A born entrepreneur, in the 1960s my father started the first Shuman business, Shuman Fertilizer. He owned 4 retail locations where he sold fertilizer, seeds and supplies to local farmers. In the 70s, in addition to his fertilizer business, he also began farming in his hometown of Reidsville, Georgia, and by the 80s he was growing vegetables such as onions, bell peppers, cucumbers, cabbage and more. Later, in the mid-80s he grew his very first crop of Vidalia onions and began a legacy he is now famous for.
Through the 80s there were some tough times, as many farmers were hit hard by the National Farm Crisis, including my dad. He was able to keep the business open for a few more years, until 1994 when he had to close Shuman Fertilizer.
Never one to give up easily, in the 90s Mr. Buck became a Vidalia onion seed representative for the largest distributor in the sweet onion industry, D. Palmer Seed Co. Over the next 6 – 8 years, he developed some of the great Vidalia varieties the region became known for, such as the Miss Megan (named after his granddaughter) and the Sapelo (named after the Sapelo River on the Georgia coast where my father liked to fish). Sapelo is now known as a cornerstone of the Vidalia industry and is one of the most widely planted varieties.
