In February 2016 the WNC Agricultural Options program awarded 33 farmers grants totaling $177,000 to assist them in diversifying their farms.
Seven of the farm businesses received $3,000 and 26 received $6,000. Projects increase the economic sustainability of farm businesses as well as provide demonstration to other transitioning farmers.
Select a Topic to View the Results
County — Award; Farm; Recipient(s); Project Name
Agritourism
Mitchell — Grant Award: $6,000; Altapass Orchard; Starli McDowell; Serving the Good Stuff Lunch Wagon — GO >>
Watauga — Grant Award: $6,000; Greene Family Tree Farm; Burl Greene;
Diversification of the Farm: “The Four Seasons of Harvesting” — GO >>
Apples
Polk — Grant Award: $6,000; TK Family Farm; Jon Klimstra; High-Density Trellised Apple Orchard — GO >>
Aquaculture
Caldwell — Grant Award: $6,000; JB Farms; Paula and Dale Boles; Aquaponics Greenhouses — GO >>
EBCI — Grant Award: $6,000; Smoky Mountain Trout Farm; John McCoy; Solar Energy for Healthy Food — GO >>
Cattle/Beef
Avery — Grant Award: $6,000; Gragg Farms; Bobby Gragg; BRG Angus Local Grown Meat Production — GO >>
Buncombe — Grant Award: $6,000; Morgan Branch Red Angus; Martin Morgan; Commodity By-Product Mixer — GO >>
Haywood — Grant Award: $6,000; Chestnut Hill Farm; Tim and Jamie Kelley;
Grass Forages and Wildlife Preservation — GO >>
Yancey — Grant Award: $6,000; Edwards Farm; James Moore Edwards; Grass-Fed Cattle — GO >>
Bees
Macon — Grant Award: $6,000; Carringer Farms; Don Carringer; Bee Operation — GO >>
McDowell — Grant Award: $6,000; Sweet Betsy Farm; Karen and Ed Speer; Season Extension Project — GO >>
Christmas Trees
Mitchell — Grant Award: $6,000; Buck’s Tree Farm; Rodney Buchanan;
Alternative Fraser Fir Transplant Production Method — GO >>
Goats and Sheep
Cherokee — Grant Award: $3,000; Cordell Farms; Carolyn Cordell; Sheep and Goat Turn Table Corral System — GO >>
Clay — Grant Award: $6,000; Brothers on Farms; Susan Epps Ward; Lamb Production Expansion — GO >>
Ginseng
Watauga — Grant Award: $6,000; High Country Ginseng; Travis Cornett; Storage and Processing Facility — GO >>
Watauga — Grant Award: $6,000; Todd Combs, Incorporated; Todd Combs; Green Dragon Ginseng Farm — GO >>
Herbs
Buncombe — Grant Award: $6,000; Rayburn Farm; Michael and Lauren Rayburn; Herb Expansion — GO >>
Rutherford — Grant Award: $6,000; Pangaea Plants; Gabriel Noard; Medicinal Herb Processing — GO >>
Mushrooms
Watauga — Grant Award: $6,000; Against the Grain; Holland Whitesides and Andrew Bryant;
Mushrooms and Sorghum Molasses — GO >>
Watauga — Grant Award: $3,000; Lively Up Farm; Matthew Cooper; Mushroom Production — GO >>
Yancey — Grant Award: $6,000; Blooming Branch Farm; Dietrich Blum;
Bulk Substrate Steam Pasteurizer Project — GO >>
Natives
Yancey — Grant Award: $6,000; Exotic Natives Nursery; Bill Weeks;
Expanding Markets, Increasing Manageability and Sales of Native Azaleas — GO >>
Poultry
Transylvania — Grant Award: $6,000; Cosmo Farm; Allen Frost; Poultry Processing Building — GO >>
Rabbits
Transylvania — Grant Award: $6,000; Sospiro Ranch; Curt Burnside;
FDA-Compliant Meat Rabbit Processing Facility — GO >>
Sorghum
Macon — Grant Award: $3,000; Blue Ribbon Farms; Warren, Diana and Clint Cabe; Sorghum Syrup Production — GO >>
Watauga — Grant Award: $6,000; Against the Grain; Holland Whitesides and Andrew Bryant;
Mushrooms and Sorghum Molasses — GO >>
Value-Added
Graham — Grant Award: $3,000; Sassafras Springs Farm; Kendall Williams and Vicki Teem; Goat Milk Soap — GO >>
Swain — Grant Award: $3,000; Linda Ann Davis; Linda Ann Davis; Goat Milk Soap Making Workshop — GO >>
Vegetables
Buncombe — Grant Award: $6,000; Patchwork Urban Farms; Sunil Patel; Cold Storage Establishment — GO >>
Caldwell — Grant Award: $6,000; Living Roots Farm; April Kemp-Moya and Wesley Allen; Packing Facility — GO >>
Cleveland — Grant Award: $6,000; Circle C Farms; Jody Black; Improved Sweet Potato Production — GO >>
Henderson — Grant Award: $3,000; Edmundson Produce Farm; Randy Edmundson;
Growing Healthy Disease-Free Plants — GO >>
Transylvania — Grant Award: $6,000; Pitch Pine Farm; Paige Witherington and Justin Dansby;
Mechanical Cultivation — GO >>
Madison — Grant Award: $6,000; Just Ripe Farm; Rachel Kinard; Soil Improvement and Root Crop Expansion — GO >>