harvest

Jennifer Johns poses with her parents, Susan and Gary Shaw, at Hickory Hill Farms. The Shaws returned to Oglethorpe County in 1998, when Jennifer was nine, purchasing the land that had been in Susan’s family for generations. In 2009, they founded Hickory Hill Farms. Today, Jennifer’s three children will grow up on the same land that shaped both her and her mother’s upbringing. (Photo/ Lilly Stone)

Jennifer Johns poses with her parents, Susan and Gary Shaw, at Hickory Hill Farms. The Shaws returned to Oglethorpe County in 1998, when Jennifer was nine, purchasing the land that had been in Susan’s family for generations. In 2009, they founded Hickory Hill Farms. Today, Jennifer’s three children will grow up on the same land that shaped both her and her mother’s upbringing. (Photo/ Lilly Stone)

Local organic farmers say practice worth the challenges

Makenna Reavis
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Cedar Grove Farm in Stephens began in 2005 when William Payne bought land off Oconee Forest Road and decided to try his hand at small-scale organic farming after relocating from Maryland.