A young man named P. V. Jones moved to northern Tift County, to what is now known as Chula, Georgia. The year was 1920 and he was nineteen years old when he had the courage to start a new life. P.V. was from the hill country of Tennessee. He started farming as a sharecropper and also supplemented his income by helping build houses in the winter months.
In 1964 Derris and Larry Jones, P.V.’s sons purchased land in that area and began their farming career.
The hardship year of 1979-1980 saw these young men follow in their father’s footsteps and become entrepreneurs in their own right. The bought a bulldozer and an excavator and began building ponds for extra income.
In the years following, they started or bought other agri-businesses, including peanut buying points and a gas company because they also grew lots of tobacco.
Derris and his wife, Patricia, had two sons, Reid and Derrick. In 1995 they formed a partnership and began their farming career. They started with 300 acres of cotton and still farm about the same acreage. They have approximately 1200 acres in cultivation.
In 1997 Derris and Patricia died as the result of an accident. Reid and Derrick teamed up with their Uncle Larry and they have been farming and investing since.
Reid met Tiffany while they were both attending ABAC, the local agricultural college. Tiffany comes from a third generation farming family in adjoining Berrien County. They have three young children, a daughter, Laura Ann and two sons,Jesse and Case.
Family Photo
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