Exclusively funded by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission
Dale added a high tunnel to his innovative educational farm that provides fresh produce, beef and eggs to campers and staff. The farm currently provides 70 percent of all food consumed at the camp, which feeds more than 325 … View >>
Michael and Casey Lance, Calee’s Coops Diversification Project: On-Farm Feed Grant Award: $6,000 The Lances are purchasing three-ton grain bins for on-farm storage of bulk feed, reducing transportation costs of buying 50 pound bags from a hardware store to feed … View >>
William and Glenda Newell Cherryfield Farm Grant Award: $6,000—Sheep Expansion Project William and Glenda are expanding their lamb meat operation by adding approximately 10 additional ewes, increasing their herd to 40 breeding ewes. The purchase of livestock handling equipment enhances … View >>
Ronald and Cheryl Searcy Wells Farm Grant Award: $6,000 — Livestock Treatment Facility The Searcys are improving their business of contract goat grazing by building a treatment facility for their animals. The building provides a safe area to examine livestock … View >>
David Mackey Beef Freezers Grant Award: $3,000 David and his family are establishing direct sales of their natural and hormone-free beef and pork. They have a relationship with a processing facility that will butcher, wrap and deliver the finished product … View >>
Annie Martin, Mountain Moss Green Alternatives for WNC Farmers: Eco-friendly Mosses Grant Award: $3,000 Annie is establishing a moss nursery to meet the expected demand for eco-friendly mosses in sustainable landscaping projects. To grow her business, which designs and installs … View >>
Harold F. Paxton, French Broad Garden Center Roadside Retail Sales Lot Establishment – Grant Award: $6,000 “The grant allowed us to do the advertising we needed to do, and basically set us on track for direct sales. Without it, we … View >>
Alan Johnson is building a greenhouse to propagate plant material, which he sells for stream restoration projects. The vegetation stabilizes stream banks to prevent soil erosion into the water. With the greenhouse addition, Alan can grow plants from seed, so … View >>
Dale Robertson, farm manager of the camp Gwynn Valley in Transylvania County, is automating his milking operation to improve educational opportunities for campers. The clear tubing of his automatic milker allows children at the camp to view the entire milking … View >>
Kate Gieger and Tom Dierolf are making a unifying product of goat’s milk soap, incorporating eggs and honey in some of the recipes. Kate is managing her horses, goats and chickens in a rotational grazing pattern that benefits the vegetation … View >>
Keith Chappel of Transylvania County is re-establishing his bee hives to make Poplar and Sourwood honey. Keith has kept bees since he was 12-years-old. Due to tremendous rainfall in the county between 2003 and 2005, he lost most of his … View >>
Ron and Cheryl Searcy of Wells Farm in Transylvania County have started a land-clearing and weed-management business using goats. Ron temporarily fences goats on his customers’ properties to control unwanted brush. With the grant, Searcy purchased a gasoline power fencing … View >>
Busy Bee Farms is part of the Century Whitmire Farm, which has been in the same family for over 100 years. With help from the WNC Ag Options Grant, Andy VonCanon and Brittany Whitmire keep bees and sell all natural … View >>
With the WNC Ag Options Grant, Queen’s Berry Farm has planted a new blackberry path that has disease resistant varieties. To support the patch, a shallow well pump with reservoir was installed. The pump will be powered by a solar … View >>
Bill and Dianne Hill, organic growers in Transylvania County, stand inside their newly erected and almost-complete high tunnel purchased with the WNC Ag Options Grant. With the grant, Holly Hill Farm will be able to extend the growing season of … View >>
Joe and Lee Tuttle purchased Queens Produce and Berry farm in 2003. The customer demand and inquiries from both the farm and the produce stand usually indicate which crops to expand. One such request for the Tuttle’s has been … View >>