Ag News
It's strawberry season on Georgia farms
Posted on Apr 16, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Pete Waller, owner of Ottawa Farms outside of Savannah, hosted his annual Strawberry Festival April 12-13. The farm is one of 26 Georgia Farm Bureau Certified Farm Markets statewide that offer you-pick strawberries. / Photo courtesy of Ottawa Farms.
This spring marks 30 years that Chatham County Farm Bureau member Pete Waller has grown strawberries at his Ottawa Farms outside Savannah.
“We started with blueberries in 1975, and then the Chatham County Extension Agent asked me to start growing strawberries. He talked me into planting half an acre for the 1995 season,” Waller recalled. “That was before the Internet and social media. We advertised in the paper and sent out postcards. On opening weekend that year we had enough people come out so that we were picked out. We increased our acreage through the years so that now we plant five acres.”
Waller’s farm is located about 20 minutes west of Savannah in Bloomingdale, Ga., near the Effingham County line. More than 6,000 people attended Ottawa Farms’ annual strawberry festival April 12-13, he said.
“By 10 a.m. on Sunday they had the strawberry patch picked clean,” Waller said.
Ottawa Farms opened its strawberry season this year on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The farm’s season is expected to last to mid-May, Waller said, depending on the weather. Hot temperatures shorten the season.
“When it starts getting hot, a strawberry plant can’t handle high temperatures,” Waller said.
For decades Ottawa farm has participated in the Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) Certified Farm Market program, which connects consumers directly with farmers who sell food they grow on their farms.
Waller is one of 26 GFB Certified Farm Markets that offer you-pick strawberries statewide. Visit https://www.gfb.org/connect/farm-markets to find a farm near you offering strawberries or a variety of other farm-fresh food.
“I’ve been a member of the program for years,” Waller said. “It’s a big help in publicizing our farm.”
GFB’s Certified Farm Markets program features 101 family farms statewide that grow and sell a wide variety of fruit, vegetables, honey, preserves, meat, eggs, flowers, and other products. Many offer agritourism activities.
Visit https://www.gfb.org/connect/passport to learn how you can earn prizes by visiting anywhere from five to all of the farms in the program and getting your Farm Passport stamped through Dec. 31. Farm Passports can be picked up at any of the participating farms or your county Farm Bureau office.
Ottawa Farms offers something for each season
During strawberry season, Ottawa Farms usually averages about 1,400 people a weekend who come from Savannah, surrounding counties and even South Carolina to pick strawberries. The farm offers other seasonal agritourism activities including a giant slide and other rides.
About 10,000 students visit the farm each year on field trips. In the spring they pick strawberries, and in the fall they leave with a pumpkin. All students watch a video produced by Georgia Farm Bureau that provides a broad overview of Georgia agriculture and the many commodities Georgia farmers produce.
“We try to educate kids about where their food comes from and not just entertain them,” Waller said.
Waller also raises Black Angus cattle and sells his farm-raised beef directly to consumers at his farm store. You-pick blueberries and blackberries are available after strawberry season and pumpkins in the fall. Visitors can also buy clover honey collected from hives on the farm.
Ottawa Farms is one of the few remaining farms in Chatham County and has been in the Waller Family since his grandfather bought it in the 1870s.
Waller named Grower of the Year
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Pete Waller, left, accepts the 2024 North Carolina Strawberry Association Grower of the Year Award from NCSA Board Advisor David Dycus./ Photo courtesy of NCSA
The North Carolina Strawberry Association (NCSA) recognized Waller as its 2024 Grower of the Year last November at its annual Southeast Strawberry Expo held in Atlantic Beach, N.C. The annual award is presented to a NCSA grower member who demonstrates excellence in producing strawberries, has strong business success and ethics, and has a selfless commitment to helping others.
“Each year we try to select someone who has been involved in promoting the strawberry industry. I’ve known Mr. Pete for twenty to twenty-five years," said NCSA Board Advisor David Dycus. "He’s served on various grower panels at our annual grower’s conference and is always willing to share his knowledge and growing experience with anyone who asks him about what has and hasn’t worked on his farm.”
Waller is a longtime member of the NCSA, which has more than 360 members from 26 states, including 20 from Georgia, and a few from Canada.
North Carolina ranks third in the U.S. behind California and Florida for fresh market strawberries, according to North Carolina State University Extension.
“It was quite an honor to be selected for the award since the association includes growers from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia,” Waller said. “I joined the North Carolina Strawberry Association because they host a three-day conference that covers strawberry production issues. North Carolina is a big strawberry producer, and they have a lot of knowledge up there.”
In addition to his involvement with the NCSA, Waller is a longtime member of the Chatham County Farm Bureau (CCFB) since at least 1976. He served as a CCFB director for years and as the CCFB vice president from 2010 until last fall when he was elected the CCFB president.
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