Written by Emily Glaser | Photos by Anthony Harden
The Latest Generation of Hickory Nut Gap Farmers Carries on the Family Legacy Through Modern Ventures
Ruddy faced, apple cheeked, and constitutionally jovial, Jamie Ager is lacking only the archetypal overalls and a chewed sheath of wheat tucked between his teeth to complete the vision of the prototypical farmer.
He runs his hands across the plumes and panicles of early summer grasses which dance to the swishing tune of the their own strings, plucked by a June breeze, and the gentle cluck of grazing chickens behind him. “This is ideal pasture,” Jamie says, his gesture sweeping across the acreage. He points out varietals in the sea of knee-high green—brome, ryegrass, crabgrass, yellow dock—and, as if on cue, plucks a shoot and tucks its damp tip between his lips.
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