Exclusively funded by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission
Kelsey Green, Our Friendly Allies Greenhouse Expansion Grant Award: $6,000 Kelsey started Our Friendly Allies five years ago and has reached capacity on her two 20-foot by 20-foot greenhouses, which are used to propagate plugs for her ½-acre production field … View >>
Paige Witherington and Justin Dansby, Pitch Pine Farm Root Vegetable Harvesting Equipment Grant Award: $6,000 From farm analyses of their root vegetable production, it was identified that over ¾ of Pitch Pine Farm’s time is spent harvesting. The purchase of … View >>
Clement Swift, Clem’s Organic Gardens Machinery for Storage Vegetable Production Grant Award: $6,000 To assist with the expansion high demand organic root vegetables, including a unique variety of potato marketed as the “Appalachian Gold,” Clem purchased two pieces of specialty … View >>
Stephanie Poetter, Locally Good Farm Vinegar Production Expansion Grant Award: $6,000 To increase production to meet demand of locally produced apple-cider vinegar, Locally Good Farm expanded their vinegar production facility and started a ¼ acre orchard. Until they received the … View >>
Jackie Wall, Jackie’s… Naturally Facilities Expansion Grant Award: $6,000 Jackie has converted an existing outbuilding into a crop specific indoor growing space for organic microgreens. The interior was gutted and rebuilt to meet the specific conditions to grow microgreens and … View >>
Clement Swift, Clem’s Organic Gardens Top-Lift Carrot and Beet Harvester Grant Award: $6,000 Clem has purchased a unique piece of specialty harvesting equipment—a Scott Viner Top-Lift Carrot/Beet Harvester. This tractor-drawn implement undercuts a row of root crops, lifts them out … View >>
Susan Owen and Charles Coffey, The Lily Patch Farm Expanding Organic Production of Pawpaws Grant Award: $6,000 Susan expanded her current pawpaw production by planting additional trees, doubling the size of her orchard so that she is more than halfway … View >>
Gabriel Noard, Pangaea Plants Medicinal Herb Processing Equipment Grant Award: $6,000 Gabriel purchased an herb grinder and sorting machine that separates and sorts aerial parts of medicinal herbs. The project enables Gabriel to process large harvests in significantly less time … View >>
Joe Evans, Paper Crane Farm Crop Diversification: Specialty Cut Flowers Grant Award: $6,000 Joe has diversified his successful five-acre vegetable farm with the addition of a half-acre of cut flowers. To achieve this level of production, he has increased the … View >>
Todd Combs Green Dragon Ginseng Farm Grant Award: $6,000 Todd is growing a trial acre of organic ginseng, testing out a new organic product, Root Shield, which contains a beneficial fungus that eats problematic fungus. Typically ginseng growers need to … View >>
Gabriel Noard, Pangaea Plants Medicinal Herb Processing Grant Award: $6,000 Gabriel has built an herb dryer and processing area so that he can sell medicinal herbs throughout the year, benefiting from the higher market value of herbs in the non-harvest … View >>
Rachel Kinard, Just Ripe Farm Soil Improvement and Root Crop Expansion Grant Award: $6,000 Rachel has purchased a specialty tillage implement called an articulating spader that promotes higher root crop yields. Spaders prepare garden beds for planting in a gentle … View >>
Paige Witherington and Justin Dansby, Pitch Pine Farm Mechanical Cultivation Grant Award: $6,000 Paige and Justin purchased a vintage cultivating tractor and equipment to create a raised bed system in their fields, helping solve water drainage issues and creating an … View >>
Jon Miller, Miller Farms Kress Plastic Finger Weeder Grant Award: $6,000 Jon is enhancing weed control methods on his 50-acre USDA Certified Organic vegetable farm with the purchase of a unique tool, the KRESS plastic finger weeder. The innovative tractor … View >>
Steven has expanded Balsam Gardens’ vegetable production in a big way, while also transitioning to USDA Certified Organic to sell to large volume buyers and distributors. Steven has scaled up from 5 to 15 acres. The entire project costs … View >>
Joseph is diversifying his nursery and landscaping business, which has been in operation since 1997, by adding heirloom vegetables grown with organic methods. The additional crops help keep the viability of the Bethel Valley farm, which has been in his … View >>