Southern SOIL
Small Farm
Spotlight
I n t h is series, g et t o kn o w mo re a b o u t t h e sma ll far m o p era t io n s t h a t a re u sin g su st a in a b le met h o d s t o help meet t h e lo ca l d ema n d f o r f resh f o o d . An d meet the f a rmers t h a t a re ma kin g it h a p p en !
Located in Port Wentworth, The Promised Land
It was during his time overseas that Bob gained an
Farm is owned and farmed by brothers Robert and
appreciation for farmers. In a hurry to get away from
Willie Johnson - better known as Uncle Bob and
farm life, Bob joined the Army and served during the
Uncle Bill, self proclaimed farmers “in training”.
Vietnam War. During his 21 years in the service, Bob
The brothers have a long and complicated relationship with farming. Both spent their boyhood
He began to see farming through a new lens and
growing up and working in the fields with their
to recognize the vital role that farmers play. Once
mother and grandparents. Their father was a truck
he saw farming as the means of putting food on
driver and their grandfather was a sharecropper.
his table and feeding his community, Bob’s attitude
As boys, the two had very different attitudes toward 18
spent time in Vietnam, Korea and Germany.
toward farming changed.
farming - older brother Bill loved working on the
After retirement in 1989, Bob bought the land they
farm and has very fond memories of those early
currently farm. Local history has the land originally
years. On the other hand, Bob hated farming. “I’d be
going to freed slave Roderick Steele who was given
the last one to come into the field and the first one
the land for his service in aid of General Sherman -
to go out,” he recalled.
the fulfilment of the promised 40 acres and a mule.
