MONTEZUMA — Traveling Ga. Highway 26 East from Montezuma, visitors to the area are entertained with the most scenic view, especially as they turn left on Ga. Highway 224. The grass is a pure green, the homes exceptionally clean and bright even on the cloudiest of days, and the atmosphere has a peacefulness that only a rural farm community can exhibit.

A sense of comfort — of memories of Grandpa riding his tractor in the middle of the field, and Grandma coming in from the blueberry patch wearing her big, floppy hat, large garden gloves, holding a bucket and wearing a smile — takes over the senses as the car turns left on Mennonite Church Road, and the large silo comes into view.

Pulling into Kauffman Farm Market, around 52,000 strawberry plants, late to bloom this year, but oh so ripe and so good according to visitors, catch even the littlest eyes, like those belong to Terrance and Carmen Yoder.

Kay Snipes, carrying two buckets filled with strawberries, wearing gloves and her own version of a “Grandma’s floppy gardening hat,” walks over to the “store” of the market from the field with a warm and inviting, “Hello!”

Wife of Bob, who is seen harrowing the fields with his tractor, Kay oversees the operation of the farm, and her duties are many as the former educator, gourmet cooking class instructor and co-owner of Magnolia & Ivy Tea Room, can attest. She not only picks the fruits and vegetables grown at the farm, she prepares the mulch (mostly organic), makes or oversees the making of the delicious jams, jellies and other edible products from the farm, prepares recipes, gives tours to school and other groups, feeds the animals in the petting zoo (cows, chickens, goats, rabbits), plans farm events, waters the plants in the greenhouse, supervises a team of eager and willing young employees, and researches.

“I love learning and educating people about the process of growing the fruits and vegetables,” said Snipes. She and her husband came to Montezuma over a year ago and purchased the farm. Kauffman Farms started over 25 years ago by Marvin Kauffman, and was one of the premier and most recognized strawberry farms in the state of Georgia.

Since the Snipeses have arrived, they have stayed with the basic infrastructure of the farm, i.e. the strawberries being the primary crop, and added some new twists and turns that make the farm more than just a “U-Pick, We Pick” type of place.

There’s the Silo Sandwich Shop, open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. One can get fresh peach (in season) and fresh strawberry ice cream, beverages, including strawberry lemonade, and farm fresh brown eggs. There are bakery items, including fresh baked breads.

Sitting under the awning at one of the outdoor iron tables, Kay smiles. “When Bob and I were in Florida, I was doing a gourmet food store, cooking schools, and the tea room inside a resort, and he was traveling back and forth from Georgia, our grandchildren were here, and we finally decided, ‘why wait until we retire, let’s go where they are now.’

“My cousin had the farm for a brief time after Kauffman, and he talked us into coming,” said Snipes. “It is a great place to be.”

As she spoke, customers arrived to pick strawberries. “We give them a bucket and out they go.”

As well as the strawberries, Snipes offers a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA), which is, according to her, “a partnership of mutual commitment between a farm and a community of supporters. The community members buy a share of the farm, and in exchange, they received a share in the farm’s bounty.

“They get a box of vegetables and fruit, as well as some recipes and storing tips.” Snipes explained that all of the crops, except for the strawberries, are not chemically treated and are organically grown.

“It is going to take us a while to get the strawberries that way, probably about three years, and then they will be organically grown as well.

“There isn’t a local, natural organic farm anywhere (in the vicinity), and I think it helps knowing where the produce comes from. You know the farmer, you know the lady, and you see the products first hand,” said Snipes.

Of the other interest items offered at the farm, Snipes plans Harvest Farm Days. “We have hay rides, hay bale maze, a petting zoo, kids can ride the cow train, and we have a corn jump for the kids.”

There is a gift shop available with jams, jellies, olive oils, dips, soups and more. Custom gift baskets are available for shipping, and there is a summer kids’ cooking camp.

“And if you can’t get to the farm, we do deliver to the Perry Farmer’s Market and Americus Farmer’s Market,” said Snipes.

Thinking back on the busy life she and her husband shared before settling in Montezuma, Snipes looks around at the land surrounding her, not only her farm but those of her neighbors.

“Look at it. It is beautiful here, what can I say? I think there will be a time when we as a society as a whole will have to get back to the basics of life to survive,” said Snipes.

She added, “This place gives some kind of comfort to those who come here.

“And with the farm, we’re hoping to do that to some extent and share what we know with our friends and neighbors.”

For more information about the Kauffman Farmarket at 1305 Mennonite Church Road, Montezuma GA 31063, call 478472-8833, or visit www.kauffmansfarmarket.com