About Us
Our History
In December of 2007, Daddy Pete Farms in Stony Point, North Carolina was recognized as a North Carolina Century Farm. The state honors family owned and operated farms for 100 years of continuous agricultural heritage, which helps lead to the rich heritage of the state. Our farm is honored by the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the North Carolina State Fair.
The Smith family has owned and operated the farm since the early 1900's. In December of 1907, Joseph Alan Smith bought 102 acres of land in Stony Point, North Carolina, for the sum of $2,500. He was then faced with the task of building the farmhouse and barns from the timber he gained by clearing the land. After clearing the land, he built fences and sowed grass to prepare the farm for raising beef cattle. Molly, Joseph's wife nick-named him "Daddy Pete".
Daddy Pete's son, Sledge, took over the farm after the death of Daddy Pete. Not only did Sledge inherit the farm from Daddy Pete, he also raised beef cattle and turkeys, and served as sheriff of Alexander County from 1950 to 1959.
Sledge had a son and named him Gar Alan Smith, who attended N.C. State University and studied agriculture. Gar was drafted into the military during World War II, and after the war came back home to Stony Point where he married and had three children. Gar's only son, Alan, took over the family farm in 1972 and made it a dairy farm in 1973.
In 1988, Alan began developing the composting procedure on the farm, which is known today as Daddy Pete's Plant Pleaser. The business is named for his great-grandfather, "Daddy Pete". Daddy Pete's Plant Pleaser produces a line of 18 different products including Pete's Cow Manure, Pete's Potting Mix, Pete's Planting Mix, and more. These organic, composted gardening soils, mulches, and barks are manufactured on the farm and sold throughout the southeast in garden centers, nurseries, greenhouses, and by landscapers.
The farm house that Daddy Pete built 100 years ago is the only original structure still standing on the farm site. In 1989, a two story barn was completely destroyed by fire. In 2003, Alan's son, Joe, began renovating the old farm house where he and his family live today. Joe is the families 5th generation of farmers and he currently manages the dairy of Daddy Pete Farms.
