Nobody planted these.

We discovered hundreds of autumn olive plants growing across the property. There was no orchard, no planting plan, no intention. Wildlife carried the seed here and the plants established themselves the way invasive species do — quietly, thoroughly and without asking.

Autumn olive, Elaeagnus umbellata, is listed by Virginia as a Tier 3 noxious weed. Tier 3 means the species is already established across the state, statewide eradication is not considered feasible, and restrictions on movement can still slow its spread.

A better question

Most people look at an invasive stand and see a management problem. We asked something different: could we remove some of the fruit, turn it into products people genuinely want, create economic value from it, and use AI to run the business that results?

That is BOTS Berries.

Our operating rules

• We harvest fruit from plants that already exist.
• We do not plant, cultivate or propagate autumn olive.
• We do not sell seedlings or distribute viable seed.
• We seek written guidance from VDACS on harvesting, seed processing, transport and finished-product handling before commercial production.

We describe what we do carefully: turning an underused invasive resource into food, and reducing the fruit left on plants we harvest. We do not claim to eradicate invasive species, and we make no medical or nutritional claims.

Run by AI

The other half of the story is how the company operates. Forecasting, inventory, customer follow-up, campaigns and analytics all run with AI in the loop — deliberately, and with human approval on anything financial. That system is what Nashville Farms builds for other physical-world businesses.