(upbeat music) - [Announcer] A Fork in the Road was brought to you by... (calm music) From produce to people, the best things are grown and raised in Georgia.

Even in tough times, we come together, work hard and grow strong.

When you purchase Georgia grown products, you support farmers, families, and this proud state we call home.

(soft music) Together we will keep Georgia growing.

Georgia FSIS provides efficient and accurate third-party inspection services to members of the industry.

We inspect various fresh commodities, including peanuts, fruits, vegetables and pecans.

The use of the inspection service ensures the shipment of high quality products and enhances Georgia's reputation as a supplier of superior agricultural products.

- Ah Georgia, nature's favorite state.

(upbeat music) let's hit the road and meet the farmers, producers, makers and bakers who keep us all fed and keep us coming back for more.

Straight ahead at A Fork in the Road.

(upbeat music) ♪ I came from the mud ♪ ♪ There's dirt on my hands ♪ ♪ Strong like a tree ♪ ♪ There's roots where I stand ♪ Georgia farmers, artisans, merchants and producers, we depend on these men and women every day of our lives through the choices we make in the food we consume.

Their strategy and approach is always shifting, but the end game remains the same results.

(upbeat music) (soft music) These sunflowers are part of the family.

So is this pig, these cows, these flowers, this kind of flour, and even these soaps.

It often takes the whole family to run the farm and they certainly depend on one another to make it all work.

And the final product of that family combination can produce magical and rewarding results.

(upbeat music) Let's begin this episode down in Metter, Georgia, near Statesboro to meet a family that has spread it's farming and ranching fingers through counties all around this Southeastern region of Georgia, the 920 Cattle Company.

(soft music) So let's start a family, buy some cows, a few pigs at a couple of goats for the little one to enjoy.

And a few lambs later on, seemed simple enough.

Well, what seems like a children's story at first glance is a beast of a task.

But it appears that Jarrod and Becca Creasy are the right couple to somehow make it all work.

(soft music) - 920 was started from the marriage of Becca and I. September 20th is when we got married and that's where 920 came from.

All of this started back in 2014.

We started in the cattle business, purebred cattle business, where we were selling embryos, purebred bulls, females, brangus and angus cattle is kind of a, the focus that we were on.

We very quickly realized that the way we were killing animals, as far as the not meeting the genetics that we were wanting, we needed another outlet for it.

So we started selling some freezer beef here and there, and we saw an opportunity there.

2017, we were able to acquire a 75 year old butcher facility.

Since 2014 we've been told that we couldn't do what we've done.

And we've learned a lot by being able to be told no, but at the same time, we were still able to make it happen.

(soft music) We have a purebred herd of animals, and then we have a commercial herd of animals.

We diversify ourself within each species.

And that kind of gives us so separate and different outlets to be able to move that product.

- [Becca] It's a lot to manage, but it works out better for us and for the land because we're able to manage rotational grazing practices and some other land management strategies that otherwise we probably wouldn't if we were only a single species operation.

- So the neat thing about when chickens are out in the pasture, where cattle are, you can physically see what they actually do from a fertilizer standpoint, not just the chicken itself, but they'll actually go out and they'll scatter that manure pile.

So instead of six inch by six inch impact, you have almost a two foot by two foot impact area.

- [David] Their home is the primary farm where they raise a variety of animals.

Their beautiful great Pyrenees are on guard and loving their job on the open fields.

The hogs taking care of themselves and landscaping duties in their section.

- Semi Yorkshire landrace cross hogs.

You see some straight Durack hogs.

You see some Hamp hogs, and we try to incorporate about four to five different heritage type breeds.

We find that that provides a more natural sugar within the meat.

- [David] There's also a few goats and sheep, and there's someone in particular in the Creasy family who has a vested interest in those sheep.

Do you have a favorite lamb?

- [Kid] Franny.

- Friendly Franny?

(kid giggling) The registered lambs that we have here are registered in Finley's name.

And this is the idea of teaching her sound business principles early on and letting her be a part of all of those decisions when it comes to breeding and killing even.

She's four.

So she quote unquote helps manage the lamb flock.

Essentially, a percentage of all of the revenue that comes from the land goes back into a savings account for her and the opportunity for her to then invest that down the road.

She enjoys it so it just works out.

(upbeat music) - [David] And home base isn't the only farm in operation.

They have fields scattered all throughout south Georgia well-maintained and tailored to raise cattle in a low stress environment.

- We're about 65 miles from what we call our home farm or headquarters farm, where Mack Magee's sliced.

We've got cattle over here.

Purebred cattle is kinda what you can see behind us.

Mack has been a blessing to our family.

We met Mack probably eight years ago now.

Mack's part of the family and more thankful to have him.

- [David] Why is it important that he has this relationship with cattle out here?

- Pretty much when a cow is calm, you can do anything in the world you want with them.

Conception rates are higher when you have calm cattle.

When you have cattle that are just docile, which puts more calves on the ground, which in turn puts more money back in all of our pockets.

- [David] It looks like out here they have their choice of what comes out of Mack's hands.

They have grass, they have trees.

- These, these cattle are spoiled.

They from the nutrition side, they pretty well get whatever they want.

(soft music) Animal husbandry goes a long way.

From the time we do the breeding all the way to the end.

When you take the time to understand livestock, when you take the time to understand how animals move, how they eat, how they function, it goes a long way.

And you can tell that from the quality of the meat, you can tell that from the tenderness of it, the fat content in it.

You know, we are a grass fed grain, finished operation with everything that we do.

- [David] 920 is also unique because they invested in a processing facility.

Here they process their own meat, as well as cows and hogs from other Georgia farms.

And the folks working here like extended family to Jarrod and Becca.

What do we have going on here?

- Mr. Willy, he just pulled some bellies and some jowls out of our salt cooler.

He's pulling the skin off of it.

He'll slice it up.

Weigh it up about a pound and pack it up.

- [David] Alright, Mr. Willy's been here he said since 1978, I guess he knows what he's doing.

- [Jeb] That's right.

He knows it.

He could do with his eyes closed.

We have everything, beef, pork and lamb.

We grow everything ourselves.

We butcher it all ourselves as well.

It never leaves our hands till it's in yours.

(upbeat music) We're in the salt cooler now.

This is where everything gets cured and laid down.

Right here we have some pork bellies, some fat back.

Each customer gets a number on the skin or whatever they're getting cured.

Right here to this customer has some ham, some bellies and some hawks.

Here we have our beef cooler where all of our beef hangs.

We usually let them sit for 10 to 14 days, depending on the fat ratio.

You know, everybody fills out their cut sheet and the weather want it cut.

We'll butcher it up for them and get it to their doorstep.

- Probably six months after acquiring a butcher shop, we became a USDA inspected facility, allowing us to ship and sell across state lines.

And that's huge.

Like that allows us to really not just gain experience from a butchering standpoint, but it allows us to be able to have those relationships with those customers from across the country, across the world.

(upbeat music) - [David] The 920 Cattle Company continues to grow.

Varieties of meat are sold from the shop, from the truck and of course online.

In the next stage of growth, this is beautiful, new catering kitchen and event facility located on the edge of this pond right off by 16 in Metter, Georgia.

So with their house in order and just about every animal, other than ducks in a row, the Creasy family and their 920 Cattle Company is off to a great start and seem to be growing fast.

A special brand that operates responsibly, humanely and is all about family.

(soft music) (soft music) From Metter, we journey west to Pitts, Georgia where golden flowers shine like the sun.

And just about everything around here is pressed to perfection.

(soft music) The chugging of the train can be heard, just a block or two away.

The streets are peaceful and the corner shop is open for business.

And what a beautiful little shop it is.

Welcome to The Station.

Home to Oliver Farm Artisan Oils, and so much more.

(soft music) - This is a converted gas station.

It was built in the 1960s by Mr. Homer Lee Connor.

The family decided to sell it and we said, Hey, this is an opportunity to put a business in Pitts and bring people to here in a little attraction, filling the store with all the people we had met through shows and markets that we'd done across the country and in the state of Georgia, especially 90% of everything here is a Georgia grown product.

And not only do we like the products, we like the people, we know 'em.

And so that makes it so much easier.

- People have loved being able to come here and just buy gifts for others.

They love knowing they're supporting others.

And we love supporting all of these people through here too.

(soft music) - [David] The fields that create the flour and the oils are a sight to behold.

Two times a year, these stunning sunflowers bloom open up and reach for the sun.

(soft music) - I started growing sunflowers for oil in 2012, about a press in the fall that year and began pressing.

(soft music) We tasted the oil and just realized, wow, this is so fresh and so unique to what we're used to tasting that it just became a passion to do these oils and to create more, to try more flavors.

(soft music) We start in the spring.

And then we plant the sunflowers.

It takes about 60 days for the sunflowers to bloom.

It's almost like clockwork.

You can count on it.

These varieties that we do.

(soft music) At about 90 days, the flowers will have begun drying down the heads, they shrivel up and they look ugly.

They bend over to protect the sunflower seed from birds and rain, getting in the seed.

And then when those are dry enough, we come in with a combine and harvest them.

And then once they're cleaned, we take them to the press area.

Then we begin pressing the oil out.

(soft music) Sunflower's just a beautiful crop.

I mean, they, they grow so fast.

They're vigorous and they're scavengers for moisture and for nutrients in the ground.

(soft music) The seed are going through the final down into chamber here.

And there's a screw inside.

And that screw is pushing the commodity forward.

The way it's designed, just friction and pressure it's squeeze and squeeze and squeeze.

And until it sends that sunflower seed out of that nozzle, everything just minus the oil.

And then the oils coming out here, these ports, and going into a container, which will then put into a larger container and let it begin to settle.

The key though is to keep the oil where it's cool.

You don't want the oil to get over 120.

That's what causes a breakdown.

We use the same process for everything, and, you know they're easy to disassemble.

I can totally disassemble submerged and we don't have the fear of cross-contamination there.

So we found that the expelled meal after it's been defatted is a high quality animal feed.

So cows goats, I feed it to deer.

It's a well-balanced ration.

(soft music) - [David] The sunflowers turn heads, but all of these oils cause taste buds to erupt.

Clay and Valerie learned quickly that the oils they were drawing from these sunflowers and their green peanuts were just what chefs were looking for.

- I sent a sample of our peanut oil to chef Stephen Satterfield in Atlanta, Shepherd Miller Union.

When he tasted the oil, he was like, wow, this is green as a green popping flavor.

And he kind of coined his green peanut.

And what we began to realize is that what sets our oil apart is that we use high quality grade A peanuts versus old stock peanuts, which is what most store brands are gonna be made from your old stock peanuts.

We take the high quality peanuts.

It's nothing wrong with them.

Run them through the press at the low temperatures and the flavor is retained.

And that's something these restaurants weren't used to.

And to have them call and have like a first name basis relationship with them is pretty cool to say like he or she is at the top of their game and they're using our product to make their dishes.

That makes us feel really proud.

(soft music) - [David] These oil's got this company rolling, but that's not the only specialty product offered by Oliver Farm.

Along with tasty popcorn that you can cook in their award-winning oils.

Well, you could say they just go from flowers to flour.

(soft music) - So this is Pecan flour.

After we extract the oil from the pecans, then we mill what's left down.

It's really, really fine flour.

It's naturally gluten-free.

It still has a flavor of pecan.

So to use for pastries, brownies, cookies, we even do pancakes with them and they're delicious.

And it's gluten-free so people who need that or want that option, it's available.

We've pressed probably 13 to 15 different seeds and nuts.

We're always up to try new things.

So we're pressing okra seed now, which is pretty popular with chefs and just foodies alike.

That it's a new, unique flavor that they haven't had before.

- Yeah I tell people it's like okra without the slime.

- [David] I Like that.

- Yeah.

(soft music) - [Clay] Sunflowers are beautiful crop.

I mean, you can't help, but smile when you walk out into a field of wide open sunflowers and they'll have several acres of them together, I think is a site most people are not accustomed to seeing around here.

And so to just have that green and then the bright, gold yellow, yeah it makes you stop.

People call they'll call all year long, wanting to know if we have sunflowers blooming and can they come see them.

(soft music) We decided this year to add a little adventure to the sunflower fields.

And we created a QR code that people could scan with their smartphone and it gives them eight to 10 points of interest around not only Pitts, but out on the farm and in the country as well that they could see old buildings and old jail.

They could visit the sunflower fields.

The oil shop where we make the oil as one of the stops on there.

- [Valerie] Being out in the country and just enjoying it.

- [Clay] We take it for granted what peanuts are, what the plants look like, what cotton plants look like, let people take control of their own little adventure.

- And we still think there's so much in these small towns to be offered to.

So it's smell a lot to us.

(soft music) - [David] From sunflowers green peanuts, almonds, and pecans to benne seed popcorn and so much more.

This creative couple is working day and night to deliver this quality healthy product, mostly grown from rich south Georgia soil available for those willing to try something new and tasty.

(soft music) (upbeat music) From The Station in Pitts up to downtown Jackson, Georgia, where Oliver Farms Artisan Oils have found yet another great purpose, keeping us all so fresh and so clean.

(soft music) This beautiful historic home right off the square of charming downtown Jackson, Georgia is home to Poppy the pig.

Poppy lives in this garden with some chickens, couple of cute cats and a stunning field of flowers that she would very much like to destroy.

(soft music) Yes Poppy runs this flower farm that once had corn until Poppy ate it all in one day.

But that was a lesson learned for Hannah Thompson.

- Thick headed.

She's a ham, she's pig.

These are all real.

They're certainly rooted in truth.

- [David] Who has brilliantly started a business that kinda works around Poppy's destructive tendencies.

- That, oh okay.

- [David] And guess what?

She's doing fantastic.

Welcome to Gold Lion Farm.

(soft music) - Potbelly pigs they're hungry as hippos.

She has one mode, which is she is always hungry.

My background is in product management.

So I've worked in specialty cheese, specialty food from about 15 years.

I was in the shower.

I was looking at this inexpensive body wash.

I looked at the ingredients, didn't understand anything, not one of the words.

So I wrote out the ingredients and spent the day and a half, you know, doing my research on all of the ingredients and to find that was not the safest soap that I could be using for my skin.

So what I did, was I looked up a recipe to make soap, and I found the most old fashioned was gentle soap, but something called egg soap.

It's about 150 year old recipe.

And I happen to have chickens.

And so I took pearls eggs, which were beautiful blue egg.

And I made my first batch of soap for my family.

It was all natural.

And it ended up after curing for about four weeks or so, ended up being the most gentle most pleasant soap.

So at the time I thought it would make great gifts and everyone raved about it.

They all suggested, you know, I think you've got something here.

Why don't you sell these?

And that's really for us, how we got started.

(soft music) - [David] These products perfectly reflect Hannah's personality.

She and her husband Cameron obviously put their heart and soul into this venture.

Chef Cameron in fact is the talented culinary director of the highly acclaimed restaurant Farm Burger, which we'll discover in another episode.

So his attention to detail and presentation is a perfect match for the world of soaps.

(soft music) Yes, many of these subs come straight from this farm with a few extra local and pronounceable ingredients, but she also creates a line of soaps that represent different places in Georgia, that chin Cameron have visited.

The Land of Milk and Honey has ingredients from Georgia goat farms in apian areas in the middle part of the state.

The Hike of Track Rock Gap is filled with ingredients from George's mountains.

And the Sail of Frederica River soap comes packed with ingredients from George's pristine coast.

(soft music) - [Hannah] We use a ground oyster that gives a little bit of friction, a little bit of texture for a hand scrubbing soap.

And then of course we use essential oil of setter.

We use essential oil of eucalyptus and what those two fragrances do together is kind of give you that aroma of the Atlantic Ocean.

- [David] And the line of Georgia based soaps, wouldn't be complete without a soap full of peaches.

- [Hannah] We use Pearson's peaches.

It has a lot of personality.

They have the greatest selection of peaches, and we kind of have learned how to approach other farms, how to experiment and how to keep ingredients extremely simple.

I think for us, simplicity is key.

(upbeat music) - [David] Many varieties of flowers for these soaps successfully grow in the Thompson's backyard garden.

And from these flowers, Gold Lion can provide a variety of bouquets for special events.

(soft music) - [Hannah] This is called a celosia.

So it's got that wonderful almost coral reef type shape, which is extraordinary when you put this in a, like a bridal bouquet or as a centerpiece.

- [David] These flowers and other garden blooms are also a favorite for restaurants all around this region and Metro Atlanta.

- This is amaranth and amaranth is an ancient grain.

What's really magical is the restaurants that like to purchase this, they will heat it up and it pops.

So it actually pops kind of like popcorn and then you'll have a beautiful popped amaranth.

That's has that really rich sort of native grain, much more toasty odie kind of flavor than you would find in a popcorn, but very very unique.

- [David] Many crops that used to grow on this Gold Lion Farm are no longer possible because of one of the local residents.

Of course, that's Poppy who eats their crop creativity as soon as they become edible.

But even with all of the pig on a farm negatives, there's one big plus, mainly for the soul of this place.

Does Poppy have a purpose here other than cuteness?

- Oh my goodness, that's such a good question.

So Poppy is a 15 year commitment for us.

She is our lovely pet.

We're charmed by her.

It has given us more of a farming foundation, you know, to see the creatures interact and to wake up at 6:00 AM and to feed the pig and the and the chickens and kind of be outside and sort of gets the day started in a really special way.

(soft music) - [David] Gold Lion is quickly becoming an important part of business growth in the Jackson community.

They've now opened a store right downtown that offers these soaps along with several other home goods made by local craftsmen from all around the Jackson, Georgia region.

And there's even the Craft school of Jackson where Gold Lion hosts classes on a variety of arts, including weaving, painting, holistic healing, creative writing and of course, soap making with Hannah.

Armed with her stash of Oliver Farms sunflower oil.

- So today, we're going to be making some of Gold Lion Farm's bath bombs.

And what we specialize in really is very simplistic ingredients.

We have a baking soda, a corn starch, a SLS, which is made from coconut oil and then a little bit of citric acid.

Together these make a beautiful, busy bath bomb.

That's very soothing and soft on the skin.

The one thing I like to do with my bath bombs is I like to add essential oils.

So I'm gonna be adding the sunflower oil until I get that consistency that I'd like.

We use Oliver Farm's sunflower oil, not only is this an incredible bath and body product, it's a great culinary oil.

(soft music) First, I'm going to add my essential oil.

So I'm using eucalyptus here.

And then spearmint.

Now you may not know the difference between spearmint and peppermint, but spearmint does not have menthol in it where peppermint does.

So you'll find that peppermint can be overwhelming.

So really don't put peppermint in any of our bath products.

These are some of our flowers from Gold Lion Farm, all organic.

So today we'll be using celosia and celosia is just a fabulous, fabulous little flower.

We'll pack that in.

- [David] All these made the same way one at a time?

- One at a time, everything by hand.

(soft music) And voila, a masterpiece.

So, you know, - They are pretty.

- Yeah, aren't they beautiful?

To me they're like when you go to a great party and they had the little Petit fours, you know, the little beautiful desserts, there's something about the handmade process that just has that level of detail and uniqueness that you wouldn't find when you get all commercially produced bath bomb.

(soft music) - [David] It's an impressive business run by an inspiring couple in a collaborative community where Poppy the pig runs the show, but the Gold Lion soap itself steals the spotlight.

(soft music) So from soaps and oils to farms full of a variety of animals, including happy cows and welfare potbelly pigs, these Georgia families work hard to bring the best of their family farms into your home.

I'm David Zelski see you at the next, A Fork in the Road.

(soft music) (upbeat music) - [Announcer] A Fork in the Road was brought to you by... (soft music) From produce to people.

The best things are grown and raised in Georgia.

(soft music) Even in tough times, we come together, work hard and grow strong.

When you purchase Georgia grown products, you support farmers, families, and this proud state we call home.

Together we will keep Georgia growing.

Georgia FSIS provides efficient and accurate third-party inspecting services to members of the industry.

We inspect various fresh commodities, including peanuts, fruits, vegetables, and pecans.

The use the inspection service ensures the shipment of high quality products and enhances George's reputation as a supplier of superior agricultural products.