Exclusively funded by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission

2021 Recipient: John Queen Farms

John Queen III, John Queen Farms Hydraulic Squeeze Chute and Digital Scales for Heifer Development Grant Award: $6,000 John runs a stocker operation on his fourth-generation family farm, grazing about 500 head of cattle annually. He plans to purchase a … View >>

2020 Recipient: Lee Farms

Larry and Brandon Lee, Lee Farms Bulk Feed Storage Grant Award: $6,000 In order to save money and time, Lee Farms has added a facility to store bulk feed for their calving operation. Previously, they were feeding from 50 pound … View >>

2020 Recipient: Seagle Livestock

Todd Seagle, Seagle Livestock Handling Facility for Spent Brewers Grain Grant Award: $6,000 Since the first craft brewery opened in Macon County in 2015, Todd has been taking advantage of the spent brewers grain to feed his cattle. He is … View >>

2020 Recipient: Caorach Farm

Joseph Paul Miller, Caorach Farm LLC Sheep/Goat Handling Equipment Grant Award: $3,000 A young and up-and-coming farmer, Paul has been operating his sheep business for about a year. As he is looking to increase the herd, it has become clear … View >>

2020 Recipient: Colfax Creek Farm

Nicole and Aaron Bradley, Colfax Creek Farm Walk-in Freezer Expansion Grant Award: $6,000 With the help of a 2017 AgOptions grant, Colfax Creek Farm has been very successful in the past few years and has expanded to supply eight restaurants, … View >>

2020 Recipient: Ridgetop Farm

Scott Brown, Ridgetop Farm Spent Grain Dump Trailer Grant Award: $6,000 Starting in 2011, Scott began feeding his cattle spent brewers grain which led to finishing out cattle to supply meat to local restaurants in the Asheville area. As demand … View >>

2020 Recipient: Longview Farm

Roy Joseph Bledsoe, Longview Farm Improvements to Cattle Business Grant Award: $6,000 A former tobacco farmer who stopped growing tobacco in 2004, Mr. Bledsoe has been concentrating on selling cattle and is looking to improve practices on the farm. With … View >>

2020 Recipient: Braswell Farms

William Dennis Braswell, Braswell Farms Cattle Handling Facilities Enhancements Grant Award: $3,000 Since he stopped growing tobacco in 2004, Mr. Braswell has been working to increase his cattle business by steadily growing his herd of Black Angus. To increase efficiency … View >>

2019 Recipient: 3M Livestock

Gregory Miller, 3M Livestock Diversifying to Goats and Sheep Grant Award: $6,000 In order to diversify his cow/calf operation, Greg put up field fencing and removed the barbed wire to introduce goats and sheep to his herd. Since not all … View >>