For more than a century, the McLeod family has practiced sustainable farming, balancing tradition with innovation to keep their orchards thriving across generations. Now led by fourth-generation farmer Kemp McLeod, who learned the operation from his father Campbell, the farm continues to embody stewardship of both land and community.

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About 40 employees keep the farm running year-round, with over 200 joining during peach season (late May–August). These workers pick, grade, pack, and ship millions of pounds of peaches to customers across the U.S. and Canada. Harvested daily, each peach is chilled to preserve freshness, lightly waxed, and hand-graded before reaching stores or the farm’s retail market.

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Sustainability begins months before harvest. Trees are pruned, tied, and later thinned to ensure large, healthy fruit. Each peach tree takes four years to mature, produces for about 17 years, and then the soil is rested before replanting to maintain long-term fertility. Modern drip irrigation conserves water, wind machines protect from frost, and hail-prevention technology reduces weather damage—all innovations that protect crops while minimizing environmental impact.

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Although Georgia is called “the Peach State,” South Carolina leads the Southeast in peach production, with McLeod Farms contributing through its exclusive Cary Mac variety, a customer favorite. Since the 1990s, the farm has also diversified, growing row crops like cotton, peanuts, soybeans, and corn, along with strawberries, blackberries, grapes, sweet corn, squash, onions, and more. Today, McLeod Farms spans over 1,000 acres of peaches, 60 acres of strawberries, and 15 acres of blackberries, sold under the Mac’s Pride brand at a grocery store near you.

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At its heart, McLeod Farms is about sustaining a legacy—protecting the land, supporting people, and delivering quality produce for future generations.