Titan Farms in South Carolina Grows Peaches – and an Agricultural Legacy

Titan Farms

Western South Carolina provides fertile ground for those looking to start a new business. For Chalmers Carr, co-founder of Titan Farms, Ridge Spring has been the perfect home for his farming operation that has grown exponentially over the past 30 years. This labor of love has been a group effort by Carr, his wife, Lori Anne, and an extensive work family who have dedicated decades of their lives to the company. 

Humble Roots

As a first-generation farmer, Carr worked his way up from spending summers working on farms to owning his own farm in Florida to eventually pursuing a degree in agricultural economics from Clemson University, where he combined his passions for management and farming. 

“Farm management was something I always wanted to do,” he says. “I was more of a personnel manager before I was a farmer. What I fell in love with was the tilling of the soil and growing plants.” 

In 1995, Carr began to lease the land that eventually became Titan Farms after the previous owner retired. After leasing the land for several years, Carr and his family purchased the farm in 2001, when it was only 1,500 acres of peaches. Over the next 25 years, Titan Farms peaches grew to over 6,000 acres, plus 1,000 acres of additional produce, including broccoli and bell peppers. 

The farm has its own processing facility, Palmetto Processing Solutions, and recently began an agritourism venture called Sara’s Farm Adventure in Trenton. Agritourism has been an exciting new way for Titan Farms to engage with the community and add an educational component to its mission. 

“That’s pretty exciting to have in the area and just another kind of development of our business,” Carr says. “We’ve grown over the years, and it’s a wonderful way to interact with the community.” 

Carr counts himself lucky to have worked alongside his wife, who is co-owner of Titan Farms, and his father, who managed the packing shed for many years and still serves as an adviser. Yet, Carr also includes the many employees who work with him as part of his family, some of whom have been there since the beginning. 

“The success of this company has been based on the great, talented people who are very passionate about doing the same thing,” Carr says. “It is one big family farm, and we call it that.” 

Titan Farms

Community Support

For Carr, Ridge Spring has been an ideal location to grow a business, thanks to support from the state and community as well as transportation infrastructure. With access to I-26 and I-20, the farm transports about 4,000 tractor-trailer loads of product each year and recently expanded its freezing facility, thanks to an economic development grant from the state. 

Carr recommends that entrepreneurs take advantage of everything the area has to offer, from the Edgefield County Extension Office to the South Carolina Small Business Administration. The Ridge Spring community has also offered invaluable support over the years. 

“The community understands that sometimes, you’re going to get behind a tractor that’s going 20 miles an hour,” Carr says. “I have felt very supported by the community, and we really try to make sure that they feel a part of the company, as well.” 

Each year, shortly before harvest season, the thousands of acres of peach trees at Titan Farms erupt with pink blossoms. For Carr, harvest season is the reward for all the hard work throughout the year. 

Over nearly 30 years, he has seen his company grow from a farm of 1,500 acres to a vertically integrated company with a CEO, president and board of advisers. Carr says he encourages new business owners to be clear on their values and maintain a mutual respect for the outstanding community they call home. 

“Be passionate about what you do,” Carr says. “Be sure that you put quality first and customer service first. The type of people who live here – they love to be respected, they love to be treated well and they’re very loyal. If you give them the first two, they’ll be very loyal to you in response. I think that speaks to the character of the community.”  

Find Titan Farms peaches and more by visiting TitanFarms.com.