Feed & Seed

In May I went to Maddox Feed & Seed in Jefferson, Georgia to interview the proprietors about how rising fuel costs, the price of corn, and the ongoing drought were affecting business. I spent two hours inside, gathered my quotes, and wrote an article for the newspaper. However, I could have grabbed a chair and stayed there all week. A feed-and-seed and farm supply store is a goldmine of decent people and good talk. Everybody who walks in has a story that'll make your hackles stand up and is ready to tell it. Unfortunately, I wonder how much longer places like Maddox will survive in North Georgia. Maddox itself is in a precarious position on the south end of Jefferson, as that part of the county is rapidly suburbanizing and pushing out its farmers.

The following is an assortment of quotations from the owner and her son, Caleb. Each is speaking to the worst case scenario of rising fuel and feed prices and an intensifying drought:

• “There's people been giving away horses.”
• “Drought, [no] hay, fuel, corn—what's going to happen next year?”
• “Despite what people think, we're not making a dollar a bag on a bag of corn.”
• “You can't find any hogs right now.”
• “Fertilizer is up 30-40 percent.”
• “The fertilizer companies have decided they're going to make money because the farmers [with corn] are going to make money.”
• “There's a lot of fields that were planted last year that are idle this year.”
• “The only end that's really making any money is the fuel end of stuff.”