Alvin Lytle, Cove Creek Nursery
Expansion/Diversification to Grow Grain and Vegetables
Grant Award: $6,000
Alvin is diversifying his farm, which is currently a tree, shrub and vine nursery, to include the production of chemical-free produce and grain, flour and meal. He is cleaning his nursery fields that have overgrown stock plants, completing a greenhouse, and purchasing needed equipment such as a walk-in-cooler, transplanter, and a small combine and grain bins.
Alvin is breaking new ground in his area with the production of grains grown using organic principles. He’s also reviving a family tradition of turning wheat and rye into meal and flour. Part of his Old Fort property has been in his family’s hands since the 1850s. “Our great-grandparents ran a fully sustainable farm on this land for many years by working the land productively and sustainably,” Alvin said. “I can remember my grandpa and his helper working the land with horses and mules.”
Alvin holds an Annual Harvest Day so customers can help him on the farm, and involves his daughter Alexis, 10, in planting and harvesting. She wants to “follow in her daddy’s footsteps in farming,” Alvin said.
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