Cooley's Citrus Farm

This month's Meet Your Farmer is focused on Cooley's Citrus Farm , located in Longville, La.  Mr. Cooley and his wife Ann are very special to our family.  We have been friends with the Cooleys' for years now as they are our neighbors and employers of 3 of our children over the years. 
Mr. Jimmy and Mrs. Ann have always been willing to take time out of their busy schedule to teach our children about anything.  This year Mr. Jimmy taught our family and the Duff family how to graft citrus trees.  I personally consider grafting a critical element in learning about farming. Mr Jimmy likes to grow fruit and pecan trees.  Since the 80's he has grown thousands of them- satsumas, navel, lemon, and kumquat are his specialties. 
His passion for growing began with just about 30 fruit trees that he planted around his home and sawmill in Longville.  The satsumas soon drew the attention of his customers visiting his sawmill, and Cooley started to sell a small amount of satsumas.
"We used to sell them by the dozen in those days, and it got so we were selling all of them," said Mr. Jimmy.
With this early success and his interest in growing trees, he decided to grow more.  Mr. Jimmy planted 75 more trees and the next year he added 75 more.  In the following three years, he grew his orchard to more than 300 satsuma trees with a few navel orange, kumquat and lemon trees thrown into the mix.
The sawmill was replaced by Cooley's Citrus Farm.  Jimmy and Ann harvest between 40,000 - 50,000 pounds of satsumas per year.  
Mr. Cooley sells to retail and wholesale buyers including local grocery stores and to road side sales people like me.
"Every year, we start getting calls the first of October wanting to know when the fruit is ready," said Mr. Jimmy.
The roadside vendors buy Cooley's satsumas in large quantities.  These sales require the least amount of handling by Mr. Jimmy and Mrs. Ann.  The Cooley's Citrus Farm website and classified ads help customers to find Cooley's farm and nursery.  His drive-up customers come from all over Louisiana and some of East Texas to purchase fruit and trees.  
Cooley's Citrus Farm is a Louisiana Department of Agriculture Certified Nursery.  Mr. Jimmy sells mostly satsuma trees propagated from his orchard trees.  He buds (grafts) about 1,000 fruit/pecan trees per year.  Most satsuma and fruit trees are grown by grafting  buds into a trifoliata rootstock, allowing for faster fruit production and a hardier tree.
"I just like to see the process it takes.  I grow the rootstock from a seed.  I graft the tree on it.  I cut it off and watch it grow.  It is amazing to me that you can have a quality citrus tree available to plant in 18 months," said Mr. Cooley.  Most of the satsumas that are grown in Southwest Louisiana are grown and sold at the farm.
I would encourage you to visit Cooley's Citrus Farm and see for yourself what a blessing the Cooleys' are.  I'm sure you can sit on a swing on the porch and talk with them with a cup of coffee, almost any afternoon!  I appreciate Mr. Jimmy's attention to the community.  He has donated time teaching grafting at Phelps Correctional Center also.  He is always eager to help his neighbor and has a servant's heart.  My children have enjoyed helping pick satsumas over the years and I pray he stays picking till my little ones are big enough to help too!  We appreciate the character qualities he and Mrs. Ann teach our children.  This local farmer is a hidden gem in the woods of Longville!