CommonGround South Carolina

Caci and her husband, William, wed shortly after they both graduated from the University of Georgia. Not wasting any time, they started their dairy farm two weeks later. In addition to 100 dairy cows they also raise 250 head of beef cattle, 25 head of sheep, soybeans, corn, wheat and forage crops on their farm in York County, S.C.

Caci’s daily routine on the farm always begins with their animals. Caci checks, feeds and waters all of the beef cattle and sheep before dropping off her son, Wyatt, at school and then heads off to her full-time job as environmental outreach coordinator for York County government. After work, the three of them head back out to the barns for evening chores.  Caci’s free time includes watching Wyatt play T-ball, helping him learn to work with their animals in the show ring and going to livestock shows. They show livestock to see how the performance of their sheep and cattle stack up against others. This helps them make improvements in their flock and herd. When Caci has some free time, she rests from livestock competitions and enjoys shopping, reading, baking, sewing and crafting.

Caci considers it an honor to have been asked to join CommonGround™ South Carolina as a volunteer in the summer of 2011 because it gives her the chance to spread the positive message of today’s agriculture to consumers who are disconnected from our food supply.

Twitter: @scfarmwife
Facebook: SC Farm Wife
Blog: The Farm Wife
YouTube: thedairyfarmerswife

Jennifer and her husband, Thad Wimberly, have two children, Harrison and Benjamin. Jennifer is a full-time consultant pharmacist for Grove Park Pharmacy. When she leaves work, she helps Thad on their fifth-generation family farm in Branchville, South Carolina. They currently farm 2,200 acres of row crops that include soybeans, corn, cotton, peanuts, wheat and hay in addition to raising Black Angus cattle and operating a trucking company. The Wimberlys are a close-knit family and spend most of their time at home together.

On Jennifer’s days off, the scene changes quite a bit to include camping, scrapbooking once a month at a local church, Clemson football games and NASCAR races. She and her husband serve as the youth directors at Mount Tabor Baptist Church. She also serves as TeamKid leader, which involves meeting two times each month for an interactive Bible study with children at her church.

Jennifer has a passion for actively sharing their farm story with others through classroom visits and farm tours. She is excited to be a part of the CommonGround™ South Carolina program so that she can share her story about agriculture based on her experiences living on a family farm.

Marie and her husband, Brian, both grew up on farms. They consider their family farm in Anderson, South Carolina, to be a blessing for the way of life it provides for them, their two boys, John-Grady and Chat, and their third child expected to arrive in May 2012. They raise cattle and sheep as well as hay and some small grains that they use to feed the animals. In addition, they have a few horses, chickens and dogs as pets.

Marie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in animal science and completed her master’s degree in agricultural education in August 2011, which came in handy when she worked in sales for a regional feed company and especially now that she is working on their farm. Because Brian works off the farm, Marie spends most of her time at home feeding the animals, moving cows, checking the sheep and horses, and cleaning the house. Marie loves to be outdoors, so her love for kayaking and photography is no surprise. And anyone can call Marie a woman’s woman, as she also includes “shoes” on her list of hobbies.

Marie considers her participation in the CommonGround™ South Carolina program an honor and a privilege as she has the opportunity to share her education and firsthand experiences raising food on her farm with urban women.

Twitter: @M_O_Bolt
Blog: The Farmer’s Daughter