OUR STORY

Ken Gilreath was born in 1959 and spent his youth in Northwest Georgia raising cattle and crops on the Gilreath Family farm along with his father.  Ken grew a passion for farming at a young age while showing steers and row cropping 1000 plus acres.  He was President of the FFA throughout high school.

 

The Gilreath family always believed in hard work and loyalty, coming from a long history of entrepreneurs. Ken’s grandfather, Fay, was a dairy farmer selling milk to the folks of Chattooga County, Georgia from his family owned country store. 

 

Ken’s father, Dorman, grew up as a farmer, rebuilt wrecks, bought and sold farm equipment, and owned a go-cart race track. He also raced carts which led him into the tire recapping and tire sales industry. Later in life, Dorman started a feed mill business to compliment grain raised on the farm.  He passed away in 1994 at the age of 58 while working the feed business and still farming in Summerville, Georgia.

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When his father passed, Ken had started a claims adjusting business and was working in Tennessee.  This left him with a dilemma.  Should he return to farming?  After a lot of contemplation, Ken decided to continue building his new business rather than to  return to farming.  The farm equipment and mill were sold at auction, leading to one of the lowest points in Ken's life.  He was haunted by the thought this was the end of Gilreath Farms and the legacy which had been built over multiple generations.

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Twenty years later, the blessings of God allowed Ken and Tina to breath new life into Gilreath Farms with the purchase of the new farm in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Now once again, for the first time in almost 50 years, Gilreath Farms hosts three generations of our family. 

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