Alana Tinsely
Senior Reporter
Returning to Georgia in 1971 from serving in the military, Paschal Brewer’s life as a navy pilot would completely switch gears.
His education as a forester would soon come in handy for the life he’ll lead for decades to come.
Prior to the Navy, Brewer received a degree in forestry from the University of Georgia in 1960. Brewer says that forestry has come in handy despite the fact that farming and growing crops is more about horticulture.
Paschal Brewer and his wife, Judy, planted the first seeds in 1972, and only friends and family would come to harvest and have Brewer’s magical trees. It wasn’t until a decade later that the Brewer’s farm, in Midway, Georgia, started selling to the general public.
“Being the only Christmas tree farm in the area, a lot of people wanted to come cut their own,” Paschal Brewer said.
In the beginning, Brewer planted two acres of trees and sold them on the weekends, but through word of mouth and the invention of the internet, the demand for his trees skyrocketed.
Eventually planting around 25 acres of red cedars, Leyland cypress’, Virginia pines,
Frasier Fir and Carolina sapphires trees, Paschal and his wife Judy, decided agritourism could help with the promotion of their Christmas trees.
While 25 acres sounds like a lot of land - because it is over one million square feet - this is only a small portion of the land Brewer was handed down from his father.
The Brewer’s 450-plus acres of land, that was once a rice plantation, is now Judy and Paschal Brewer’s home.
Brewer’s farm soon began to plant other crops like persimmons, blueberries, muscadine grapes, scuppernong grapes, cooking pears and a larger variety of trees.
The Brewer’s decided that the main goal of their polyculture farm was to always have outstanding family-friendly customer service that formed strong relationships and would make people want to come back for more than just their seasonal commodities.
Paschal Brewer said that one a perk of being a farmer that has loyal customers and friendships that span over several decades, is that eventually you get to see them grow up and bring their later generations.
The Brewer’s tirelessly paid attention to the wants and needs of their customers.
“They’d come out here askin’ ‘well, where’s the farm animals?’ So, the next day my wife went and bought some small animals,” Paschal Brewer said. “She went and bought rabbits, and goats, and kids, those are the baby goats, and other animals too.”
Even though their crops and customer service was favorable by the visiting families, Paschal and Judy wanted to be more engaging. They began conducting tours for schools.
“For about 21 years we had school tours out here, and during one year we had over 3,000 [kindergarten] kids come out here,” Paschal Brewer said.
During the school tours, kindergarten kids would attend an informational puppet show about how to grow christmas trees. Afterwards, the students would go on a free hayride on the Brewer’s 34-foot hay wagon. The ride would end at the animal pin.
The animal pin and the hayrides were a hit with the school children. The kids were able to feed, pet and interact with the animals, which made their farm visit even more special.
Besides the trees, the tours and the petting zoo, the Brewer’s also have a gift shop with an array of unique gifts. Customers are able to purchase homemade jellies and jams from their farm’s fruits, raw organic honey, and tree stands.
Farm customers can also purchase holly wreaths made from fresh cuttings during the holiday season.
The holiday season opens the day after Thanksgiving, and the public can come and visit the farm.
“Being the only Christmas tree farm in the area a lot of people wanted to come cut their own [trees],” Paschal Brewer said.
The Christmas trees usually sell out by the end of the first week of December. In addition, they offers tools, assistance and equipment for those chopping down their own award-winning Christmas tree.
The Brewer’s Christmas Tree Farm has been involved in regional associations, and has won several local contests with their exceptionally grown trees. Brewer’s won a grand champion twice at the Perry State Fair, and several other blue ribbons.