We tagged along with the staff from Farm Fresh Fast to get a first-hand look at crops and cows they produce on their farm in Cowpens, SC. Thicketty Mountain Farms, LLC is a small, diverse, family farm owned and operated by Brent Belue and Sallie Hambright-Belue. They currently offer grass-fed beef and sustainably grown vegetables. They are committed to producing fresh, local, healthy, and sustainable food for your family and theirs.
You can purchase their products directly off the farm or at several Upstate locations:
- Belue Farms Natural Foods Market
- The Hub City Co-Op
- Hub City Farmer’s Market Mobile Market
- Cafe Around the Corner in Spartanburg
- Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery in Greenville.
The farm got its name because Thicketty Mountain is what they each looked at from their front porches – Brent’s porch in Cowpens, SC and Sallie’s porch in Gaffney, SC – that is until they got married in August 2011. They now, both, look at Thicketty Mountain from Cowpens, SC.
Sallie and Brent are from farming families. Sallie’s grandfather, Charles Copeland, operated Old Post Road Farm in Gaffney which was SC Farm Family of the year in the 1970’s. Her other grandfather, Joe Hambright, and dad, Mike Hambright, ran a small farm in the Antioch community just outside Blacksburg. Brent’s family is also grounded in agriculture. His family ran Cash farms in Cowpens, and Brent worked in the peach shed for thirteen years. His father, Mike Belue, was a farmer for several years in Cowpens. Sallie and Brent are trying to carry on the agriculture tradition that is deeply rooted in their family history.
The farm is currently undergoing a large expansion to the Cleveland Preserve, a 300-acre tract of property owned by the Spartanburg Area Conservancy. The farm will be used to produce grass-fed beef with Organic Certification a goal within three years.
