159: 990 Acres That I Am Very Proud To Own

Eddie and Linda Drayton are the owners of Cat Tail Tree Farm. Eddie is a retired forester and spends his retirement days as a tree farmer. As a man in his 80s, Eddie wakes up everyday excited for a new adventure on his farm and shares a little bit about his love for forestry as well as provides a bit of a background on how the surrounding area was discovered. Join Tom and Emily on this adventure as they talk with Eddie and Linda about the work they put into their beautiful property. 

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:40] Tom shares a little bit about Eddie and Linda’s farm. 

[2:15] As a professional forester, how did Eddie get into forestry?

[4:00] Eddie was originally going to be a dentist. 

[6:35] Eddie shares how he got into tree farming and how he went about purchasing his first property.

[8:45] Linda is a 50% owner and Edide is a 100% worker. 

[9:00] Linda shares her first impressions of the land when they finally bought it. It was definitely runned down. 

[11:05] Eddie shares a little bit about the history of forestry in Society Hill. 

[18:30] The United States saw a huge boom in cotton production in 1917 to provide uniforms to WW1 soldiers. 

[20:45] How has timber farming evolved over the decades? 

[26:55] Eddie bought this tree farm in the late 90s/early 2000s. He had a lot of work ahead of him. 

[29:45] Eddie breaks down in detail some of the beautiful trees and foliage he has on his property. 

[37:35] This property is now in its 6th generation of growing trees. Eddie’s spent a lot of time to get the tree more in harmony with nature and to make it appealing to wildlife. 

[40:35] Eddie shares where he sees the future of his farm headed. 

[44:05] Eddie has an easement on his property. What does that mean and what lessons can he share to other land owners? 

[46:45] What you leave behind is really important. 

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Sctreefarm.org

State.sc.us

Scforestry.org

Scfbins.com