(soothing music) - [David] "A Fork in the Road" is brought to you by... (upbeat music) - [Narrator] Georgia soil is rich.

Its climate, agreeable.

Its agricultural variety, exceptional.

That's why we're nature's favorite state.

Georgia Grown supports the farmers and producers who work the land and keep us fed because we all grow better, together.

Find out more about Georgia Agriculture at GeorgiaGrown.com.

- [Narrator] Since 1917, the "Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin" has been George's primary resource for all things agriculture, from thousands of classifieds for livestock, farm supplies, equipment, and home grown goods to the latest and most important farming news.

- The fascinating and ever-changing world of agriculture.

Let's hit the road here in Georgia and meet the farmers, producers, makers, and bakers who keep us all fed and keep us coming back for more, straight ahead at "The Fork in the Road."

("Howling at the Moon" by D Fine Us) This week, we go nuts in the Peach State.

The world-famous and delectable peanuts and pecans of Georgia.

We meet the proud farmers who grow them, the folks who grind them, the ways they boil 'em, bake 'em, shake 'em, and make 'em, there's good reason to go nuts around here.

We began our journey down in Leesburg to meet a pecan family who's been at it for decades, creating all kinds of delightful pecan concoctions.

The name of this fantastic nut has been debated for years, but whether it's a pecan, pecan, or pecan, one thing is for certain, this Georgia-grown goodie is full of goodness and it can be argued that no one does it better than Goodson, David Goodson, that is, of Goodson Pecans.

- [David] People in the area knew my dad.

Every year, they'd go and buy his in-shell pecans sort of out the back door.

People just knew Dad grew a quality pecan.

It's a family business around here in Leesburg, Georgia.

Grandpa Roy Goodson began managing orchards back in 1972, in has since expanded all the while battling hurricanes, insects, disease you name it, he's faced it.

- I bought this grove in 1992.

And so I'm guessing they're 75 to 85 years old.

Well, there's some big trees out here.

- David Goodson and his wife Melody then took advantage of this tasty product in 1990, got creative and Goodson Pecans evolved - One day in the back of my dad's truck.

My brother was in the front seat and my dad was driving.

And I had just said, I said, dad, we need to try.

This was when the internet was just starting up.

And I said, dad we need to try to get your pecans online.

Let's see what we can do with them.

And so after talking about that for two years I made the decision along with my wife to just start Goodson pecan online.

So my dad's love for pecans.

Never thought that it would, but it grew into something that I truly enjoy doing too.

- Now David's son, Drew, is knee deep in the business.

He's a vital part of the operation and has already pinned a title for his role in the business.

- He genuinely enjoys this and lovingly and affectionately calls himself.

The CEO of the business.

I call myself the CEO of Goodson pecans, not really but I've just been brought up into the business from when I was about maybe nine years old.

I started out with just helping around with little stuff.

And as I've grown up, I've kind of been able to experience more and to do a lot more with the business.

I'm now working here in the kitchen which is probably my favorite spot out of all of Goodson Pecans.

And so we make all the different types of flavors and it's just a really fun job.

In the same way I've watched my dad, you know, do some of these things, my son's done the same thing with me.

He would hear me say my speil customers.

And before long, like he was pushing me out of the way so he could do it.

And I found him to be a better salesman than I am.

And he's just got, along with all of our kids, just got a great work ethic.

They're hard workers.

So we'll see, I'm not going to push it on him but we'll see what the future holds with that.

- Okay.

So regardless of who is actually in charge around here they've assembled a small, yet efficient crew.

These nuts are flavored in many different sweet, simple, and even spicy options, racking up awards along the way.

- We have just your standard raw pecan.

At the same time, we have different gourmet flavor pecans we do different things for different flavors.

- Some of our best flavors and my personal favorite would be the Mimi sugar, which is what we have here today.

As well as the cinnamon sugar is also really good.

- We do a spicy ranch.

It's got a great flavor to it.

Our sriracha got a little bit sweet a little bit savory in it.

And we do just your basic toasted sea salt and just toasted unsalted for somebody that just likes to get toasted pecan - And these creative nuts don't stop there.

The pecan butter is also racking up awards.

From their award-winning honey cinnamon goodness to that accidentally discovered fudge butter.

- We started making our pecan butter and just a simple blender.

And then to the point where we got up much much larger machine or pecan butter comes in a creamy and crunchy.

This just toasted with the sea salt.

We also have a creamy with honey and then a honey cinnamon.

And the way we do have called Fudge Butter that is sort of an accident.

I made this creation that didn't work.

I throw it in the refrigerator.

And when I came back the next day like hardened and was just like fudge, you can eat it right out of the jar, straight out of the refrigerator but they can also add it to ice cream or cheesecake.

And so it'll harden up.

- It's always fun to see family and close friends work together to make magic happen.

And who really cares how you pronounce this unique nut except maybe the folks who live in the land of these Georgia grown groves.

- A default is to say pecan, but I get in trouble quite a bit because I don't say pecans.

And apparently in our area, we're supposed to say pecans.

So, but I say pecan, whoever's paying, I'll say it.

However you want me to.

- From Leesburg.

We head up towards Para to meet the descendants of a roadside American treasure who made a name for themselves by molding tasty treats with this special nut.

The teal roofs, that one scattered America's highways from Florida and Georgia North to Pennsylvania as far West as Texas.

This once mighty empire of Stuckey's Roadside Travel Stops packed with hot drinks and sweet pecan logs was acquired by a larger company in the late 1970s.

And from there, the empire dwindled from over 350 stores down to just a handful.

However, after several down years, the heartbeat deep within was still strong because the Stuckey family never gave up hope.

And now another Stuckey has emerged to take the reins and she has big time ambitions.

- Stuckey's was founded in 1937 by my grandfather Williamson Sylvester Stuckey as a pecan stand on the side of the road in Eastman, Georgia.

And he started it to make some money as a side hustle the stand did well enough for him to start selling candy that my grandmother, Ethel Stuckey, made and it just took off from there.

So Stuckey's, at our peak we were in 40 States.

We are trying to make a comeback.

We are making a comeback.

We're in 20 States now - The nostalgia from the mid 20th century has returned as well as Stephanie and other family members who continue to get involved.

- Thank God, I'm not doing this alone.

I have my nephew.

So the fourth generation is involved.

He is my sister's son, William Putnam.

He owns and operates two Stuckeys.

- Yes, our family's legacy, our family's name and anything you can do with your family.

You're better off.

- Actually, William was involved with the company before I was he'd been running a Stuckey's and involved with the business for several years when I took on this task.

And together we have big plans to have more Stuckey's and elevate the brand and also elevate the great American road trip and the pecan.

This is a love tester machine that came out of some of the old Stuckey's.

it's been in my garage for years actually, we recently fixed it up and it actually still works.

I'm probably going to get pushover - Close.

- Studious.

So that's a good one.

And I love the guy that they have for studious.

Doesn't look to super studious.

He looks kind of silly actually.

So.

- William, what do you get all the time?

- Oh, you know, I get push over all the way down to the bottom.

- Yeah.

- I don't have good luck with that though.

- Nasty try again.

This is a lot of fun people play it all the time.

- That's really do.

Everybody, their eyes really brighten up when they see this old piece of equipment sitting here and see the beautiful claw legs on it.

It's just not something you see everyday anymore.

- Okay.

You can't call the cigarettes.

They're candy sticks.

So kids, don't try this at home.

- And that's the reaction we want is we want you to say Oh my God, he didn't know these things were still around.

Where did you find these?

- So our friends at cafe Campesino, and America's Georgia are the ones who are providing the coffee here.

And it's really amazing.

It's a special road trip brew.

They came up with just for Stuckey's.

It's important to me to bring Stuckey's back because I was part of that generation in the 1970s that would take to the open road with our families and take these amazing car trips.

And we pull over at a place like Stuckey's and it wasn't just a stop.

It was an experience.

For me, it's not just about bringing you back.

Stuckey's it's reviving the great American road trip and inviting people to explore, once again, what's great about our country and all these small towns across America that are so fun to visit - This brand Now has that nostalgia in its favor, travelers and movie producers alike obviously have fond memories of Stuckey's.

featured in the Martin Scorsese film the Irishman and the Academy award winning movie, The Greenbook, both films aimed to capture certain in history and Stuckey's was properly chosen to paint the canvas.

- We have a sign from the Irishman opening and Los Angeles.

That's here at our store in Perry, Georgia.

So invite people to come stop and see a little bit of movie history while they're at it.

- And of course, no Stuckey stores complete without their famous pecan log roll.

- Stuckey's is best known for the pecan.

And that's how we were founded.

And to this day, our pecan log roll is our best-selling product.

And I like to put on here it is the original pecan log roll.

There are a lot of other companies that make a pecan log roll, but Stuckey's was the first.

Our pecan log roll is special because it has maraschino cherries in the center.

And you're not going to find that in other log rolls.

- So of course with Stuckey's we have pecans.

One of my favorite is the milk chocolate covered pecans.

It's just a classic.

It is amazing.

And it just melts right in your mouth.

- Pecans or pecans are in season right now.

So you can buy them in shell.

And as everyone knows Georgia's the number one state for pecans in the country.

And the deep fried peanuts are amazing.

And you wouldn't think it, but you actually eat these and you eat the shell.

Uncle Bud's.

- Uncle Bud's, yep.

They're the best product of this type that I've found very good product.

- And they have all different flavors, garlic, Old Bay.

And I like just the classic salted.

They also have Cajun, - Garlic sriracha.

- Yup.

Something for everyone.

- So with Stephanie now at the helm she and the Stuckey gang are aiming to do it right.

And that includes continuing to make the perfect pecan log roll.

And what's the main ingredient?

Pecans.

Of course.

So how bout a P cam partnership with another Georgia born business.

In 2020 Stuckey's joined forces with RG Lamar and the Front Porch Pecans of Hawkinsville, Georgia.

And it just seemed like the perfect fit.

- I moved home in 2007 to apprentice with my dad on the farm.

Learn how the farm works.

This is an unlikely start for front porch but we got involved in the Chinese market.

We were exporting 60% of our crop in that market.

And what we realized from our friends in China, who were who are our customers, the consumer in China was scared of Chinese food safety.

They really preferred Western products.

And so we thought, let's see if we can develop a product that we can sell in China.

Other than in shell pecan, let's try to do a consumer package product.

And while we're at it, let's see if we can sell it here in the United States too.

So about 10 years after I moved home, dad and I decided to take the plunge and we started Front Porch Pecans.

- We're longtime family friends with the Stuckey's.

we've farmed their orchard in Eastman, Georgia.

I think for the last 35 years.

We already had front porch pecans going and it was growing really nicely.

Stuckey's has been interested in doing a little bit healthier line of products.

We fit that bill perfectly.

We just had a lot of trust between our families already.

And so we just thought it would make sense to join forces together.

- We're not only going to bring back Stuckey's but we want to bring back America's native nut.

The pecan - These front porch pecan orchards are scattered all around the area.

And I caught them at the right time when the massive tree shakers were running.

An amazing thing to witness an action.

RG keeps a close watch on these orchards and quality control in the factory making sure only premium Georgia pecans make it through.

- Semi truck pulls up to what we call the pit.

It dumps just the raw product from the orchard in there.

So you've got good nuts mixed in with sticks, leaves shucks.

So the whole purpose of the plant is to separate the good nuts from the trash and the bad nuts.

It goes through a series of machines that mostly use air or that use the difference in size to separate those things out.

And then it comes across the picking table where we've got the ladies who pick out things by sight that the machines can't get.

Then it goes up into a sizer which separates all the nuts into large and small.

And then we have one last thing that blows air on the nuts and that separates kind of your top grade nuts from your second tier nuts.

I always say the key to farming pecans is vigilance because there's so many things that want to damage your pecans or eat them or carry them off.

You have to constantly be watching to see what starting and how can I deal with it as soon as possible to keep it from ruining our crop.

You may think I'm biased because I'm a pecan farmer from Georgia but, they really are the best pecans in the world.

This is pretty good nut, well filled out and good color is the main thing you're looking for.

So no air pockets.

They're sweeter, more buttery, and nutty flavored, and they are bigger than pecans that are grown anywhere else.

A big part of the reason for that is we get so much rainfall here cause we don't get quite as high of a yield per acre, but our quality is second to none.

And that's what we're known for in Georgia is just the best quality pecans around.

- And if you're on the highway and don't happen to see a Stuckey store, there are plenty of places.

You can grab a bag of Front Porch Pecans or the Stuckey's candies and pecan rolls.

The massive JP Travel Center between Macon and Atlanta is one of those spots that boast an entire section of Georgia grown goodness.

- At first it was a, an experimental type of situation.

It just turned out to be extremely successful.

We probably have to increase this section at some point.

We carry a variety of Stuckeys items And it's been very, very successful.

Those pecan logs are delicious.

They are very sinful.

I have put myself a couple of pounds.

So don't get me Stuckeys.

- As Stuckey's continues to rebuild and revive a little piece of roadside Americana with a little help from their front porch friends in Hawkinsville, the rest of us driving the highways and back roads of the American South can delight in this old school treat.

Both the store and the sweet nutty creations that have truly stood the test of time.

Our nutty journey continues along these South Georgia roads back in Hawkinsville where the Hardy Farms Peanut reign Supreme.

These are George's version of the Hardy Boys.

For over 70 years the Hardy family has been growing peanuts down here and over the past few decades, the business has evolved and expanded and it all still remains in the family.

- We're in the business of growing green peanuts and green peanuts are peanuts grown, especially for boiling.

And what you see behind me is peanuts coming up from the field today.

They flow through the building through certain pieces of equipment and ultimately enter the pot to get boiled.

Or into the bag to get shipped to supermarkets.

- We harvest them two to three weeks prior to full maturity.

That's when a green peanut is best for boiling when it still just kind of tender.

It is a difference in the climate and the soil.

We think we see a difference in flavor.

It's kind of like the vedalia onions, there's something about that soil, about the climate.

We see that right here with our green peanuts as well.

we're honored and thrilled to be able to grow such a nutritious and delicious product that people seem to enjoy very much.

I'm a third generation farmer.

My dad farmed.

His dad farmed.

I've been farming with my brothers and a cousin now for 50 years.

- The growing got this business off the ground but it was the next generation that decided there could be so much more to this peanut business than just growing.

- 20 years ago we brought in my son and my nephew Brad.

They developed the boiled peanut market, the roadside stands and the mail order.

And now they're also into roasting them.

- It's always nice to work with family.

Sometimes it's difficult sometimes, but for the most part it's a great thing to work with family.

And we like to keep that family aspect we've been able to pick up a lot of customers because of that.

- Roadside stands like this offering fresh bags of green peanuts and hot smoking pots full of boiled peanuts began popping up all around the Southern part of Georgia.

Eventually becoming a part of routine road trip snacks when passing through town or simply an easy stop to stock up on this protein, potassium, and fiber rich product.

Nowadays, there are two factories down here doing two different things with the peanut.

Ken operates the green peanut operations and the boiling process.

- We bring the graded peanuts in here.

What'd you see behind me?

We've got five different pressure cookers.

They ran by a steam boiler on the other side of the wall.

We'll cook it here two to three times a day.

Normally we do about 5,000 to 7,500 pounds of boiled peanuts each day.

Plus peanuts after cooking, we bring them out cool them.

They get bagged up and carried out mostly Georgia stores throughout the Southeast.

We cook these things and the magic is letting them soak.

So we leave these peanuts after they completely done, tender will live in the water for about two hours.

That's where they soak up they get that good salt flavor or that's our hot and spicy ones, that's where they soak up that good heat.

Right now we're actually cooking three batches of the hot and spicy.

Normally it's three regular, two hot but had a little bit of run on the hot right now.

- Brad can usually be found at the roasting plant a few miles down the road.

And it's here you'll discover hundreds of giant bags of peanuts ready to be roasted and shipped to stores across the country like Walmart.

And the roasting facility itself is truly fascinating.

- This as a full oil roasting and dry roasting operation.

We actually produce about 10 million pounds of roasted peanuts through this facility every year All of these large white bags, we call them super sacks, 2200 pounds of peanuts come from the shellers.

Unlike our other operation where we grow everything on our own, everything we do here we purchase from the market.

So these peanuts come from all over the state of Georgia.

Everything here is Georgia grown.

They come to us already shelled, already cleaned.

Most of them are already blanched.

So then when we get the peanuts they're ready to go right into our cookers.

And this part of our operation is our oil roaster.

Most of our oil roasted peanuts they all go to candy companies all over the country.

These candy companies will take our peanuts and they'll put them in their candy bars.

Their trail mixes, Their peanut butters, all sorts of things.

We run our peanuts through a shaker.

This allows the small parts and little pieces of the nut that were not taken out during the blanching process to get taken out right here so that it doesn't contaminate our oil.

This is our oil roaster.

We can cook 2000 pounds an hour of product on this machine every single day.

They're on this end of the machine at 320 degrees peanuts come in raw and in four minutes they come out the other end of the machine fully cooked.

You can cook chicken wings if you wanted.

We don't but you could.

We cook all our peanuts in pure peanut oil.

And then at the end we actually do a second secondary peanut glaze that will give the peanuts that nice golden color and aroma.

Peanuts then go into the hopper and then into our 30 pound boxes, these get in turn put on palettes and then sent the candy companies out all over the country.

Companies like Walmart or Sam's or CVS or Walgreens A lot of times when you go into those stores the peanut inside their bags come from right here and Hardy Farms Peanut.

One thing we do that, not a lot of our competitors do, is that we vacuum seal every bag of peanuts.

That we send out so that when our peanuts go into these boxes, they have a much extended shelf life.

A lot of our customers really appreciate that extra step that we take.

We actually have our own brand of flavored peanut that we have in a few stores out there Food Lion, Harris, Teeter Ingles, Piggly Wiggly, places like that.

Peanuts go up, get scaled, get packaged.

And then they go out to the store.

- Grab a flavored bag of dill, crushed peppers, sweet sriracha or simply salted.

Stop by a stand for a boiled treasure.

Or grab a bag of green peanuts and just boil them yourself with a little salt.

Whichever way you choose you, can't go wrong.

And just know that Georgia's own version of the Hardy Boys will always be hard at work on their next case Of peanuts, of course.

So from growing and roasting to boiling and grinding Georgia is a treasure trove of tasty and healthy nuts.

They've learned to grow them with care and flavor them to perfection in a variety of different ways creating generations of tasty memories and traditions alike.

See you at the next Fork in the Road - A Fork in the Road with brought to you by Georgia soil is rich.

It's climate, agreeable it's agricultural variety, exceptional.

That's why we're nature's favorite state.

Georgia grown supports the farmers and producers who work the land and keep us fed.

Because we all grow better, together.

Find out more about Georgia Agriculture at GeorgiaGrown.com Georgia FSIS provides efficient and accurate third party inspection services to members of the industry.

We inspect various fresh commodities including peanuts, fruits, vegetables, and pecans.

The use of the inspection service ensures the shipment of high quality products and enhances George's reputation as a supplier of superior agricultural products.