Sedrick Kent Rowe Jr. is an organic farmer from Albany, GA, where he currently grows hemp, sunflowers, and peanuts on 20 acres of land. Although agriculture has been a part of his life since a child, Rowe is today considered a first-generation farmer.
In 2015, Mr. Rowe graduated from Fort Valley State University on a fully-funded football scholarship and received his Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science with a concentration in Horticulture. Upon graduating college, Rowe worked with the Southwest Georgia (SWGA) Project, a nonprofit organization with a mission of educating, engaging, and empowering communities, led by civil rights activist Mrs. Shirley Sherrod. While employed at the SWGA Project for two years, Rowe also received his Master’s degree in Public Health. His Master’s thesis on organic peanuts was publicly recognized and published in the Journal of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
He was among one of three farmers to grow organic peanuts for market in 2019, and has since been influential in creating a niche market for fellow young farmers to survive, thrive, and become successful in the agricultural industry. As Rowe was recognized as one of only three certified organic peanut farmers in Georgia, he was also the first organic hemp farmer licensed in South Georgia in the year of 2020. His innovative and sustainable approaches to farming have been widely acknowledged with features in The New York Times, Wrangler, Georgia Farm Bureau’s Farm Monitor, Atlanta Magazine, and Fruit Growers News: 40 Under 40 (Class of 2021).
Rowe continues to directly impact the young farming community, as he recently established the South GA chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition. Aside from the Young Farmers Coalition, he is also a member of USDA’s Black Farmers’ Network, Georgia Organic Peanut Association, and Georgia Organics.
For updates on Rowe Organic Farms, follow them on social media at @roweorganic.
