Southern Hill Farms offers a fun and delicious opportunity with U-Pick blueberries, peaches, sweet corn, strawberries, and sunflowers. Southern Hill Farms, owned by David and Lisa Hill, is a true family business.
Southern Hill Farm History: While their family farm started several generations ago with vegetable crops and landscape trees, it has successfully grown into much more. David Hill married Lisa, whose father and grandfather were local Apopka area farmers. Lisa’s father, Billy Long, started by modestly renting twenty acres and proceeded to own over one-thousand acres. Their last crop of sweet corn there was grown in June 1998. After the state of Florida reclaimed their family farm in 1998, the family wanted to keep farming; they then worked one hundred and twenty acres as a landscape tree farm. With eighty acres planted with trees, they survived the 2008 recession. Then, with inspiration from their son Michael, they added blueberries in the vacant forty acres. Their first blueberry harvest was in 2012. After that, Michael and daughter-in-law Brooke wanted to start a U-Pick farm operation. After just two years of successful commercial farming and the new U-Pick farming program, it simply grew from there. In 2017, they successfully added peaches, strawberries, sunflowers, sweet corn, zucchini, squash, zinnia flowers, and a plethora of more vegetables.
Family Inspirations: Lisa Hill shares, “I remain truly inspired by being able to work every day with our children and grandchildren actively involved. We have been able to branch out even further with special events and festival events.” Brooke adds, “We now have so many family members; every aspect of Southern Hill Farms is really thought out as we work as a unified team. We love to help personalize family-friendly and quality farm experiences for our visitors. We work together to strive for top-notch crops, harvests, and events. We all value the well-rounded customer experience to make it fun, rewarding, and memorable.”
Rachael supervises Southern Hill Farms merchandise with their food products and foodservice menus. Lisa, Brooke, and Rachael work together to make all of the fresh homemade pies and baked goods. Visitors can buy homemade seasonal cakes, cobblers, pies, jams, jellies, muffins, and salsas. Their popular apple cider, strawberry, and blueberry doughnuts, as well as their handcrafted blueberry lemonade drinks, are available.
Fall Festival: While blueberry, strawberry, and sunflower picking are their biggest seasonal attractions, the Southern Hills Farms Fall Festival draws thousands of visitors. This year’s Fall Festival will kick off now through November 7th, 2021. They will feature an entirely new corn maze for extra family fun. There will be a large kid zone with rides including a carousel, big slide, bungee jump, rock-climbing wall, bounce house, swing ride, an obstacle course, a petting zoo, and inflatable jump pillows. Plan to pose for family photos with the pumpkin patch and in the corn maze and sunflower fields, as well as with an old tractor, fire engine, road grader, and antique trucks. There will be entertainment with live music every day on Thursdays through Sundays and a revolving variety of food trucks. This festival will be open from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Thursdays through Fridays and open from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays.
Seasonal Specials: They offer a variety of sweet to slightly tart blueberries with Emerald, Jewel, Arcadia, Meadowlark, Farthing, and Sentinel in April and May each year. With U-Pick farming, you can’t buy anything fresher! You find it, you pick it, and you eat it. After the Fall Festival, they will re-open in December for U-Pick strawberries and sunflowers through mid-March. Children under three are admitted for free. As a U-Pick farm, you merely pay for what you pick with staff set up at tents to help you. They have a spring Bouncing Blueberries event for stay-at-home moms with singing, story reading, hayrides, and crafts. There are a variety of U-Pick programs that you can explore on their website and Facebook pages. They offer Blueberry Loyalty Club Cards. Every time you pick fifteen pounds, you will earn a free pound.
Private Parties, Events & Extras: During the various seasons and in-between their own events, you can host corporate parties, school field trips, graduation parties, birthdays, weddings, and more. Their restrooms are clean, air-conditioned, and have chandeliers hanging to help make any wedding party and bride happy to be there. They have hosted 5K / 10-mile runs. They have actively supported numerous community service programs, fundraisers, and charities. Some of their season-ending farm field gleaning programs have shared thousands of pounds of free strawberries, peaches, and fruits to food banks. They are closed June through August and the first part of September each year. Southern Hill Farms is a large local employer and always looking to share work opportunities. Visit their website to sign up for their free eNewsletter.
David Hill shares, “We are very blessed to be able to work together as a family with all of our strengths and loves. We welcome you to come here to enjoy the most positive farm experience!
Southern Hills Farms: For more information, visit from Highways 429 or 27. They are located at 16651 Schofield Road, Clermont, FL 34714. Call 407-986-5806, visit: southernhillfarms.com, and follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/southernhillfarms.
