Kamal Bell isn’t your stereotypical North Carolina farmer, and his Orange County farm isn’t your everyday farm. There, he’s not just farming, he’s also teaching — and doing both in ways aimed at raising the quality of life for people in his nearby hometown of Durham.

Agriculture and agribusiness are a $92.7 billion a year industry in North Carolina, and Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is determined to see that value top $100 billion soon. At North Carolina State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, three major initiatives -- the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative, the Food Processing and Manufacturing Initiative, and the Food Animal Initiative -- are designed to help the state meet and exceed that goal.

Our guests

Steve Lommel is associate dean of NC State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service. A plant virologist, Lommel came to North Carolina by way of California, where he earned university degrees in the areas of biology and plant pathology, and Kansas, where he served as the only plant virologist on the faculty at Kansas State University. As a William Neal Reynolds Professor of Plant Pathology at NC State, he studied how plant viruses moved through plants to cause disease and ultimately explored the use of plant viruses to deliver drugs for human cancer therapeutics.

Chris Reberg-Horton is NC State’s Plant Sciences Initiative platform director for resilient agricultural systems, a professor of organic cropping systems, and assistant director of collaborative research for the Center for Environmental Farming Systems. He grew up in western North Carolina, then earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before studying agronomy at the University of California at Davis. Returning to North Carolina, he worked with Cooperative Extension, then earned his Ph.D. 

M. Todd See is head of NC State University’s Department of Animal Science. As an extension specialist and researcher, his work in swine breeding, genetics and management led him to international recognition for educational programs. See holds three animal sciences degrees, a bachelor’s from Michigan State University and a master’s and doctorate from the University of Georgia.

 Bill Aimutis is executive director of the North Carolina Food Innovation Lab in Kannapolis. Considered one of the leading food scientists in the country, Aimutis has held several research and operations leadership and management positions for companies such as Cargill Inc., Land O’Lakes and Kerry Ingredients. He holds degrees in food science from Purdue University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is a fellow of the American Dairy Science Association.

Waste management is part of doing business for North Carolina’s 46,000 crop and livestock farms. And at North Carolina State University, researchers and extension specialists are working to cut waste management costs, create income from value-added products, and protect the environment. Two ways that the university is working to deliver waste management solutions: by helping farmers use plant-based agricultural leftovers to feed beef cattle and by finding ways efficient to turn hog manure into fertilizer and renewable energy. 

Our Guests

For 30 years, Matt Poore has served as a professor and beef Extension specialist at NC State University, where he focuses on nutrition for beef cattle, sheep and meat goats. He grew up spending his summers in North Carolina and his winters in the western part of the country. He often wondered why cows in North Carolina seemed to be merely part of the landscape, while in the West they were big business. The contrast captured his interest, and so he decided to study animal science and nutrition. At Arizona State University, he earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in the field.

Deidre Harmon has worked at NC State for three years as an assistant professor and extension livestock specialist stationed at the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville. She grew up on a cow-calf farm, where she enjoyed feeding the cows and seeing how nutrition influenced the kinds of calves the cows produced. She holds bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, a master’s from Virginia Tech and a doctorate from the University of Georgia.

Jay Cheng is a professor of biological and agricultural engineering at NC State University, with a primary focus on research and teaching related to environmental engineering and bioenergy processes. He has engaged in research collaborations around the globe and holds three engineering degrees: a bachelor’s degree from Jiangxi Institute of Technology in China, a master’s from Saints Cyril and Methodius University in North Macedonia and a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati.

When it comes to waste management, NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences delivers solutions. Learn how Rhonda Sherman helps others use worms to create valuable soil amendments from agricultural wastes.

OUR GUEST

Rhonda Sherman is an extension specialist with NC State University’s Department of Horticultural Science. Her work at the university over the past 28 years has focused on solid waste management. She’s written more than 60 publications and is author of the book “The Worm Farmers Handbook: Mid- to Large-Scale Vermicomposting for Farms, Businesses, Municipalities, Schools and Institutions.”

RESOURCES

Sherman’s website, composting.ces.ncsu.edu is chockfull of advice for anyone who wants to get into vermicomposting. Her vermicomposting page includes videos, podcasts and links to publications and articles in the popular press. Key publications include Raising Earthworms Successfully and Worms Can Recycle Your Garbage. 

You can also order her book The Worm Farmer’s Handbook: Mid- to Large-Scale Vermicomposting for Farms, Businesses, Municipalities, Schools, and Institutions from Amazon.

Sweetpotatoes: They're North Carolina's state vegetable, and they're not just for Thanksgiving anymore. Find out how North Carolina farmers have positioned our state as the national leader when it comes to production of this increasingly in-demand crop.

Resources

The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission’s website is full of information on sweetpotatoes, including recipes, nutrition facts and a new sweetpotato-focused curriculum for K-12 students.

 Our Guests

Daniel Tregeagle, a native of Australia, is an assistant professor and extension specialist with NC State University’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, where his focus on specialty crops. Previously, he earned his Ph.D. studying perennial crop production at the University of California Berkeley, then worked as a postdoc at UC Davis focusing on pesticide regulations, especially with specialty crops. 

Michelle Grainger is executive director of the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission, a voice for the sweetpotato industry in North Carolina and beyond. She joined the commission this summer, after having served for 20 years at NC State leading a research center in the Poole College of Management and working with leading farmers in the multi-state Executive Farm Management Program.

Jonathan Schultheis is a professor in NC State’s Department of Horticultural Science. He joined the university in 1989, and his focus is cultural management and production research and extension in vegetable crops, including sweetpotato, watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, pumpkin, cucumber and sweet corn.

Craig Yencho joined NC State’s Department of Horticultural Science in 1996 as an assistant professor and leader of the potato breeding and genetics program, then expanded into sweetpotato breeding the following year. Today, he is William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, developing sweetpotato varieties suited for North Carolina. That work is, in part, informed by his grant-funded efforts to improve sweetpotatoes in Africa.

Johnny Barnes is president of Barnes Farming in Spring Hope, North Carolina. After earning a degree in agricultural economics at NC State, he returned to the family farm. He’s on the university’s Board of Visitors; serves as president of the American Sweet Potato Marketing Institute and as past chairman of the North Carolina Farm Bureau’s labor committee; and is a board member for the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association.

Mike Boyette is Philip Morris Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and a licensed professional engineer at NC State. He holds three degrees from the university and is an expert in harvesting and postharvest handling of tobacco and fresh fruits and vegetables. He teaches his department’s capstone engineering course and has mentored more than 50 graduate students. 

Pepe Calderon is international sales director with Farm Pak, the sales team for Barnes Farming. He started working for Barnes Farming as an H2A worker, harvesting tobacco and sweetpotatoes. Today, he’s considered a top agricultural exporter: State Agricultural Commissioner Steve Troxler has honored him as Exporter of the Year, and Gov. Roy Cooper appointed him as the state’s first Latino member of the state’s Board of Agriculture. Read more about Calderon in CALS Magazine.

Imagine a pumpkin putting on 20, 30, even 40 to 60 pounds per day. It happens! With the North Carolina State Fair cancelled this year, the public won’t get to witness the Great Pumpkin and Watermelon Weigh-Off, but you can listen in to the latest episode of Farms, Food and You podcast as three North Carolinians with a passion for horticulture talk about the art, the science and the fun of growing giants.

Our Guests
Susie Zuerner of Arden, North Carolina, is so passionate about the art and science of growing giant produce that she’s volunteered for years to help organize watermelon and pumpkin weigh-offs at the North Carolina State Fair. Her biggest watermelon weighed 239 pounds, and her biggest pumpkin was over 994 pounds.

Elijah Meck of Randleman, North Carolina, works as a crop protection scientist for a major agricultural biotechnology company. He’s been growing giants since he was a graduate student studying entomology at North Carolina State University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 2010. He started out growing pumpkins and branched out watermelons, tomatoes, gourds, sunflowers and more. He represents the Southern United States on the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth.

Billy Caudle is an avid gardener and the 4-H youth program assistant in Currituck County, North Carolina. The city councilor in Elizabeth City and retired senior manager with FedEx joined Currituck’s Cooperative Extension staff in 2018 to oversee the 4-H day camping and community service and restitution programs.

Brandon Huber is a Ph.D. candidate at North Carolina State University who’s been a horticultural enthusiast since his childhood in Pennsylvania. As a master’s student, he worked on breeding stevia plants, and during his doctoral studies, he looked at how using certain lighting could improve the growth of tomato seedlings indoors. He also owns a rare corpse flower that’s attracted thousands of visitors to NC State eager to watch — and smell — the flower’s beautiful but stinky opening.

Rich Bonanno discusses the challenges North Carolina agriculture faces today and how NC State Extension, the organization he leads, works to keep the industry at the forefront of the state’s economy.

Fall usually brings corn mazes, hayrides, pick-your-own pumpkins and more ways to experience North Carolina farms, but the pandemic adds uncertainty for 2020. Learn more about how industry leaders and farmers are planning for the fall season and about a new app that will help you better connect with what’s in store.

OUR GUESTS

Annie Baggett serves as agritourism marketing specialist with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. She helps farmers develop and promote their agritourism activities and works to elevate the agritourism industry to key stakeholders across the state as a major revenue stream for farm diversification.

Carla Barbieri is a professor and extension specialist with North Carolina State University’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. She got interested in tourism while she was studying forestry as a graduate student in Peru, then dove deeper into the topic of agritourism while she was a Ph.D. student at Michigan State University. She joined NC State’s faculty in 2012.

Martha Mobley is a North Carolina Cooperative Extension agricultural agent in Franklin County. She grew up on a farm, raising and selling pumpkins to raise money for college. Today, she owns Meadow Lane Farm and hosts an annual agritourism event, Dinner in the Meadow, which celebrates local foods and raises scholarship funds for farmers. Because of COVID-19, the event has been cancelled for 2020.

Tina Gross farms with her husband, John, and their four children at Gross Farms in Lee County, North Carolina. A part-time community college instructor, Gross works full-time on the family farm, handling bookkeeping, public relations, marketing, community outreach and more. In the North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association, she serves as immediate past president, having served for three years as president.

MORE INFORMATION
NC State Extension’s tourism portal is chockfull of information ranging from news about virtual farm tours to resources for agribusinesses responding to COVID-19. You can also see the latest tweets from @NCExtTourism.

NCDA&CS’ site and www.visitncfarmstoday.com have links to the Visit NC Farms app and to sign up for the Monday Marketing Message, which serves up information to help farmers gain new visits, enhance farm experience and increase sales and overall farm value.

Another valuable online resource for agritourism farmers is the North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association website. Among the association’s goals: sharing best practices, networking, finding answers to challenges, celebrating successes and advocating for needed resources.

Another site, www.countonmenc.org, gives individuals and businesses the chance to learn more and get involved with the state’s Count on Me campaign. It includes information on the 3 Ws — wearing masks, washing hands and staying 6 feet from others when waiting—as well as other steps patrons can take to protect themselves and others. In addition, the site includes pandemic-related training modules and other information for businesses, including agribusinesses. 

Community gardens can give people who don’t have much land the chance to grow food while connecting with others. At a community garden on a former North Carolina plantation, refugees from Myanmar are reconnecting with their agrarian roots, producing the kinds of Asian vegetables that they and their ancestors grew before a long civil war caused them to flee.

MORE INFORMATION

Dig into NC State Extension’s NC Community Gardens portal to find a community garden near you; to learn how to start a new garden; or to find resources to support an existing garden.

Another great resource? Your county North Carolina Cooperative Extension center. Connect with Cooperative Extension.

OUR GUESTS
 
 Lucy Bradley is associate head and department extension leader for NC State University’s Department of Horticultural Science and directs NC State Extension’s consumer and community horticulture program. She has served in leadership roles with the grassroots North Carolina Community Garden Partners organization and the American Community Gardening Association.

 Liz Driscoll is a 4-H youth development specialist in three NC State departments – horticultural science, entomology and plant pathology and crop and soil science. Her 4-H Grow for It! program fosters curiosity and wonder among young people as they explore plants, insects and soils.

 Htoo Saw Ywa was born in Myanmar and lived in a refugee camp in Thailand before moving to North Carolina 15 years ago. He works in a distribution warehouse, and he markets some of the produce he raises at the Karen Community Farm.

Htoo Paw Loe grew up on a farm in Myanmar, and she gardened while she lived in a refugee camp in Thailand. Through the Karen Community Farm, she produces food for her family and for sale in local markets. She also works in a distribution warehouse.

 Sa Tin works as a housekeeper for the city of Raleigh. She has lived in North Carolina for 12 years, where she resettled with her son from a refugee camp in Thailand. Her husband remains in Thailand.

 Kay Coleman works with the nonprofit Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s urban agricultural program and has played a key role in the development of the Karen Community Farm. She earned degrees in both horticultural science and animal science at NC State.

Talmage Brown is a retired professor from NC State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, an Inter-Faith Food Shuttle volunteer and owner of Oaky Grove, remnants of a 19th century plantation that’s now home to the Karen Community Farm. He’s a College of Agricultural and Life Sciences alumnus and holds advanced degrees from Oklahoma State and Cornell universities.

OTHERS INTERVIEWED

Ar Kee was born in Myanmar but moved to a refugee camp when he was 12 years old. He and his wife came to the United States in 2008, and he works at a golf course.

S. Gary Bullen is an extension associate in farm management with NC State University’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. He is also director of NC Farm School, an extension program that helps beginning farmers across the state launch new enterprises. He’s also a volunteer with the Karen Community Farm.

Interest in locally grown food has grown over the past two decades, and disruptions in the food supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic have brought even more attention to this segment of our nation’s agricultural industry. How has the pandemic affected farmers and others involved producing and selling local foods? And what does the future hold for local foods in our state?

Our guests

Whitney and Isaiah Allen own and operate the 20-acre Rocky Run Farm in Mebane, North Carolina, producing an array of produce, meat and flowers for the local market. Isaiah is also executive chef and co-owner of The Eddy Pub in Saxapahaw in Alamance County. 

Kathryn Boys, an associate professor and department extension leader with North Carolina State University’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, analyzes problems and policies related to the economics of food safety and quality and studies the links between food systems and economic development and human health. 

Hannah Dankbar is manager of North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s local food program, which promotes the production, marketing and consumption of foods produced within North Carolina. To achieve that goal, Dankbar works with a team of experts from NC State and North Carolina A&T State universities and the Center for Environmental Farming Systems as well as county Extension agents and others partners throughout the state.