SAVANNAH, GA – Joe Watson, co-owner of Monetta, SC’s Jerrold A. Watson & Sons, has won the 2018 Mr. Peach award. Watson was recognized at the Jan. 10-13 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference for his multigeneration family farming operation on South Carolina’s Ridge growing region.
Leaders of the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) and South Carolina Peach Council honored individuals in their home settings who received national recognition.
Founded in 1918, Watson & Sons, which markets through the Watsonia brand, grows conventional and organic fruits and vegetables, including peaches as well as Southern vegetables, broccoli, leafy greens, cabbage, green beans, nectarines, strawberries and Muscadine grapes.
“This gentleman has made a lot of difference in peaches, not only in South Carolina, but throughout the Southeast,” says Kyle Tisdale, marketing specialist with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, paid tribute to the family farming operation. “If it wasn’t for the Watsons and Watsonia, there wouldn’t be peaches on the Ridge.”
Watson, who runs the operation with his son Jeph and brother Jerry, told how his grandfather, Joe Watson, helped encourage Ridge growers to diversify into peaches after the failures of cotton and asparagus in the early 20th century. The Ridge area was once known as the asparagus capital of the world. “Thank you and God bless the Queen of Fruit (peaches) for the next 100 years,” he says.
Southeastern winners of Produce Business’ 2018 40-Under-40 award, which include Troy Bland of Bland Farms, Lauren Dees of Generation Farms, and Brandon Parker of Shuman Produce, also were recognized.
Other individuals honored include Drew Echols, owner of Jaemor Farms, in Alto, GA, and Beth Oleson, director of education and food safety and director of the GFVGA’s Produce Food Safety Services. Echols was noted for transforming his farming operation from a farm stand to a commercial shipper of apples and peaches. Oleson was honored for being the industry’s “go-to” person on food safety.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture also was recognized by the Association of Food and Drug Officials for its food safety efforts. “The Georgia Department of Agriculture has made tremendous strides in building a high-quality program,” noted the award.