Exclusively funded by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission
Amy Johnston, Springhouse Farm Produce Stand Grant Award: $3,000 Amy is building a permanent produce stand on her farm, where she has had great success with direct sales due to the heavy traffic on her road. A permanent produce stand, … View >>
Danny Miller Choose and Cut Grant Award: $6,000 Danny and his family are opening a choose-and-cut operation this year to sell trees that they started planting in 2004. They are building a wooden farm building for use as a gift … View >>
David Tucker New River Corn Maze & Dark Mountain Choose & Cut Grant Award: $6,000 David is converting five acres of hay land into a corn maze and one acre into a pick-your-own pumpkin and ornamental gourds patch. He is … View >>
Ernie Dollar Organic Greenhouse Vegetables – Grant Award: $6,000 Ernie raised tobacco, beef cattle and hay from 1983 to 2008. With his award, he will set up a cold frame to grow and sell organic produce locally, a need in … View >>
With the help of his children, Marshall Shipp of Watauga County is increasing his bee hives to sell beekeeping supplies, candles, skin-care products and honey, including creamed varieties. He designed his hives so that he can transport them between locations … View >>
Maverick Farms is a 45 acre, second-generation family farm in Watauga County. With the WNC Ag Options Grant, a passive-solar greenhouse was constructed. The greenhouse will help the farm through the typical late-spring freezes and early fall frosts that occur … View >>
Agri-Tourism With the WNC Ag Options Grant, Diane Cornett Deal will be able to expand services offered at her choose and cut operation in Watauga County. Equipment purchased with the grant includes a “tree shaker” to remove excess needles … View >>
The Cornett’s purchased a new trailer with help from the WNC Ag Options grant. After Glenn Cornett stopped growing tobacco, he decided to supplement farm income by harvesting downed timber and investing in a portable sawmill. The new trailer will … View >>
For the past 25 years, Jerry Ellison has raised tobacco on a piece of land that has been in his family for the past 50 years in Watauga County. This piece of land is one of the last remaining agricultural … View >>
Crop Diversification The WNC Ag Options Grant has helped Scott transition from Burley tobacco to Irish Potatoes. With the Grant, Scott purchased a potato planter which has helped him greatly reduced labor costs for the farm. Wautauga County … View >>
Doug Clawson is a full time farmer who grew tobacco for 14 years on his family’s 75 year old farm. Mr. Clawson diversified his farm operation with cattle and Christmas tree production in the past decade. As opportunities in … View >>
Jerry Ellison is a part time farmer who has grown tobacco for 25 years and is looking for alternative income after the tobacco buy-out. Mr. Ellison is converting 1 acre of tobacco land into a commercial production for jack-o-lantern … View >>
Frank Payne is a member of the Watauga County Nurserymen’s Association and active participants in the county’s Choose-and-Cut industry. He has been working to develop more effective ways to market the “Choose-and-Cut Experience” to prospective clients from North Carolina and … View >>
J. Bryan will expand an adjacent 2 acres into a parking area to offer better traffic flow to the farm during the peak harvest season. The grant will be used to cover some of the labor and material costs … View >>
Nathaniel and his wife moved to Watauga County in 1998. They are interested in diversifying the production of their farm and exploring agritourism through their contacts in the Choose-N-Cut industry. The Maram’s plan is to propagate seeds of native … View >>
Shady Grove Gardens and Nursery has been Susan’s full time endeavor since 1986. They grow mainly high quality specialty cut flowers using organic methods, but marketing and revenue has failed to keep up with production. Their money is to … View >>