Hickory Meadows Organics/Fishing Creek Ag Corporation: A Family Operation
Peyton McDaniel’s operation—Hickory Meadows Organics/Fishing Creek Ag Corporation—hails from Whitakers, NC. Peyton, alongside his brother and cousin evolved their operation from supporting one family to three. Specializing in a variety of crops, mainly tobacco and several varieties of squash, they ship their products across the United States. With each family member being involved in a different facet of the business, this is a family affair.
Having grown up around the farming business, Peyton knew that after graduating from NC State University, he wanted to return home and expand upon his family business. His reasoning for his decision to return to the farm was simple: “I love farming; I love just getting up every day and coming to work-- working for myself. For me it’s a new challenge every day and even more so, I love helping others and getting the chance to feed others. What is better than that?”
Peyton loves what he does for a living. Making it all the sweeter is the ability to work with family and friends. One of those relationships is with Ripe Revival, a business creating practical, creative solutions to connect farmers, distributors, nonprofits and communities. Peyton appreciates that it is “awesome to be able to work with someone whose job is literally feeding others in need.”
To Peyton, the importance of supporting local farmers comes down to traceability and community. “Now more than ever it is important people not only understand where their food comes from, but also understanding that buying local supports our communities. Think about it, when you spend your money locally that in turn allows us to spend our money locally, which soon improves our communities through schools, local taxes and more.”
The value Peyton puts on community and relationships goes beyond his business or consumers but extends to his preferred lender—AgCarolina. “Believe me, it is such a nice thing to have a lender that really understands how the ag business works. Sometimes things happen; weather is really bad or maybe a dry season. It’s nice to know AgCarolina has your back through it all,” Peyton stated.
Agriculture is often more than just feeding people’s physical bodies, but as Peyton has discovered is about feeding partnerships and friendships. At the end of the day, it’s about connecting with others whether that’s other farmers, consumers, or even your lender.
