Producer Projects
John Bennett—Family Farm Retreat/Hunting
Cabin—Vance
This is a proposal to create opportunities for family members to
remain employed on the farm by developing income from agritourism.
The funds will be used to help with the construction of a small
cabin on the property, which will be promoted as a vacation retreat
and hunting facility.
Hollie Brown—Severe Weather Facility for Free Range
Pork—Duplin
This project is to reduce losses of piglets due to extremes in temperature
and poor mothering characteristics in an existing free range pork
operation. The grant funds will be used to construct a shelter that
will reduce mortality caused by extreme heat and extreme cold as
well as reduce loss of piglets to crushing.
Donna Fulp—Riverside Farms Market and Equipment—Rockingham
This project is to assist with construction of an expanded roadside
stand for marketing of farm-raised products. The project will allow
increased sales of strawberries, vegetables, and bedding plants
as well as sales of farm equipment.
Roy Herring—Construction of a Roadside Stand—Robeson
This project will allow direct marketing of farm raised fruits and
vegetables. This project will help the Herrings to replace lost
tobacco income by direct marketing of various fruits and vegetables.
The project includes production of some non-traditional crops including
raspberries and peaches.
Janet Jackson—Jackson Farm Wedding Project—Sampson
This project will assist the Jacksons take advantage of an existing
farm cabin by expanding marketing of the facility for weddings.
The grant will enable the upgrade of facilities and landscaping
in order to accommodate wedding parties. The facility will be marketed
to area military bases.
George Jenkins—Wholesale Production Nursery—Jones
This project will help with the expansion of an existing nursery
to allow for service to area landscapers, plant brokers, and for
self-consumption through Mr. Jenkins landscaping business. The project
will meet an increasing need for wholesale plant material as the
New Bern area continues to expand.
Robert Knight—Commercial Liner and Nursery Production—Stokes
This project will create a farm enterprise to provide an income
for a new generation of farmers on this Stokes County farm. The
grant will help with development of a greenhouse liner production
operation for sale to state and regional wholesale and retail nurseries.
Jimmy Matthews—Muscadine Grape Vineyard—Surry
This project is to assist with the development of an experimental
muscadine grape vineyard in Surry County. Surry County is outside
of the traditional muscadine production area, but new cold-hardy
varieties could allow muscadines to be a profitable crop in the
area.
Brandon Miller—Momi/Frasier Grafting Production—Ashe
This project will assist with production of grafted Christmas tree
seedlings, which combine the marketability of the Frasier fir with
the phytopthera resistance of the Momi fir. If successful, this
combination will allow thousands of acres of infected land to return
to commercial tree production.
Daniel Pearsall—Cold Storage Facility—Duplin
This project will generate additional income for Mr. Pearsall’s
pastured pork operation by providing cold storage which will 1)
reduce trips to the processor, and 2) allow him to market cuts of
meat. Mr. Pearsall has a BBQ restaurant through which he currently
sells the bulk of his pastured pork. This project will increase
the efficiency of that process as well as enable him to sell higher
value cuts of meat to his existing customers.
Genell Pridgen—Pastured Poultry Production—Greene
This project is to develop a large-scale pastured poultry operation
in eastern North Carolina. Grant funds will assist with the fencing
costs, pasture improvements, and the construction of portable facilities
to accommodate a larger number of birds. There is an ever expanding
market for alternatively produced poultry products and this operation
is gearing up to meet the wholesale demand.
Richard Renegar—Hunting Creek Preserve—Iredell
This is a project to increase agritourism income for four farm families
through further development of hunting opportunities on the farm.
Grant funds will be used for advertising materials and development
of a sport clay shooting area, which would attract customers to
the farm from Charlotte and the Triad areas.
Ann Rose—Rose Mountain Farm—Ashe
This project will assist with the development of a diversified livestock
and vegetable operation in Ashe County. This project will demonstrate
sustainable agriculture principles in the High Country region of
North Carolina where adoption has lagged behind other parts of the
state.
Thomas Smith—Land Application of Lagoon Sludge—Duplin
This project will assist with the purchase of equipment necessary
to remove and land-apply built up sludge from hog lagoons in Duplin
County. Currently area producers are paying $1 per gallon for the
removal of sludge from lagoons, which is mandated to be completed
by 2007. The grant will enable Mr. Smith to service his own lagoons
as well as those of neighbors.
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Community Projects
Philip Barker—Sustaining Small
Farm Marketability—Vance
This project will help increase the incomes of 20 vegetable producers
by enabling them to access wholesale markets with specialty greens
crops. The grant will assist with the purchase of a hydro-cooler,
which is essential to proper post-harvest handling of greens.
Carol Coulter—Kitchen Cabinet—Ashe
This grant will provide operating capital for the initial year of
a new shared-use kitchen facility in Ashe County. The project has
developed from a feasibility study funded by RAFI in 2004 which
leveraged significant capital for facilities and equipment.
Billy Guthrie—Bogue Sound Watermelon Growers—Carteret,
Jones, and Onslow
This project will assist with the labeling and branding of the Bogue
Sound Watermelon. The Bogue Sound region is known for superior quality
watermelons and this group of growers hopes to generate additional
income through coordination of production and marketing under the
Bogue Sound label. The grant will assist with marketing consultants
and materials.
Roland Reed—OCBA Honey House—Onslow
This project will help educate farmers about declines in natural
pollinator populations and the importance of beekeeping to vegetable
and fruit production. The honey house will serve as an educational
facility as well as a honey processing facility for small-scale
honey producers.
Mark Seitz—Vegetable Seed Planter—Jones
This grant will support the purchase of a shared-use vegetable seeder,
which will help Jones County producers get more even germination
and better yields from their crops. The seeder is too expensive
for most small scale producers to afford; this project will overcome
that barrier by providing for cooperative use through the local
extension office.
Mark Wells—Rockingham Community Kitchen—Rockingham
This project will upgrade an existing commercial kitchen facility
to better meet the needs of area producers. The grant will help
with replacing the floor and with the purchase of specialty equipment
including a commercial dehydrator.
Charles Young—Goat and Sheep Demonstration Handling
Equipment—Ashe
This project will provide a trailer and panels to enable on-farm
demonstration of the use of tilt-table owned by cooperative extension.
The on-farm demonstrations of the equipment will facilitate vaccination
and foot care of goats and sheep in the region and save local producers
time and money.
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