Mommy, twin toddlers behind one of the Deep South’s buzziest farmers markets

The country roads of Culloden, Georgia, wind past vintage filling stations and pine thickets before opening up to a ruby-red barn, venue-primed hoop house, and the giggles of twin boys playing tag. Welcome to EM Farms: part farmers market, part field trip. Fully operated with the spunk of one woman in her cowgirl boots who’s redefining rural entrepreneurship. At 34, Kaneisha Miller is a modern farm influencer who feeds communities then develops new social opportunities to keep them connected to her land-loving lifestyle. A third-generation land steward, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Northeast outreach coordinator by day, and full-time Momma to 4-year-old twins Ace and Ryder, Kaneisha has become one of the most talked-about Middle Georgia farmers and agridestinations in the Deep South. “Everything I do is about teamwork,” she says, adjusting her denim outfit of the day. “Ace and Ryder? They’re my No. 1 juice taste testers, produce eaters, and motivation to get it all done.”

A plastic folding table, a red-and-white checkered cloth, and some fresh-picked tomatoes, kale, and okra sprawled across it sowed the rural South farmer’s enterprise seed in 2018. “I sold out that day,” Kaneisha recalls. “That’s when I knew I was onto something.” Fast-forward seven seasons, and she now runs two Saturday markets. One right on her late Grandma Emma’s 6-acre homestead. Another in downtown Perry — a 45-minute drive south and slightly east in a bustling ag hub known for its national fairgrounds and farming heritage. Georgia is a nationwide leader and innovator in agriculture. According to a recent Georgia Ag Impact Report by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, agriculture products value at more than $17.6 billion to the state’s economy. During 2023, fiber and food production (and related industries) contributed $91.4 billion in harvest to the Peach State’s $1.4 trillion economy and more than 381,200 jobs. Kaneisha’s corner of these figures may be small, yet her impact is enormous. 

The land she grew up roaming is now transformed into EM Farms: a multiuse space that blends produce sales, juice tastings, goat yoga, and generational storytelling under one red roof. Through her partnership with Georgia Grown’s Farm Passport Program, Kaneisha’s traffic has tripled. What once drew 30 loyal customers now sees 100-plus visitors every market day during peak seasons. Families come from all parts of the Southeast Region to snag her fresh greens, vine-ripe tomatoes, and homemade jellies and sauces — and to root while Ace (1-minute older than his twin brother) and Ryder help hand out juice samples like seasoned farmhands in mini cowboy boots.

Her market’s seasonal selections read like a Southern pantry dream: collards, turnips, broccoli, sweet corn, strawberries, and muscadines. Enough pound cakes, custom juices, and branded tees to make the stop a full-blown experience. Her four signature juice flavors (Green Greatness, Top of the Morning, Miss Peaches, and Purple Passion) have moved up to 200 bottles a week across market sales and local orders.

EM Farms is more than garden-fresh produce and pretty displays. It remains a living tribute to her late grandmother Emma Maude, who left behind more than land. She left a lineage. “My grandma taught me how to plant love into the ground,” Kaneisha shares. “This space honors that. It’s our way of saying: ‘The land still has life.’” That life shows up in unexpected ways: goat yoga sessions that pair downward dog with farm-fresh air and campfire pit meetups where folks swap farming stories under the stars. EM Farms is an agritourism hotspot and relaxation retreat. A pitstop for busy families seeking peace and produce.

You won’t catch Kaneisha in anything but her EM-logoed T-shirt, a pair of carpenter jeans, and scuffed work boots on market day. “They’re my uniform,” she laughs. “They remind me that building something beautiful takes a little dirt and a lot of hustle.” Her hustle spills into weekday pop-up markets through federally funded programs like the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and WIC. Both allow EM Farms to serve even more rural families with access to newly harvested fruits and vegetables. “We’re growing food and options,” she says, “especially for folks who live in food deserts or have had limited access for way too long.”

Behind every table stacked with cucumbers and collards is a crew of kinfolk. Kaneisha’s team includes her cousin Britney, sister Krystle, Auntie Ren, and former USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service employee Maymunah. “They make the markets possible. Ryder and Ace? They bring the cuteness and chaos,” Kaneisha says with a grin. Ryder is the chatterbox. Ace is more the field wanderer. But both boys are budding agriculturalists in their own right — raised in the rows of a farm that grows crops and curiosity in equal measure.

Alongside her junior producers, Kaneisha is keeping family land alive. She’s feeding neighbors and showing the next generation that the future of farming can look like a mom with a market on a mission. “Sometimes people ask how I do it all,” she says. “I tell them I’ve got toddlers and a dream. They keep me busy. That’s for sure. We’re growing together one week at a time.”

Cowgirl Candace is a fourth-generation cowgirl and award-winning communicator based in the Georgia Black Belt Region. The print-to-digital journalist has contributed to and collaborated with brands like the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wrangler, Cowboys & Indians Magazine, USA Today: 10 Best, National 4-H Council, REI Co-op, and Visit Fort Worth.