Ford tractor and hereford cows — Tractors and cows on Payne Mountain Farms

About Payne Mountain Farms

Payne Mountain Farms is a family-owned farm that has been passed down from generation to generation for over two hundred years. During that time, the farm has produced corn, grains, soybeans, hay, vegetables, and a variety of other agricultural products.

The farm also raised lots of animals including cattle, hogs, mules, oxen, sheep, and chickens. At one time, the Payne chicken houses were famous for the quality of their hatching eggs. Virginia and Ernest Payne's eggs were sold around the globe to breeders and poultry farmers.

Daisies growing beside a dirt road — Payne Mountain Farms is located in the mountains of north Georgia

Making a living by farmsteading

We currently sell a few products including rough-cut lumber, seasoned firewood, heirloom corn seeds, medicinal herbs, wild-harvested yellowroot, and one-of-a-kind crafts. Tony also raises Hereford cattle which he sells at regional livestock auction barns.

You can buy our yellowroot here.

Located in Georgia's Chattahoochee National Forest

Payne Mountain Farms is located in the southern part of the Appalachian Mountains off Highway 515 between Blairsville and Blue Ridge, Georgia in Union County.

Surrounded by the Chattahoochee National Forest, we live near fast-flowing rivers, creeks, waterfalls, lakes, and streams. Besides our farm animals and pets, there is a variety of wild creatures, too. Bears and panthers are rare, but we do see lots of deer, rabbits, possums, ground hogs, raccoons, foxes, skunks, and birds.

Our weather and the farm chores change every season.

Spring is the most hectic time with plowing, planting, and spring cleaning. Even though we stay busy, we take time to enjoy the beauty of the season. Spring flowers, budding fruit trees, and new grass is a feast for the eyes after a dreary winter.

Summer comes next. Gardening, weeding, fighting bugs, canning, gathering herbs, bush-hogging the pastures, mowing grass, and getting up hay keep us running. There is always something to do. Here in Georgia, the heat and humidity in late August becomes oppressive. When that happens, we work on things that can be done in the shade like home repairs and fixing old equipment.

Tony and Janice at the farm — Tony and Janice on Payne Mountain Farms in Blairsville, Georgia

Then there is fall. Glorious fall when the harvest is over and the air cools down. What a relief. But of course there is no rest for the farmer. Wood needs chopping, there is kindling to gather, and bedding to replace in the barns. We also clean and mulch the gardens and perennial beds before freezing weather sets in.

Winter comes, and things slow down a little, but over fifty hungry mouths are expecting feed and water twice a day! Farming is not easy, but if you like this way of life, it is very rewarding.

Tony specializes in raising Hereford cattle.

Nowadays, Tony keeps an average of about fifteen cows, ten calves, and a bull.

When the calves are around 600 pounds and close to breeding age, we send these “teenagers” to a livestock auction.

The momma cows never leave the farm and are allowed to live out their lives in our peaceful, green pastures. The bull gets to stay as long as he does his job of keeping the cows happy. We treat our livestock and pets like family!

Like stepping back in time

Tony has lived here all his life but I didn't arrive on the farm until 2001. Even though I had been living in the mountains for twenty years, the farm was a cultural shock.

When you turn off the paved road, it looks like you are heading into the boonies. For one thing, the driveway is almost a mile long and full of gullies and ruts. Then there's the farm house which was built around 1900. It is small, but cozy and comfortable. We wouldn't have it any other way.

The whole farm looks like you have stepped back in time a hundred years.

I took a few months to adjust, but soon found the farm to be the most peaceful and private place I had ever known. Payne Mountain Farms became my home, and I began to put down roots.

Tony welcomed me to Payne Mountain Farms back in 2001, and now I am welcoming you!

If you are interested in learning more about our lives on Payne Mountain Farms, then keep on reading.

Thanks so much for reading our blog!

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To purchase heirloom corn seed, yellowroot, and other herbs, visit Every Green Herb (our herbal encyclopedia and online store).

Payne Mountain Farms
322 EV Farm Dr.
Blairsville, GA 30512 USA

This post contains original photos, text, and other content by Janice Boling. If stock photos are used, credits are given. Sources are also listed when applicable.