Here we stand, the third and fourth generations of family farmers, graciously accepting the task of continuing excellent stewardship of our land, a privilege we don’t take lightly.
Our Story
It all began with a man we lovingly call Pop Pop, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. At the turn of the twentieth century, he began growing tomatoes and potatoes, along with a few strawberries and ears of corn, on land that our relatives still farm today. Fast forward to the mid-twentieth century when his youngest son, Billy (aka Big Bill), made the bold move to central Florida from Virginia and began leasing farmland to start his own operation.
He turned his small, leased vegetable farm into one of the highest-yielding farms of sweet corn, carrots and radishes in the Sunshine State. He met his beautiful bride, Bobbie (aka the Queen of Ag), and together they had three children who worked alongside them. When the Lake Apopka Restoration Act was passed by the state, it forced their vegetable farm to close at the end of the twentieth century. When one door closes another opens – the opportunity to begin a new farm in the hills of Clermont presented itself, and thus Southern Hill Farms was born.
Southern Hill Farms
Billy’s son-in-law and daughter, David and Lisa (aka Papa and LiLi to their adoring grandchildren), began farming ornamental trees off Schofield Road at the start of the twenty-first century. Boasting some of the highest quality landscape trees in the state, they began planting the blueberry fields with their oldest son to diversify and utilize all available farmland in 2010. They commercially harvested the blueberries until 2014 when they decided to open the farm for their community to enjoy. Southern Hill Farms has now become a destination within Clermont and the Greater Orlando area with a little elbow grease, tons of hard work and heaps of love, support, and encouragement from their neighbors. They now work alongside their family, and many others they consider family, at their beautiful farm off a little dirt road in Lake County.
Our Mission
Farming and agriculture, it’s in our blood. We strive to provide our community, and people all over the world, with the freshest, highest quality fruit available. We believe time on the farm is time well spent, and we want Southern Hill Farms to be a place for our community to make memories that will last a lifetime. It’s a gift to teach our neighbors where their food comes from, who grows it, and that sometimes fresh air and a little sunshine just might be all you need to revitalize the spirit. We want to make healthy eating simple, but most importantly we want to give you the chance to know your local farm and love your local farmer.