Dixie Belle is a fourth generation family farm with more than 2,000 acres of orchards in South Carolina's Aiken, Edgefield and Saluda Counties. The area is known as the Ridge and the Ridge is known for peaches.

In these south central counties, there's a range of gentle sloping hills, subtle, but sloping nonetheless. This is somewhat unusual, at least as it goes for this part of South Carolina. The landscape works well for peaches because cold air seeks the lowest point and the Ridge offers good drainage as the air slips into the valleys.

Our family is sewn into this area like the sturdy stitch in a pair of mended jeans. We like it here. This place and our farm, it's home. It defines our family and gives us purpose.

It's a way of seeing and doing things. It's long nights with eyes wide open, worrying about a spring freeze, a hail storm or the progress of an irrigation gun during a stretch of drought. It's clipboards holding dirt-smeared pages, muddy tractors, pressure, intensity and not enough daylight. It's too many peaches, not enough peaches, market prices, homemade peach ice cream on Sunday afternoons and evening business calls made from dad's cheap lawn chair. It's a sense of place, a life and a style.

There are nearly 40 peach varieties grown in South Carolina and the majority of the state's peach crop is grown for the fresh market. Approximately 18,000 acres of peaches are grown in the Palmetto State. Nationally, South Carolina ranks No. 2 in fresh peach production and interstate shipments. Georgia ranks No. 3 nationally in fresh production. At one time, one county in South Carolina could produce more commercially-grown fresh peaches than the entire state of Georgia.