CANDOR, N.C. — Jan Williams grew up on a farm. Her first memories were in the fields and orchards. From an early age, Williams was taught the value of hard work and getting back what you put in.
“The farm life is all I really know,” Williams said.
The now 63-year-old still spends almost every day on the farm. Williams owns Kalawi Farm and Ben’s Ice Cream about 50 miles south of Greensboro. The peach farm has developed a great reputation for having some of the best peaches around.
“We will sell around 500,000 to 750,000 pounds of peaches this year,” Williams said.
This year however is certainly unlike any Williams has dealt with. As a farmer, you often deal with heatwaves, hurricanes, or other issues impacting your crops, but a global pandemic is something no one expected.
“We were very nervous about it at the start and definitely didn’t want to spread it to anyone,” Williams said.
Unsure exactly what to do at first Williams simply followed the guidance and suggestions of the CDC and local government agencies. All workers were required to wear masks and social distance if possible. Those picking the peaches wear masks and gloves and stay six feet apart when in the field.
“They (pickers) like to cover up anyway to keep the fuzz off them,” Williams said.
The open-air market has seen a steady flow of customers despite the COVID-19 outbreak. Customers continue to stop by the farm off NC Highway 211.
“It’s actually been just as good as last year for sure, maybe even better because people are more comfortable in the open-air market,” Will Williams said.
Will Williams is Jan’s son and the farm manager. Unlike some other farms in the state that have dealt with an outbreak and had to close for a week or so, no one at Kalawi Farm has become ill.
“Everybody’s wearing a mask and if someone gets too close people back up,” Will Williams said.
The door to the ice cream shop alerts customers to choose to go inside to put on a mask, although there is also a side window allowing you to order without going in.
“If they come inside (and don’t have a mask on) we politely ask them to put it on,” Williams said.
As peach season winds down Kalawi is starting the transition to a corn maze but at this point all the details of how that will work are unclear.