First Generation

When JP Sessions returned to Alabama at the end of World War II, he worked a little while at the shipyard in Pascagoula. One day, though, he showed up at home with a couple of mules, a wagon, and some farm equipment, looked at his wife, and said, “Irene, we’re goin’ farming.” He never looked back, and the trajectory of his family’s future changed forever.

Farming with a mule proved to be a hard way to earn a living for their growing family of six children. As JP kept at it, though, the kids learned to work alongside him and he began to expand the business. A contract with a potato chip company led to many acres dedicated to potatoes. Likewise, a contract with an out-of-state pecan broker expanded their pecan operation to wholesale buying and selling.

Second Generation

Eventually, the farm operation shifted to Art and David, two of Irene and JP’s sons. A fire at the old barn meant a new one had to be built, and that gave them the opportunity to expand their pecan operationg. The formation of a local cotton gin company resulted in more cotton fields.

Soon Art and David began traveling around the world, exploring the latest and best farming practices, which they adapted for the soil and climate of Mobile County. And, they opened their first produce stand.

Third Generation

As with most family businesses, everyone has a hand in the operation of the farm at some time in their lives. Whether they work at the produce stand, drive a tractor, run the grading machine, or perform any of a hundred other duties, all pitch in at Sessions Farms.

Sessions Farms now grows about 30 crops. Their largest crops include mandarin oranges (with 3,500 satsuma trees, planted across several orchards, they average 600,000 pounds each year), pecans, tomatoes, cantaloupes, sweet corn, and bell peppers.

Their certified operation requires special facilities to meet strict food safety requirements. Sessions Farm Market is located at their 6,500-square-foot warehouse, which has special insulated panels on its outside walls enabling any part of the warehouse, or all of it, to become a cooler.

Although Art and David remain active in the business, much of the day-to-day operation is managed by their sons, Jeremy and Adam. With both a retail and wholesale business and fields throughout the southwest corner of Mobile County, they have a full staff. Travis Hyatt oversees market operations at multiple locations. Blake Sessions makes sure the irrigation system is in place at the right field at the right time. Market employees and seasonal field workers round out the team.