Exclusively funded by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission
Ray Nations, Ray’s Florist & Greenhouse Back-up Heating For Greenhouse Grant Award: $8,000 Ray has added a generator and regulator for back-up heat to his greenhouse. The generator will power his whole facility if the power goes out for more … View >>
Regina Jodie McCord, Great Blue Farms Seed to Bloom to Bouquet Grant Award: $8,000 Having grown up on her family’s tobacco/vegetable farm, Jodie has been growing annuals, perennials, bi-annuals and shrubs for weddings and events on the same farm since … View >>
Nancy Bateman, Bateman Girls’ Cattle Farm Heifer Replacement Program Grant Award: $3,000 With the ultimate goal of growing out 20% replacement/additional head of cattle per year on their farm, Nancy has implemented a program that includes purchasing an EDP “heifer … View >>
Adam and Bill Beuttell, Daintrey Trees Solar Greenhouse for Fraser Fir Seedlings/Transplants Grant Award: $6,000 To move away from being highly dependent on suppliers in the Pacific Northwest, the Beuttells installed a 16′ x 24′ solar powered greenhouse to grow … View >>
Chip Hope, Sugartown Farm and Nursery Sustainable Plant Nursery Grant Award: $6,000 Chip has established a sustainable, low-tech plant nursery to produce naturally grown plants for sale and to offer workshops on growing food, medicinal plants, organic farming, including livestock … View >>
Linda Ann Davis Goat Milk Soap-Making Workshop Grant Award: $3,000 Linda is constructing a workshop dedicated to the production of goat milk soap. The insulated 10-foot by 12-foot wood frame structure consolidates all phases of the soap making operation, including … View >>
John H. McCoy, Smoky Mountain Trout Farm Solar Energy for Healthy Food Grant Award: $6,000 John is expanding his trout farm with the installation of 12 solar panels to power demand feeders and bug zappers on ten trout raceways. Demand … View >>
Anthony Cole, Jasperwood Farm Winter Squash Curing Facility Grant Award: $3,000 Anthony is building on the success of a 2010 WNC AgOptions project by improving the storage and curing of pumpkins and winter squash. He has constructed a passive solar … View >>
Jonathan Fannon, W.O.W.S.A. Off-grid Post-harvest Washing and Cold Storage Grant Award: $3,000 Jonathan is using a simple technique call “agrovoltaic” to shade heat-sensitive crops as well as generate energy for his farm. He is installing 2kw of solar panels high … View >>
Lisa and Brandon Higgins, C-Saw Hill Farm Solar Hot Water Dairy and Cheese Plant Grant Award: $6,000 Lisa and Brandon have installed a solar hot water system as part of their new dairy, where they plan to milk approximately 10 … View >>
Josh is transitioning his cattle farm to the Strip Grazing method with the purchase of solar-powered electric fencing to divide his pasture and hay field into sections. Cattle stay in four to five-acre strips at a time and are … View >>
Kim Van Winkle, Van Winkle Farm/Johnson Branch Farms Shiitake and Goldenseal Production Grant Award: $6,000 Kim is reintroducing farming to a dormant property with winter greenhouse shiitake mushroom production and the wild cultivation of goldenseal. She is constructing a solar … View >>
Alan and Seth are establishing an aquaponics greenhouse system integrated with their existing greens production. They are transforming a 1,500 square foot greenhouse into a symbiotic leafy green and tilapia production area. Excrement from the fish provides nutrients for the … View >>
Stephen Alan Thompson Nottely River Valley Vineyards Grant Award: $6,000 — Tasting Room and Pavilion Stephen is constructing a tasting room and pavilion for a 10-acre vineyard, planted in Vitis Vinifera and French American Hybrids. The pavilion is the focal … View >>
Steve Rice Indoor Mushroom Expansion – Grant Award: $6,000 “This grant has upgraded my operation immediately and showed me that significant income is possible.” ~ Steve Rice Steve grew up sharecropping tobacco and worked in it throughout his life. He … 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 >>