About The Farm
The History
ON FEBRUARY 20, 1876...
Willie B Sims purchased 80 acres of land. She passed the land down to her grandchildren due to her son, Junious Sims, passing away at a early age. Junious had 4 kids to which the land was given and divided between the siblings.
Landy B Sims(Junious Sims son) was born in South Carolina where he grew up and spent most of his life in Dorchester County. Landy maintained his livelihood by engaging in various occupations, including farming and pipelining. Landy purchased over 40 acres of land in Harleyville, SC where he began the cultivation of the Sims tobacco fields.
ON JUNE 30, 1900...
IN 1972, THE LEGACY...
continues as Landy taught his grandsons how to help cultivate the farmland. The Sims brothers, John, Leland and Tyrone Sims, spent summers growing up with their cousins working in the tobacco fields and driving to North Carolina to sell the produce. Present day, the farm is run by the Sims brothers and fourth generation farmer, Johanthan Sims(Landy's Great Grandson).
The Sims Legacy
Our family has owned the land since 1876 and just recently was awarded the Century Farms Award. This award is mainly to recognize those families that owned and operated their farm for over 100 years. Our goal is to preserve our family’s legacy and continue farming. We are very proud that we are able to provide USDA certified produce and jobs for the community. In 2022, we were accepted as one of South Carolina’s Agritourism farms. This allows us not only to showcase our farm to all the visitors, but also increase sales and marketing of our fresh and organic produce. Visitors are able to learn about farming, tour our farm, enjoy lunch at the picnic tables, pick fresh produce and even catch a fish in our family pond. One of the main attractions loved by everyone is feeding our family peacock named Calvin!
To increase our farming and marketing knowledge, we collaborate closely with the Clemson University. During one of the meetings at our farm, the Clemson Extension Agent discovered that we had heirloom garlic grown wild on the farm. With his advice, we have begun to harvest and dry the garlic to plant in the fall, and as a results, we become a local supplier of organic and fresh Heirloom Sims Hardneck Garlic.
Currently we grow many different organic vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, however, for the purpose of this project, we will focus on processing and marketing watermelon, corn, tomatoes, and garlic. Our produce is mostly sold at our farm, local Farmers Markets and through U-Pick. In addition, in 2022, the farm launched an on-site farm stand for customers to purchase produce on weekends.
The goal of this project is to expand our customer base by implementing innovative marketing strategies and maximize the benefits of marketing utilizing social media such as Facebook and Instagram.
The Sims Farms, LLC is a family owned and operated agricultural production business located in Dorchester, SC. Our family has owned the land since 1876 and the 2023 recipient of the Century Farms Award for owning the land and farm for over 100 years. We add value to our crop by growing USDA Certified Organic produce and implementing organic practices to grow fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Fresh from the farm, to your table…the way food should be!
