SINCE 1897, DICKEY Farms has been
producing high quality peaches. Today,
Robert Lee Dickey II (“Mr. Bob”), Robert Lee
Dickey III (“Robert”), and Robert L. Dickey
IV (“Lee”) combine their skills to carry on
the farming legacy of growing the tastiest
peaches in the south. Calling on deep
family experience, they are planting year-round, inspecting every detail. This multi-generational experience makes them some
of the most knowledgeable and skilled
growers in the industry. And they love what
they do.
All during his growing up years, Robert
worked on the farm part-time. After graduating from high school, his father urged
him to pursue a business degree, saying
that he could always teach him more about
the land, but that mastering the economics
of agriculture would be of key importance
to the future. So Robert earned his degree
in 1977 in Finance from the University of
Georgia, thinking perhaps he might enter
the banking industry. Fortunately, for the
long-term prospects of Dickey Farms, those
jobs were scarce, and Dickey returned home,
armed with educational tools that would
prove to be innovative and expansive.
One profitable initiative was Robert’s
idea to offer packing services to neighboring farmers, a decision that not only met
their needs but utilized in a maximum way
their packinghouse facility and generated
additional income. “We’ve since more than
quadrupled our volume,” he notes. “Forty
years ago we were packing about 75,000
packages a year and this year
we expect to pack around
400,000 half-bushel boxes.”
Thirty different varieties of
peaches are grown on Dickey
Farms from early May through
late August. The primary types
are Clingstone, Semi-Free, and
Freestone. The Clingstone are
the first peaches of the season
to be harvested, typically
ripening around the second week of May.
Semi-Free peaches, a newer variety, are the
second peaches of the season to be harvested and typically ripen around the first week
of June and finish by June 20. They are a
hybrid peach fused between the Clingstone
and the Freestone. Freestone peaches are
the last and most widely anticipated of the
season, characterized by their hallmark juiciness and sweet flavor. Freestone peaches
have the longest run, spanning from early
to mid-June through August.
Dickey Farms sells primarily to Genuine
Georgia Group, a sales and marketing
firm with a solid foundation in the peach
growing industry. Dickey Farms yields are:
218 bushels/acre of peaches on 890 acres;
10,000 pounds/acre of strawberries on two
acres, and has 2,200 acres of varied timber
as well as 100 pecan trees. Their orchards
are spread out over 1,000 acres of land in
several counties with over 100,000 peach
trees — all to ensure that they’re growing
the very best fruit.
Over the last five to ten years, Dickey
Farms has expanded into the agritourism
business, applying great ideas from all
members of the family. They use the space
of a generations-old wooden packinghouse
and a general store where ripe peaches and
peach ice cream can be savored by tourists,
local school groups, and general passersby.
Many visitors also come to pick strawber-
ries and vegetables when they’re in season.
“It’s brought in consistent return for us, but
beyond that, we’ve enjoyed some wonder-
ful, meaningful interaction with people from
far and wide, particularly church, senior, and
hobby groups,” says Dickey.
Dickey is quick to acknowledge the
immense contribution his wife of forty-one
years makes to their enterprise. “Cynde is
the farm’s chief financial officer and started
the retail and mail-order business a couple
of decades ago. Now, with the expertise of
our children and daughter-in-law and the
website they’ve developed, the online sales
are booming. And people come from all over
Georgia and many other states to tour our
farm, sample our peaches, and purchase
our homemade general store products (“Mr.
66 Sunbelt Expo 2019 Farm Press
FARMER OF THE YEAR
ROBERT
L. DICKEY
GEORGIA
Cynde and Robert Dickey.