About Us

Marion "Rollen" Chalmers, known to most as Rollen, grew up in Hardeeville, S.C.  As a young man, he gained a wide range of experiences while working in various industries as a millright and electrical supplier.

Rollen's love of the outdoors led him to start his own business, Weedmasters, in 1996.  Weedmasters offers installation of water control devices, wildlife food plots and recreational farming.  His passion for farming inspired him  to perfect the skill of growing heritage rice and other heritage crops.

Glenn Roberts and Richard Schultz, Jr. gave Rollen the opportunity to start growing Carolina Gold Rice and Charleston Gold Rice at Turnbridge in Hardeeville, S.C. Turnbridge has proven to have what it takes for rice to thrive. 
In addition to growing heritage rice at Turnbridge, Rollen grew Carolina Gold Rice on Daufuskie Island, S.C. It was the first time rice had been grown there in over 100 years. 

One of Rollen's contributions to spreading the knowledge to others is his creation of a Carolina Gold Rice field at the University of Georgia Center for Research and Education at Wormsole in Savannah, GA. under the leadership of Sarah Ross. 

Rollen is a passionate woodsman who enjoys the outdoors and perfecting growing heritage grains. His humble spirit and positive attitude has given him the patience and perseverance needed to grow rice and other heritage crops in the many challenging environments of nature.

 

Rollen and his wife, Frances, opened the physical location of Rollen's RAW Grain in April 2023 in the Levy community of Hardeeville, SC. The physical location offers all of his grains products as well as fresh produce and niche health food products.