Power of Community: Wicksburg’s C&B Farm & Produce Market Is Rooted in Family, Tradition

On a sunny summer day at C&B Farm and Produce Market in Wicksburg, Ludell Edmonson might be inside hand-shelling peas after a surprisingly good harvest. Nearby, Linda Edmonson — widow of the late Charlie Edmonson, the “C” in C&B — is probably chatting up customers, asking them about their day while they shop the fresh fruits and vegetables on display. Bobby Edmonson — the “B” in C&B — could be at the farm tending to tasks like fixing a tractor, gathering fresh tomatoes or blueberries to take to the market, or defrosting a cooler at the store.

The market is open year-round, with summer being the busiest season for this family-run farm and produce business — and that means there’s always something to do.

“I’ve been in the farming and produce business all my life,” Bobby says. “I started this with my brother in 1972. My brother Charlie passed away in 2020, but we built this together.”

It Started With Melons

For decades, the brothers row-cropped rented land, raising cotton, peanuts, soybeans, and corn. Then they tried watermelons — harkening back to the days of their youth when they would sell tomatoes and watermelons around Slocomb and Hartford. The fruit was profitable, despite having to be hauled around to markets in Birmingham.

That is, until those markets became saturated with melons in 2000.

“So I brought them back here and sold them straight to the public,” Bobby says. Out of a pickup truck and trailer, he and his brother hawked melons on the side of the road. Bobby estimates they sold 300 on their first day, making a pretty penny. They wanted to do more of it. So, they diversified.

They started growing peas, butterbeans, peaches, tomatoes, cantaloupes, potatoes, squash, cucumbers, turnips, blackberries, sweet corn, okra, peppers, and more. And that’s how C&B Farm and Produce Market began.

On the corner where their farmland abuts Highway 84, where their farmland abuts, the same spot where they first started selling their melons, they set up a produce stand and later built a small building to front their new venture.

“It’s good for our farm and good for moving our produce, not having to go off and sell it to other places,” Bobby says. “It helps the customers, too, because we can sell it at a cheaper price cause it’s fewer people handling the produce. Every time it changes hands, the price goes up.”

From Field to Market

Now, the Edmonson family manages a smaller farm, sharecropping over 250 acres with other local farmers for their peanut and cotton production, while independently managing 40 acres for fruits and vegetables. This arrangement provides their business with stability. While there’s often only 1 chance to produce a peanut or cotton crop, there are more opportunities to produce.

“Like these peas right here we’re shelling, they made a good crop,” Linda says. “We thought they’d dried up and died, but it started raining. This is the second crop. We were totally shocked.”

Bobby adds, “And they’re still making more.”

A Way of Life

The Edmonsons’ roots in agriculture run deep. Bobby, Charlie, and their 5 siblings grew up working their grandfather’s farm. Their great-grandfather was a farmer, too. And Bobby and his siblings kept up the tradition with their kids and grandkids. 1 of his grandsons, who’s worked alongside Bobby on the farm since he was 4, is now “beating the bush” every day, Bobby says.

When Bobby is asked if he ever considered a different career path, he swiftly responds, “Nope. I wouldn’t change it for nothing.”

Farming is a tough life requiring hard work. There are also many challenges, like unpredictable weather, market fluctuations, and changing government regulations. But Bobby and his family say they get by on faith. “It does get hard — it’s not all roses,” Bobby says. “The good Lord has blessed us, and we depend on God to guide us through these slow times and keep us grounded in the good times.”

Strength in Community

They have a close relationship with local community members, who’ve become loyal patrons of their produce market over the years. But every customer who approaches the corner store is treated like an old friend. The family hosts groups and other vendors often, giving them a venue to barbecue, sell their wares, or fundraise for various causes. Bobby also stages flowers in the garden to provide photo opportunities for visitors.

Meeting their customers face-to-face helps them know what products are in demand. Over the years, the family has added products such as deer corn, syrup made from sugar cane processed on-site, and pepper sauces and jellies. Many years ago, they learned that people wanted already-shelled peas, ready for cooking. “When we got pea shellers, it was a big boon for us,” Linda says.

Another popular item is boiled peanuts, a Southern delicacy, often sold in bulk to later be purchased at high school football games. And they still sell watermelons.

The best part about their business, though, is that he’s always surrounded by his family, Bobby says while sitting across from his wife, Margie, and his sisters-in-law, Linda and Ludell. All of his kids and grandkids and many of his nieces and nephews have helped out with the business, in some capacity, so they all know the ropes. He hopes that the next generation will continue the family’s farming tradition.