Foster Brady Farm

The land that is Foster Brady Farm began as a family farm practicing conventional agriculture from 1860 - mid 1900s. Tilling, chemical application, disregard of waterways, and over-grazed pastures were common practices during that era. In the late 1900s to early 2000s, as the Foster-Brady family members pursued careers outside of agriculture and farming became a side job, much of this cropland transitioned to Loblolly Pine silviculture. Some of the pastures continued to be used for conventional beef cattle production and other pastures converted to managed dove fields and wildlife food plots for hunting. The transition to sustainable land management began in 2009, when fifth generation farmer and his wife, Clay and Paula, switched the 400 square foot family garden to organic practices. The leftover 7-Dust and other chemical fertilizers and pesticides were taken to the local hazardous waste facility while compost, fish emulsion, and bug-squishing by hand were put to use. Clay also began the lifelong project of cleaning the acres of woodland on the family land. His predecessors deposited trash and broken farm equipment into the eroded ephemeral and intermittent streams, or “gullies” and “washes”. They sold their overage of heirloom tomatoes to local restaurants, and demand quickly outgrew the family garden. Clay began converting six acres of fallow dove field to sustainable vegetable production. Transitioning the dove field to organic vegetable plots was a laborious endeavor. The first plots were irrigated by a gravity fed system consisting of large plastic cubes that had to be filled from a distant well on the farm. In 2011 Clay became a full time farmer, and together with his parents, Cheryl and Hal, applied for several grants through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) that allowed them to expand production and combat invasive species on the property such as privet. These grants assisted with installation of a well and micro-irrigation in 2011 along with the 20-fold expansion of the propagation house. Since its construction, a portion of the propagation house has been dedicated to the production of native plants for pollinator habitat and ecosystem restoration. Incorporating native plants such as Chickasaw Plum, Muscadines, Blackberries, Common Persimmon, Purple Coneflower, Milkweed, and Bee Balm provide commodities in addition to habitat for beneficial insects, which helps to secure the amazing biodiversity of Georgia. Meanwhile non-native landscapes that incorporate showy plants like Crepe Myrtle and Butterfly Bush actually lower biodiversity and provide few benefits beyond aesthetics. Bat houses are also installed throughout the village and garden. It’s a win for the bats as urbanization has decreased habitat availability in the wild. But it’s also a big win for the garden, as these mammals are voracious insect eaters. Check out thiscool videoby Georgia Department of Natural Resources filmed on Foster Brady Farm! The farm continued to grow and expanded into year-round vegetable production with the installation of the first hoop house in 2012. And in February, after a mandatory three year lapse from conventional, non-sustainable farming practices, Clay successfully certified the organic fruit and vegetable garden through Certified Naturally Grown(CNG), a grass roots alternative to USDA Organic certification. The farm had another growth spurt in 2018. With the addition of mushrooms and laying hens, the farm now includes proteins with its offerings of organic products. The lease of the conventional cattle farmer also ended that January, bringing 18 acres of pasture in line for CNG certification. Three of these acres are ear-marked for orchard and the remainder are to be managed as pasture for chickens and additional livestock rotation. The laying hens are housed in mobile coops. The first was built from a retired cotton wagon and other materials salvaged from around the farm. The chickens are moved around the garden