This ongoing series on Cross Road Farms aims to highlight one of Emanuel County’s biggest industries—agriculture. The Chronicle’s Savannah Ann Harkins will follow Cross Road Farms throughout this calendar year with stories to connect consumer and farmer in a more personal way with a look inside what it takes to produce goods, the successes and struggles of farming, and how consumers can help.
Emanuel County and surrounding areas are covered with vast fields of crop produced by some of our own. Spring is coming, and most are getting ready for the new planting season.
Carson Cross, a Midville resident and full-time farmer, is well known for his success in the farming industry. Throughout the year, Cross produces a wide variety of crops while only employing four.
The drive to grow and produce crops has always been a goal for Cross. “I was raised on a farm, and always loved farming to see things that I planted grow,” said Cross.
When Cross first started to farm on his own, he made sure that he started small. After a while, he soon was able to produce an ample number of crops year by year.
Carson Cross is married to his loving wife, Francés Cross. They are blessed with three successful children: Chandler, who is a full-time student at Georgia Southern University; Carson, who graduated from the University of Georgia, where he studied agriculture; and Nena, who is a physical therapist at Candler Hospital in Savannah.
Cross has planted the seeds for a new generation of farmers even in his sons. Immediately after his graduation, Carson decided to farm alongside his father on their family farm, Cross Road Farms.
During the production months, Cross Road Farms produces fields of cotton, corn, peanuts, wheat, rye, oats, and raises beef cattle. Cross produces a large amount of these crops by the end of the year.
In just 2020, he produced 800 pounds of cotton, 4500 pounds of peanuts, and 190 bushels of corn. Cross looks forward to the planting season. “My favorite season is spring because that means I’m getting ready to plant,” Cross adds.
The trials and tribulations of farming sometimes dawn on Cross, but his experience of many years helps him persevere. Challenges such as weather, insects, expenses, and politics can be the challenges of his dream occupation.
You can help farmers everyday as a consuming citizen. Cross stresses the importance of having knowledge of what farmers do to help their communities. “Citizens can help farmers by understanding that the farmer produces not only what they eat, but what they wear,” said Cross.