About the Farmers
Strawberries are a Cottle family tradition.
Starting in the fall of 1963, Ned Cottle planted his first strawberry field in Faison, NC. Like other farmers, he sold produce to his local Produce Buyers’ Market. In early 1970, North and South Carolina had so many farmers growing strawberries, causing an overabundance of the crop — and Produce Buyer’s Market offered very little for the crops. Many farmers, in desperation, dumped their harvest into local rivers. It was said that rivers in North Carolina ran red from all of the discarded berries.
Ned, being a true entrepreneur, decided that he would rather have the fate of his success fall upon himself and not others, so he opened his fields in Goldsboro up to the public for u-pick strawberries. He was the first strawberry farmer in North Carolina to do this! With the farm’s success, he expanded operations throughout Eastern North Carolina. He opened his first strawberry farms in South Carolina in the early 1970s — one on Whitehouse Road in Columbia and near Alligator Road in Florence.
The next generation of farmers.
Joy Cottle, Ned’s daughter, took over the South Carolina strawberry operations in 2002 when he retired. In 2010, she moved the Whitehouse Road farm to Trotter Road for more acreage and easier customer access.
In 2020, Joy purchased the old Sedgewood Golf Course on Garners Ferry Road in Hopkins. Her dream was to convert the 183-acre property back into a farm, adding agritourism activities for Richland and surrounding counties. With the help of her son, Hunter Bulloch (a fifth generation strawberry grower), Cottle Strawberry Farm in South Carolina now grows over 38 acres of strawberries, with plans for future expansions of u-pick blueberries, flowers, pumpkins, and Christmas trees.
In 2024, Joy opened a 12-acre agritourism park (in Hopkins) that boasts good times for both the young and young-at-heart. Visitors enjoy 30+ attractions — and in the Fall, a 10-acre cornfield maze, pumpkin patch, and more.
