On September 28th, 2025, Mrs. Handy took her FFA club as well as some extras on a field trip to Aaron’s Family Orchard in Ellijay, Georgia. Although this wasn’t her first FFA field trip, it was definitely the most exciting. The purpose of the field trip was to help show FFA students that they aren’t limited to one job when going into the Agricultural field, and it was meant to encourage others to go into the Agricultural field.
The field trip wasn’t limited to only FFA members, but anyone who hadn’t paid their FFA fees had to pay $25 for the trip. This included a tour of the sorting of apples, a ¼ peck of apples, and some free flowers from the grove of flowers the owner had to encourage the pollinating bees. This trip helped give students a look into what it’s like to own an orchard, and the processes one has to go through to get apples ready to be sold to consumers. It also gave students a look into different methods of farming, as the Aaron family ran their farm on only six acres as opposed to the 150-200 acres apple farmers generally have.
Joshua Aaron runs the farm currently. He and his wife, Kaylee, took over full ownership and operations of the orchard in 2024. Joshua grew up on the farm, and as his family grew, so did the agricultural gene within them. Mack Aaron, for example, owned the farm for a handful of years. After this, he went on to open his own farm, now named Mack Aaron’s Apple House in the 1970s.
After this long line of agricultural offspring, Joshua inherited the farm, and started to shift it from the original orchard aspect to a more farm-focused experience. He added a petting farm and a flower field, which benefited him in the long-run, especially financially. The orchard has not only been in the family a long time, but it has also encouraged a lot of up-and-coming farmers to follow their passions.
Overall, this experience was amazing, and it was very educational to those who attended. It helped to show that FFA could be more than just typical farming, and it inspired a lot of people. If you ever find yourself in Ellijay, take a stop down by Aaron’s Family Orchards and see what they’re all about!
