Cam and Ahna Frye have added another business to their busy lives.
By Loyd McIntosh
Cam and Ahna Frye are busy people. Extremely busy people. As the owners of Alleluia Acres Heritage Farm, the first Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) farm for pork and dairy in Alabama, the Fryes wake up before the sun rises to milk the cows, tend to the hogs, welcome visitors and local students for farm tours and classes, operate a land clearing business, and still find time to care for their growing family of two children with another due any moment. And, by the way, Ahna also teaches part-time online. Now, in their spare time, the Fryes can add “product development” to their curriculum vitae with the introduction of Safeway weed and pest spray.
CNG farming is a concept that extends beyond traditional organic farming, where farmers adhere to strict natural practices, such as avoiding synthetic chemicals and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and are also subject to peer review within the farming community. Still, CNG farms deal with the same pesky problems any agricultural endeavor faces.
While it may be a cliché, the saying “necessity is the mother of invention” is 100 percent accurate in this case. Safeway, the Frye’s brand of weed and pest control spray, was developed as a holistic way to solve problems around the farm. “It started with weed spray. That was our first goal, because we needed a way to control the weeds that are on the farm,” Ahna says. Additionally, Ahna’s father passed away from cancer in 2022 after years of working around pesticides and other chemicals on the job. That experience provided the motivation for the Fryes to find safer alternatives for weed and pest control at Alleluia Acres. Additionally, with three children growing up on the farm, Ahna says having peace of mind for their family was paramount.
“No formal doctor diagnosis was put in place, however, it was highly suspected that the form of cancer that my dad had was related to his use of pesticides,” Ahna explains. “So that fueled us to find a different avenue for weed control, which is how this all started, and then it kind of snowballed from there. We’re organic, and we have small children. Our oldest is four-and-a-half, and we have a two-year-old and will have a newborn next month, so we didn’t want to have any chemicals on the property at all. Cam was working towards formulating a perimeter pest control that would help here on the farm, and it just kind of evolved.”
While Ahna and Cam don’t allow chemicals on the farm, they have no qualms with cell phones, which Cam has made great use of to research ingredients and formulas, leading to the creation of Safeway. Ahna says many of her husband’s breakthroughs have occurred during the daily chores around the farm. “Safeway is Cam’s brainchild,” admits Ahna. “Usually, every day when he’s milking cows, bless his heart, that’s when he sends me a new PubMed study that he’s found.”
The Safeway line of products is garlic or vinegar-based, with a selection of essential oils added depending on the intended application. Cam says what separates Safeway from other natural weed and pest control products is the way he combines essential oils for better results. For instance, Cam explains that Safeway’s weed spray is a blend of nine essential oils, compared to just one in another popular brand.
“Essential oils work best in combination with each other,” Cam explains, adding that once the right combination is discovered, they enhance each other’s properties and create a more powerful, balanced, holistic approach to weed and pest control. “Yes, it’s a vinegar base,” he continues, “But we’ve got other things in there to work in combination.”
The Fryes launched Safeway earlier this year as a service-based brand, initially concentrating on Jefferson and Shelby Counties. However, Cam says word has spread quickly, leaving him scrambling a bit to provide the service as far and wide as possible, including requests to make Safeway available on retail shelves.
Cam says he is being careful and deliberate about Safeway’s expansion plans to avoid stretching himself too thin, as well as to keep his products and formulas out of competitors’ hands. “I didn’t want to go public with Safeway until we were ready because—whether or not this would really happen—my underlying fear was that some of these major companies, if they caught wind before we were ready to do it, would try to offer the service because they saw a dollar sign and not because they cared,” says Cam. “If a large company cared, then I wouldn’t be the only one trying to start this.”
While the Fryes are offering Safeway as a residential service with retail options coming soon, they are especially interested in making greater inroads in Alabama’s agricultural community. Cam and Ahna are working dilligently to not only provide their service to other farmers but to educate them on safer, natural, holistic pest and weed control methods. Above all, the Fryes hope to save others from the same fate Ahna’s father suffered due to long-term exposure to chemicals like glyphosate, even though they know it will be an uphill battle.
“A big goal of ours is to try and get glyphosate out of the egg community, and there are a lot of local farmers that will argue with me that it’s not an issue,” Ahna says. “Because of my daddy’s diagnosis, I would argue with you until I’m cold and dead.”
“I know we’ll never be able to compete with the price of a chemical, because our cost is more than what most of these pest companies charge for their service,” Cam says. “But my hope is we can convince enough people and enough farms that our product is as effective, and the price point just reflects the quality of the ingredients, and it’s nothing that you’re going to spray and risk long-term harm.”
Learn more about the Safeway Spray Company at safewayspray.com.