earthbound

Each new day in North Georgia holds familiar and time-honored routines for many farmers, who approach the fields with a love for the land and the food it produces. And although the approaches and methods of the profession differ from person to person, there's no denying the necessity of being an early riser, one of the most consistent realities of a farmer's life. Hard at work before most are even stirring, they see the sun as it rises over the rolling hills of Northeast Georgia—land that has been shaped into fertile fields and fallow pastures for generations, and yielded food to nourish thousands.

By April Moore Skelton

Photos by Dennis McDaniel, Tricia Spaulding, Steve Strickland, Angelina Bellebuono