Sustainable Agriculture

Coosaw Farms deeply cares about the future. We always have. As a family business, our daily decisions always include consideration of our environmental, economic, and social responsibilities. It's just part of successful farming. Sustainability, in and of itself is an ever-evolving process of continuous improvement with a respectful eye on tomorrow. Matters that are important to you, are equally important to us. The following outlines some of the ways we practice sustainability today, that respect the needs of our shared 'tomorrow'.

Diversification of Crops

(Blueberries, Watermelon, Cabbage, Broccoli, Green Peanuts, & Grains)

Crop diversity helps spread economic risk, therefore enabling better financial stability amidst the high levels of risk that are a constant in farming.

Annual Crop Rotation

(Watermelon, Cabbage, Broccoli, Peanuts, Grains, Sorghum, & Vetch)

Crop rotation helps suppress weeds, pathogens, and insect pests; particularly critical for watermelons.
Cover crops have stabilizing effects on the agroecosystem by holding soil and nutrients in place, conserving soil moisture and soil water holding capacity.
We carefully select certain cover crop species to contribute a natural protection against soil-born diseases while also depositing valuable natural minerals. This reduces the need for both chemical inputs and costly manufactured fertilizers, therefore benefitting both the consumer and the environment.

Precision-based Soil, Water, and Nutrient Management

We farm on the principle that healthy, vigorous plants are less susceptible to diseases and pests, therefore reducing the need for chemical inputs. This benefits both the consumer and the environment.
Soil sampling analysis enables 'just the right amount' of preplant soil inputs, reducing wasteful applications.
Soil-based water monitoring systems and controlled drip irrigation technology enable us to deploy 'just the right amount' of water with benefits of both plant vigor and water conservation.
Weekly plant tissue analysis enables us to apply 'just the right amount' of plant nutrient replenishment, reducing wasteful fertilization while maintaining healthy plants and optimal quality for harvest.

Embracing Innovation & Research

We are in constant collaboration with researchers, including ongoing on-farm research with Clemson University in discovering improved growing methodologies and conservation.
We support summer internship programs with Clemson University's Ag Colleges.
Our company culture embraces advancing technologies (we even invent them) and makes annual investments back into the company for continuous improvement and deployment of smart innovation for cost savings, efficiency, and improved crop quality.

Valuing our Employees

Utmost integrity in HR management includes documentation verification on all of our employees, exceptional provisions for seasonal workers, and an Open Door Policy where all employees enjoy access to company owners for addressing any issue, at any time.
We are constantly thinking out-of-the-box for innovations in ergonomic aids for harvesting and packing.

We developed a watermelon harvest aid to reduce harvest time, physical fatigue, and susceptibility to heat stress in the field.
Our unique watermelon packing line enables handling of melons only once, therefore improving product quality, food safety, and significantly reducing physical strain on our employees.

Continuous farm, field and food safety training ensures a team-based culture of safety, quality, and growing excellence.

Supporting our Local Community

At Coosaw Farms, we believe sustainable farming operations also need sustainable local communities.

To build a more viable future we exercise targeted philanthropic work that concentrates on building firm foundations in struggling adolescents to make good decisions toward a positive, productive, responsible career path, fighting the cycles of crime, unemployment, and poverty where we operate.

We work with local state workforce agencies to support local hiring and recruiting.
We use local suppliers, vendors, and professionals to help keep dollars flowing in the community.
We work with community leaders on projects to improve the local economy and faith-based organizations in local community outreach.

Recycling & Conservation

Coosaw Farms has an active recycling program throughout the farm, packinghouse, and office that includes plastics, metal, packaging, and office paper.
Coosaw Farms carefully levels its fields to a degreed plane before crop cultivation and follows with GPS technology to build and shape precise rows. This enables optimal drainage and the capability for rain water recapture through channeled flow.
Carefully planned networks of ditches and trenches capture water used in frost protection for our blueberries while also establishing reservoirs for collecting rain water throughout the year.

Protecting the Consumer

We exercise active implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), SOPs, and SSOPs for effective and accountable Food Safety, traceability, and COOL.

Every Coosaw Farms watermelon is washed and sanitized.
Crop inputs are carefully selected and always applied according to label.
Employees are taught to always observe good hygiene practices.
COOL compliance and traceability is documented and practiced.

As a family farm, passion and compassion are deeply rooted in our philosophy. Sustainability surrounds all that we do every day. We take immense pride in our occupational calling to be responsible stewards of the land. You can always be sure every bite of Coosaw's fresh produce encapsulates hours of thoughtful hard work, purposed dedication to the intricacies in every step, and a commitment that drives us to always be about 'growing excellence'.