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Forsyth family stays true to farming heritage
By Therese Allen Vanattla
Staff Writer
When you talk about a dying breed, you
usually mean a species of living things,
like Bengal tigers or another endangered
group. But Forsyth County’s most endan
gered species is not an animal. It is the
farmer.
In a land that was once rich with agri
culture and, in fact, was put on the map
because of it, farmers are now hard to
find.
The Castleberrys of Chestatee, for
instance, a true farm family, are a rare
sight in Forsyth County these days.
Carroll, the eldest Castleberry, inherited
fanning from his father, and has instilled
it in his son, Wade.
Wade in turn has passed the bug on to
his son, Justin.
The three Castleberry men rise early
each day to tend the 350 acres of land
they farm and they do it with pride.
The Castleberrys lose from 15 to 20
acres of the land they farm each year to
Tyson tradition: Employees
share their family favorites
Following are recipes for chicken pre
pared by employees at Tyson’s Food Inc. of
Cumming. The recipes were developed for
a contest sponsored by the Forsyth County
News. Winners will be contacted at a later
date.
Three-Pepper Chicken
Submitted by Llaa Gullmet
4-6 boneless chicken breasts
Jonion
1 of each: green, yellow, red pepper
f jar of Barilla tomato and basil pasta
sauce
1 jar of classico sundried tomato pasta
sauce
Angel hair pasta
Oil
Brown one sliced onion, green/red/yellow
peppers sliced in strips in olive oil.
Remove this and put in a casserole dish
with the two jars of pasta sauce.
Cut-up thicken into 1/2 iftch. pieces.
AfM© WWi W)
development. Although they collectively
own about 140 acres, the majority of their
farmland is leased.
Nevertheless, Justin hopes to one day
farm with his son, Sam. Sam is 13
months old, and Justin fears that unless
he moves, there will be no hope of con
tinuing the long tradition of Castleberry
farmers. The Castleberrys
seem to feel that very little
farmland will remain when
growth stops in Forsyth
County if it ever stops.
Carroll says he receives
calls every other day from
developers who are hungry
for more land to subdivide.
However, he adds that he
has no plans to sell the land that belongs
to him.
The Castleberrys love their work - and
farming is work. They all sat gathered
around as I asked my questions. They
answered each one patiently and with
thoughtful consideration, but they were
Brown chicken in same pan as before. Add
browned chicken to casserole.
Bake in 350° oven for one hour and serve
over angel hair pasta.
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Submitted by Marilu Thomas
1 piece split chicken breast boiled and
deboned
1 10.3 oz. rice-a-roni chicken flavor,
cooked according to package directions
1 3 oz. jar mushrooms (drained)
1 10-3/4 oz. cream of chicken soup
(cooked according to directions)
1/2 bunch of broccoli steamed until tender
6 oz, mild cheddar cheese •
Preheat over to 350°. In a9x 13 casserole
dish, layer rice then sprinkle chicken, mush
rooms, broccoli, cheese and pour half of soup
over mixture. Repeat ending with soup.
Garnish with cheese and bake 30 minutes.
See RECIPES, Page 2C
A Special Section of The l oi\\ ih Counix New s Sept. 16. 1999
waiting for me to be done. Their work is
never finished on the farm.
Their lives are traditional. They rise
early and meet at grandfather’s house for
breakfast which is, of course, prepared by
Mrs. Florene Castleberry, who also does
her fair share of work around the farm.
Most importantly, Florene keeps the men
66
The Castleberrys
love their work -
and farming is
work...
AgFirst. Florene
says sometimes his agenda leaves she,
Wade and Justin with a lot of the farm
work.
Justin, 24, could have chosen a number
of more lucrative and less demanding
careers. He says he chose farming
because he likes being outside, and being
Salute to
in line, for which
she had much prac
tice with her 30
years’ experience as
a teacher.
Carroll is very
active with farming
organizations such
as Farm Bureau and
___________________________ — „___ —
Photc/Laura Lavczzo Carrico
Tyson employee Lisa Guilmefs recipe for "Three Pepper Chicken” blends flavors of tart tomato, soothing basil
and tangy peppers for a delicious combination over pasta. ’ 4
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able to do something different each day.
While farming was prevalent in Forsyth
County during his father’s youth, Justin
saw the decline firsthand.
During his high school years, Justin
took agricultural classes and was a mem
ber of Future Farmers of America. He
says only five or six kids in his class actu
ally lived on working farms at the time,
though. His grandma says he is a huge
help on the farm, reliable and not inclined
to complain, even when hay baling keeps
him out past dark.
Besides, Justin has seen quite a few
beautiful sunsets while baling hay.
Wade expressed his concern over the
slow fade-out of the farmer.
“I don’t think people realize that we
have the cheapest food supply of any
country in the world,” he said, adding that
as farming continues to decline, “We
probably won’t always enjoy the privilege
of having cheap food, and an abundance
of it.”
The Castleberrys concede that there is
The Castleberry family has
made a living in the agricul
ture industry for generations.
From left, front, Wade and
Carroll Castleberry on their
family farm, with Justin
Castleberry on top of the hay
stacks.
Photo/Tom Brooks
nothing to be done about the decline of
farming in Forsyth County because
growth is too far gone. In fact, Wade is a
member of the Farm Service Agency that
now holds its meeting in Hall County,
because of the decline in agriculture in
Forsyth County. This agency meets to
discuss issues such as drought relief.
The Castleberrys raise poultry and cattle
and they also grow grain on their farm.
They say if their land mass gets smaller,
they may look at other areas of farming.
They all agree that farming is not away
to get rich.
They all have a love for the land and
what they do.
“It’s the beauty of nature,” Wade says.
Sowing seeds and watching them turn to
a field of grain, knowing that you did it
with your own two hands, the feeling that
you have accomplished something worth
while - these are the things that keep the
Castleberrys going, and the things they
say inspire others like them to do the
same thing.
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