When they first tried expanding pepper production into Mexico, Kent and his team encountered significant challenges with viruses and diseases that made it difficult to grow both hot and sweet peppers there. As a result, they recently shifted their focus to Florida, where last winter they successfully cultivated hot peppers and sweet corn.
“ That worked really well, and this year we’ re going to grow other items like cucumbers, squash and eggplant,” he said.
With spring and fall covered in Georgia and Florida, and Mexico handling the winter window, one gap remained – the steamy heart of summer. After scouting Michigan and finding unsuitable plots, Kent learned of a father-son tomato operation perched at 2,500 feet above Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“ We farm there in the summertime – that’ s about as far south as you can harvest vegetables through the summer, but it’ s only a six-hour drive for us,” Kent said.“ So, we built a packing house and ship out of there [ during the hotter months ].”
None of these strides would have taken root without the Hamilton family’ s collective effort. His eldest daughter, Courtney Hamilton-Griffin, wears many hats as director of operations support, handling human resources and credit management. His son Austin serves as director of agriculture, overseeing soil fertility and transplant scheduling across all locations, ensuring what enters the packing shed meets exacting standards. Presley, the youngest
son, handles tractor and truck maintenance, oversees purchasing, and manages the Georgia packing house. Cousins Jon and Dug Schwalls serve as the executive officer and director of business development and marketing, respectively.
Kent described his wife Pam as the cornerstone of their family and said her impact on the farm’ s culture and values has been profound. In the early years, she played a crucial role in caring for their four children, managing their needs when work kept him away.
“ There were a lot of nights I came in after the kids had gone to bed, and then I would get up and go to work in the morning before they got up,” he explained.
Kent went on to say that even though Pam didn’ t have a formal position in the farm’ s opera-
24 MoultrieScene OCTOBER 2025