our farm I knew I wanted to bring that dream to life. We started building our farm in 2020 with planting 200 lavender plants, 20 rose bushes and threw down countless number of wildflower seeds.
What was once a barren garden is now flourishing under 4 hoop houses.
We grow seasonal produce, herbs and flowers. We raise chickens for eggs and meat. We also raise Meishan hogs, a heritage breed that we have grown to love.
We sell our produce & meat at our local farmers market and to our local butcher shops. Our goal is to provide our community with local, fresh, nutrient dense food.
How’d you meet your business partner?
Troy and I met in high school, I won’t age myself, but it was a long time ago. We dated in high school, even went to Junior prom together.
After graduation we went our separate ways, he ended up in Missouri while I stayed in CT.
Fast forward 26 years, we reconnected thanks to Facebook.
Our lives joined back together in 2018 and we have been inseparable ever since.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Being a new, small farm in a rural area, we knew in order to succeed we had to be authentic. We love our community and supporting our local small businesses.
2023 was a great year for us because we started collaborating with another local urban farmer. This enables both of our farms to succeed, to provide our community with more options to fresh food.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.barefootacressc.com
- Instagram: Barefootacressc
- Facebook: Barefoot Acres SC