North Carolina Newspapers

NEWS WEDNESDAY JANUARY 2D, 2D1B North Carolina's small farmers Dwindling in numbers and struggling to sustain a living Redbud Fanil uses its oiganic certification to differentiate from competitors. Clay Smith, 70, works about 50 hours a week harvesting his crops in preparation for local fanners markets. Bryan Anderson News Editor (gbryanranderson Nearly every day for the past sev eral decades. Clay Smith of Redbud Farm has awakened at sunrise eager to plant,'tend and market his crops. He’s 70 now and has witnessed mas sive changes in farming methods and economics. He’s typical in many ways of the farmers who are the foundation of a strong country. He and others like him are the exception to the rule today — small farmers who believe it ;s worth the struggle to continue in an agricul ture industry in which government, corporations and societal demands are constantly creating new hurdles to overcome. It is becoming more difficult to recruit young people to meet these challenges. The lack of profits and high start-up costs associated with modern-day farming have contrib uted to a declining interest in farm ing for younger generations, accord ing to Smith. “The average age of a farmer in North Carolina is up in the high 50s,” he said. “How much longer do I have? Maybe another 10 years. WeTl see. Nobody could do it forever. We need to have more young people coming into farming.” Dwindling interest in small-scale farming North Carolina agriculture is a $78 billion industry that employs 16 percent of the state’s work force. However, much of the profits are generated by large-scale farmers. Most individual and family farmers are not reaping the benefits. The most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture census, reported in 2012, showed a 5 percent decrease in the number of North Carolina farms between 2007 and 2012. Only 43 percent of those farms recorded net economic gains in 2007 and 2012. . Within the last couple decades, the number of North Carolina farms has stabilized around 60,000 after a dramatic decline between the 1960s and 1980s. Smith’s Redbud Farm has been one of the few farms to consistently record net gains. But Smith said his real success is limited by a number of factors. “Last year, on about three acres of land, we had gross sales of $62,000,” Smith explained. “The operational expenses in terms of seed, fertilizer, pesticide, fuel for the tractor, the ir rigation line and infrastructure and the electricity to run the cooler is about $30,000. So we made about $30,000. That’s not a lot of money7 If you take into account the fact that two full-time workers — Smith and his wife Nancy Joyner — were the “paid labor,” their annual salaries add up to just $16,000 each. That places them firmly below the pov erty line. Yet in terms of total farm reve- nue they are considered one of the wealthier North Carolina farms by comparison. The 2012 Census of Agriculture noted 79 percent of farms recorded less than $50,000 in revenue. Ralph Noble, chair of the depart ment of animal science at North Carolina A&T State University, works at the university’s farm and offers assistance to small and aspir ing farmers. Like Smith, he has wit nessed a steady decline in emerging farmers. “When I started school back in the 1960s, 90 percent of my friends had parents or grandparents who came from farms,” Noble said. “Now you can probably go back genera tions and you won’t find them there.” A lack of government programs encouraging young people to get into agriculture is partly to blame, according to Smith. “There should be more grants and low-interest loans for young people who want to go into farm ing,” he said. “A person coming out of college, tech school or high school is just beginning and doesn’t really have a financial nest egg or anything to go out and buy land or buy the minimal amount of equipment that they need.” ly to farms with limited resources through outreach and education. It also offers cost-share programs for good agricultural practices, certifi cation and water analysis. Smith, for example, received two- thirds of the cost of high tunnels for Redbud Farm thanks to a grant is sued by the Natural Resources Con servation Services. High tunnels are used as an irrigation system for crop production. This grant helped Smith make improvements to his farm to increase efficiency in growing toma toes. But cost-share programs general ly require farmers to put up a signif icant portion of the money. Smith, for instance, provided a third of the cost of building high tunnels. Farm ers who cant cover a portion of the costs are unable to install new equip ment, which allows wealthier farms, to grow much faster than smaller farms. Universities share best practices Cost-share and rebate programs There are some government rebates and cost-share programs available to small farmers. North Carolina’s Small and Minority Farm Program offers assistance direct Agricultural colleges and state universities throughout the United States have beeri offering support ive instructional programs for small farmers for hundreds of years. North Carolina A8cT was found ed as a land-grant institution in 1890. The school started on land made available by the federal gov ernment for the purpose of making farming accessible to the masses. “There was a time in this country when most of the education in this country was for the rich and ent people,” Noble said. “Then thenjJ came a point where the governmei said, ‘For us to forward, we’ve to educate the masses.’ And so th^ designated some money and som land for each state to get 30,001 acres of land per congressman Washington.” N.C. A&T has offered valuab resources to farmers since its eai days. One of its primary program today is demonstration farming. Small farmers meet with N.C A&T instructors at demonstratioi farms to learn how to maximize tk potential of their own land. As tli® farms improve and become exet plary, neighboring farmers can vis it their farms and learn about farming practices. This has allows the practices taught by N.C. A&F* be shared across all 100 North Caro lina counties. “When people trained by share with their neighbors, all their results improve,” Noble “We’re located in the middle of 1® counties. You can’t expect outside of the neighboring this or four counties to take the time come here.” While N.C. A&T tries to readij larger target, it remains focused supporting its surrounding munities through its three to annual field day workshops, workshops at its farm help information to the states far®J. about how to become more able.