Grantee Visit: Georgia Organics and McIntosh S.E.E.D. at Berry Family Farms

Staff from The Ray C. Anderson Foundation and The Sapelo Foundation visited Berry Family Farms, a fifth generation family farm in Long County, GA last week. The visit was part of a statewide tour of Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions and Equity Grant recipients.

Georgia Organics and McIntosh Sustainable Environment and Economic Development (S.E.E.D.) were in the first cohort of the Drawdown Georgia grants in 2023-24 when they received $200,000 over two years to provide education, awareness and technical assistance for 10 Coastal Georgia farmers who sought to implement climate-smart agriculture practices. Berry Family Farms was one of the 10 farms that benefitted from the grant.

With the help of Georgia Organics and McIntosh SEED, they applied for and received a cost share from the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and received a mini-grant from the Drawdown Georgia funds, allowing them to install a 5 kW solar array to provide clean energy while reducing operating costs. They are currently using the power generated by the solar array to provide 24-hour electricity for two trailers they use in their retail operations to attend area farmers markets. They offer grass-fed beef, fresh produce, and value-added products made from plants and herbs grown on their farms, and the added freezer and refrigeration capacity has helped them grow their business.

In addition to the funding they received for the solar array, they also received technical assistance and education for their other climate-smart projects that included annual forages, prescribed grazing, cover crop, high tunnel and more. 

Members of the Coastal Georgia Small Farmers Cooperative were also present for the tour.

The Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity grants are funded by a collaborative of foundations with roots in Georgia. Funders for this project included: The Ray C. Anderson Foundation's NextGen Committee, Sapelo Foundation, Kendeda Fund, R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation (Dobbs Fund) and The Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation.