Category: Small Farms Week

Farmers, Extension agents and others interested in small-scale farming gathered recently at the N.C. A&T University Farm to learn about everything from using technology in farming to growing specialty crops.

About 90 participants journeyed to Secret Garden Bees honey farm in Linden, N.C., which is owned by 2024 Small Farmers of the Year co-winners Jim Hartman and his wife, Christi. Guests were greeted with biscuits – fresh from a wood-burning stove – with honey and jelly, and welcoming remarks from the N.C. Cooperative Extension and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials.

The 39th annual N.C. Small Farms Week festivities kicked off March 24 in Warren County, home of 2024 co-winner of the N.C. Small Farmer of the Year award, Patrick Brown of Brown Family Farms, with a luncheon, networking, and a panel discussion designed to ignite the next generation of growers.

When Elvin and Madeline Eaton of Fairport Farm in Kittrell, N.C., decided to try growing produce and microgreens as a retirement venture, they resolved to do things differently on their quarter-acre farm: No tilling, no commercial fertilizers or pesticides, and beds that stayed in place for multiple seasons, rather than rotating.

Online registration for Small Farms Week, N.C. Cooperative Extension’s 39th annual celebration of small-scale agriculture, is now open, offering a bevy of forums, tours and networking opportunities for farmers, agricultural enthusiasts and the community. The 2025 Small Farmer of the Year also will be announced at the event, sponsored by Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T.

Two North Carolina farmers were named Small Farmers of the Year this week as N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University’s Cooperative Extension division celebrated Small Farms Week, N.C. Extension’s annual tribute to small-scale growers.

A fourth-generation family farm in Warren County in operation since 1865 and a small farm in Cumberland County run by a former U.S. Army officer turned beekeeper are the finalists for the 38th annual Small Farmer of the Year Award, N.C. A&T State University Cooperative Extension announced today.

When Ron Simmons told his friends and coworkers he planned to become a farmer, “they fell off their chairs laughing and said ‘Dude, you’re crazy,’” Simmons recalled.

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. – New niche crops, ethnic foods and multicultural food traditions are all on the menu for the 38th annual Small Farms Week, North Carolina A&T State University’s annual tribute to small-scale agriculture. Set for March 24-30, 2024, the week’s theme is “New Paths to Profits.”