Agri-tourism has been suggested as one way to draw more area visitors and income to mainland Nassau County while preserving quality of life for residents. Congaree and Penn farm and mills in the community of Dinsmore, just south of Callahan, provides an example of how agri-tourism can be creatively combined with other enterprises to offer locals a unique entertainment experience, as well. Ever evolving, Congaree and Penn is the brainchild of farmer and founder Scott Meyer. The farm is named for the U.S.S. Congaree, a yacht once owned by his maternal grandfather, and his mother’s maiden name Penn.
Meyer started his education in art, where he met his spouse, Lindsay, a graphic designer. However, he later earned an undergraduate degree in environmental science from Texas Christian University followed by a master’s degree in coastal zone management from the University of Miami.
The 330-acre farm began when Meyer’s father acquired the property in 2000 from a dairy farmer to use as a tree nursery. The family was, and still is, in the landscaping business. Meyer grew up in Riverside in Jacksonville, working in the family business. Helping his father build a fence on the property one summer, he had a vision of growing rice as settling ponds for fish and using the rice harvest to make sake wine.
Meyer began with four rice fields. The fish and the sake wine never materialized, but fresh-milled rice marketed to local restaurants became the farm’s first success. The rice fields have since been moved off location because the ground on the farm retained too much moisture. The former rice fields are now ponds, but milling of exotic rices organically grown elsewhere is still done onsite.
“We mill about a thousand pounds of rice a day,” Meyer shared. “But we use a distributor now instead of marketing ourselves to individual businesses.” The milling is done in a large metal quonset hut near the entrance to the farm. The same equipment is now used for milling other products, as well.
Today it’s easier to identify what the farm does not produce than what can be found there. Visitors can pick their own fruits, berries and other produce in season. The farm grows blackberries, muscadine grapes, figs, pears, figs mulberries and pumpkins, to name a few.
“Mayhaws have been a passion project for me,” Meyer said. He has planted 35 acres of mayhaw trees, a species of hawthorn native to the area that produces fruit similar to tiny crabapples. The berries were just coming on during a mid-April visit to the farm. Meyer harvests whole berries for sale as frozen fruit, and the rest is pressed into juice to make mayhaw jelly and mayhaw pepper jelly for market.
“It looks like a great year for olives,” Meyer announced. Another 13 acres are planted in olive trees. Olive harvest goes from August to September. The olives are also pressed onsite using their own special technique. Meyer said they sold out of olive oil in two weeks last year.
For a long time, pecans imported from Georgia have been pressed into oil at Congaree and Penn. Meyer has now started his own grove of pecan trees as well as fruit orchards.
Among the agri-tourism adventures available are formal tours of the farm, sunset cruises behind a tractor, dog field days, wildflower picking, visits with farm animals, casual and fine dining or passes to explore the farm on your own. A small scenic river surrounded by cypress trees is a wonderful place to watch bird life. Two horses are available for lease to seasoned riders, but outings are booked up months in advance.
“My main adversaries right now are crows and geese,” said Meyer. An occasional alligator can be encountered around the river or ponds. Bobcats and coyotes have been seen rarely from time to time.
Before the COVID pandemic in 2020, Congaree and Penn had built a following among the restaurant community for its organically grown products and had just branched out into hiring a chef to create recipes using its products. They had begun hosting Friday Fish Night, serving fast, casual food using their own products in the outdoor patio behind the quonset hut. Then the pandemic hit, and restaurants closed down. The business took a hit, but at the same time, Meyer seized an opportunity to market the open-air dining component for to-go food as well sit-down dining in an environment with safe social distancing. Surprisingly, rice sales took off on Amazon as consumers started experiencing rice shortages in stores.
“It really took until 2022 for us to get product sales up again,” Meyer reflected. But the onsite dining opportunities have increased. The dining area behind the quonset hut has expanded into a large paved patio with trees, seating and outdoor fire pits. There are now three chefs onsite.
Friday on the Farm features live music, a pop-up bar and food trucks. Dogs and kids are welcome. Friday Fish Fry is now a monthly event for adults featuring fried local fish, cornbread made from corn milled on the farm, grits also milled on the farm and collard greens. A more upscale event is Chef Tasting offered twice monthly for groups up to eight to enjoy a six-course meal served under a pergola in the vineyard.
A current project is creating a trail along the river with masses of wildflowers alongside. Meyer is experimenting with using a drone to seed the flowers faster. An immediate planned project is to build an open pavilion to support a farm store and more casual dining. He wants to expand his vineyards with other grapes and get into wine making. His ultimate vision is to construct 24 cabins where visitors can “wake up on the farm.”
“I want the farm to be a beautiful place for people to come,” added Meyer. He and his family live in a farmhouse on the property. Congaree and Penn is located at 11830 Old Kings Road. The farm is open only limited hours. Visit their website for reservations and more information. Phone contact is unpredictable so email and their website are the best way to contact them.
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