M AGAZINE
Risk and Resilience
I AM CALS Alumna Jennifer Badger ‘16 Jennifer Badger is a matchmaker who connects shoppers with palate-pleasing products made close to home. The CALS agricultural business graduate serves as category manager of local foods for The Fresh Market for the eastern United States. She’s taking on new challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continued on page 42
NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Fall 2020 12 RISK AND RESILIENCE North Carolina farmers are persevering in the struggle to stay profitable. Here’s what NC State is doing to help turn the tide.
28 A FRESH APPROACH Lettuce tell you how CALS alumnae who met as graduate students in the Fish Barn decided to grow hydroponic greens.
36
FROM SUNRISE TO STARTUPS CALS graduate students keep an eye on farming’s horizon. In labs and fields, they’re working to solve today’s problems and preparing to take on tomorrow’s challenges.
3 CALS By the Numbers
32 A Partnership That Protects
7 CALS News
34 Experts You Can Count On
9 Ahead of the Curve
35 Social Media
ONLINE EDITION go.ncsu.edu/CALSMagazine
ON THE COVER: James Lamb, North Carolina Farmer of the Year. See story on page 22.
e zi n d a ag war e M nc r A S d n f o e ll e L l CA Go atio Exc 9 1 ci n s o t io 20 C
A s ni c a u m om
At CALS, we transform challenges into opportunities. 2020 has been a challenging year for us all. Difficult times remind us that we’re all connected. We have the ability to adapt and persevere, if we work together. Our CALS community knows this. I’m inspired by how our students have adapted, keeping their eyes on the future. In this issue you’ll read about students whose goals range from fighting animal and human diseases to finding new ways to produce and protect our food supply. They’re learning online, landing jobs and co-authoring scientific research in the midst of the pandemic.
FROM THE DEAN
Their mentors—our faculty—have modeled adaptability, switching to online instruction, keeping labs running and collaborating on critically needed research. In fact, as the graphics show, this has been an exceptionally productive year for research. We couldn’t have done it without our staff, who made changes to the campus and to our work procedures to protect our Pack. Perhaps no one understands resilience better than farmers, who deal with risk every growing season. Yet they manage to make the most of every opportunity. In this issue, we share the stories of agricultural innovators we’re proud to work with. We’ll continue to do our part as a land-grant university to support our communities and businesses through this time. Regardless of the challenge, CALS is still hard at work to help all North Carolinians. We remain committed to providing every student with a worldclass education. To make sure opportunities are available to everyone, we’re expanding efforts to end systemic racism and inequity. The support of our alumni, donors and collaborators makes our work possible. Thank you for your generosity. Your donations to the Student Emergency Fund keep our Pack members learning. Despite the current challenges, we have the courage to dream big dreams for the future of North Carolina agriculture and life sciences and the determination to make them happen. We can achieve them together.
Go Pack and Go CALS!
Richard Linton, Dean College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 2 CALS Magazine
CALS
2020-21 Enrollment
BY THE
2,691 + 269 + 996
NUMBERS
Undergraduate students
2020
600
Incoming 4-year students
$96.5 M in grants 350+
faculty-led teams have sustained and advanced research
2,130
NC State students helped by Student Emergency Fund
“
~ 250
CALS students
10+
AGI students
Graduate students
~21%
through Nominate a Student Initiative
~30%
from rural N.C.
virtual field days and dozens of training videos
36+
County Extension centers conducting face-to-face meetings
> 13,000
restaurant workers certified in COVID-19 food safety via Count on Me NC
Regardless of the challenge, CALS is still hard at work to help all North Carolinians. – CALS Dean Richard Linton
$51.6 M in donor support
1M
Masks donated to N.C. farmworkers through NC State Extension and DHHS
1,033
farmworkers in six counties completed Extension health and safety training
TRENDING
The Buzz About Native Bees Bees—both honey bees and less famous native bees— are critical for agriculture, especially for pollinating nutritious fruits and vegetables. Hannah Levenson, a graduate student in entomology and ecology and evolutionary biology, has been studying how much state-mandated pollinator plots at North Carolina research stations support native bee populations for four years. “North Carolina has more than 560 different species of native bees,” Levenson says, some of which are essential for pollinating important North Carolina crops like tomatoes and blueberries. Cucumbers, watermelon and squash total $66 million in farm cash receipts and are primarily pollinated by native squash bees. Blueberries, a $57 million crop, are pollinated by native southeastern blueberry bees and bumblebees. Tomatoes, valued at $33.8 million, are pollinated by bumblebees and other native bees. Other crops, such as soybeans and peanuts, don’t require pollination by native bees but may benefit from it. Levenson collects and identifies bees from small plots of wildflowers planted at 15 of the 18 research stations operated by NC State and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. So far, she has found that the flower plots, which are typically less than a half-acre, have increased the number and diversity of native bees. Thick, richly blooming plots of diverse flowers attract more bees than scraggly or withered plots or plots with a single type of flower, such as sunflowers only. Last summer she started a new project to see if the pollinator plots impact soybeans and found that the presence of the habitat increased yield quality and quantity of nearby soybean fields. All of North Carolina’s native bees have different nesting requirements and different favorite flowers, Levenson says. “Doing one thing is not going to help all of the species, but planting a mix of flowers in your yard or on otherwise unusable land can support many different species.” — Mollie Rappé
Waste Not Cows may have a bad rap for producing methane, a greenhouse gas, but as NC State animal scientists Matt Poore and Deidre Harmon point out, cows do have environmental benefits. Their complex digestive systems can, for example, turn some agricultural leftovers into protein-rich meat for human consumption. At NC State, researchers and extension educators have a track record of figuring out how to convert a range of byproducts—from sweetpotato skins to soybean hulls—into nutritious, affordable and practical feed ingredients for cattle. The result: less waste in landfills, reduced disposal costs for industry and lower feed costs for farmers. Poore, a professor and extension livestock specialist, says he and his colleagues take an “ultra-careful” approach, first questioning whether the potential feed ingredient could cause adverse side effects. Poore began studying potential byproducts of corn and soybean milling in the 1990s. These byproducts are now mainstream cattle nutrition options. Harmon is building on that success. Stationed at the Mountain Research Station at Waynesville, she’s fielded questions from food manufacturers
and waste industry representatives about using leftover grains from beer brewing, pulp from apple cider production and even unsold pumpkins as cattle feed. Buron Lanier, a Pender County farmer, is among the farmers who’ve benefited from the research and outreach efforts. He says that getting leftovers from cotton ginning saved his cattle farm. Lanier has 400 acres where cattle graze on fescue during the winter. In 2018, Hurricane Florence flooded about 100 of those acres for days, killing the grass. “Within two weeks, it was all dead,” he says. “We were counting on that to get us through the winter. It was
an emergency situation, and we had to find something else.” A feed company offered to send two free truckloads of cotton-ginning waste, but the farmer was leery. “I thought, is it going to be harmful to the cows?” he recalls. “But I wasn’t in a position to turn anything down, so we took some samples and gave them to Matt. An analysis showed that the byproduct is very good.” Lanier found that cows can be maintained on cotton gin waste and thrive when supplemented with whole cottonseed. “It worked out so well, we’re probably going to be using it from here on out as long as we can get it.” — Dee Shore
cals.ncsu.edu 5
Growing Up
To increase agricultural yields, a CALS horticultural scientist and his students are literally looking up. They want to know if growing plants indoors in vertically stacked layers could be part of the solution to feeding a fast-growing world population as farmland becomes scarcer. Ricardo Hernandez, a leading expert on growing plants in controlled environments, is exploring ways to make vertical farming profitable and sustainable. He and his students have modified a donated shipping container to grow produce and herbs on campus. Mark Watson, who graduated in May, says that indoor vertical farming has several advantages. It allows for year-round production, and it’s less susceptible to weather extremes. It can also be used in urban settings, potentially reducing food losses that occur in getting crops from rural farms to tables. Still, substantial challenges remain. Indoor production requires significant energy, which pushes farmers’ costs up. 6 CALS Magazine
Watson hadn’t heard of vertical farming before he took Hernandez’s controlled-environment horticulture class in 2019. He went on to win a national award for independent research on the best temperature and humidity to allow tomato plants to heal indoors after being grafted onto the rootstocks of other plants. He also served as president of NC State’s Vertical Farms Club, which is testing leafy greens and other food crops in the shipping container and exploring marketing opportunities. The club includes students in horticulture, plant and microbial biology, crop and soil sciences, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical and aerospace engineering. Hernandez sees possibilities for farmers to raise highvalue seedlings in vertical farms. As he explains, “Using a controlled environment can be key, because we can grow plants in high density and manipulate the environment—the lighting, the temperature, air movements and carbon dioxide concentrations—to produce the best seedlings possible.” — Dee Shore
CALSNEWS WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Grayson Walker: Spring 2017 issue As a CALS poultry science student, Grayson Walker studied ways to reduce salmonella bacteria, which can harm poultry and people. As a doctoral student in NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, he does research on E. coli, another group of bacteria that can be passed from animals to people. Walker works to improve treatments for animal diseases or stop them entirely. “It also gives me the chance to use animals as models to learn more about human diseases,” he adds. After he completes doctorates in comparative biomedical science and veterinary medicine, Walker will work at a new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas. “Dream job of preventing bioterrorism realized,” he writes.
Allie Briner Crawley: Spring 2017 issue As a CALS graduate student Allie Briner Crawley worked with a renowned expert on the CRISPR-Cas gene-editing system. Now she’s founding scientist for LifeEdit, a startup company in Research Triangle Park that’s developing novel gene-editing systems for better health. Crawley earned a master’s in food science and Ph.D. in functional genomics. “NC State prepared me exceptionally well for a career at a biotech startup,” she says. “The interdisciplinary nature of genomic sciences and the BIT (biotechnology) program taught me the importance of being able to communicate with scientists from many different backgrounds.” Crawley, who prepares data for patent filings, appreciates the emphasis NC State mentor Rodolphe Barrangou put on protecting intellectual property. Her work could help develop cures for genetic diseases.
Michael Lloyd: Fall 2018 issue Entrepreneur and Ph.D. student Michael Lloyd is working to patent processing methods that make antioxidant ingredients in foods easier for the body to absorb. Lloyd built his healthy condiment business by commercializing technologies from his great-grandfather’s recipes into a line of Num Num Sauces, which are sold online and through Whole Foods Market/Amazon. He’s pursuing a doctorate in food, bioprocessing and nutrition sciences, while seeking investors and planning to take his company public. Lloyd believes the South is ripe for new food science-based businesses that can improve health and create jobs. “I’ve already got locations selected across the state for ingredients and food processing operations,” he says. cals.ncsu.edu 7
CALS Magazine Spring 2020 A Publication of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Editor
D’Lyn Ford
Art Director Staff Writers
Patty Mercer Dee Shore Kristin Sargent Mollie Rappé Alice Manning Touchette Stacy Chandler
Photographers
Marc Hall Becky Kirkland Catie Spell
Videographers
Ken Ellzey Chris Liotta
Dean and Executive Director for Agricultural Programs Richard Linton Senior Associate Dean for Administration Harry Daniels Associate Dean and Director, NC State Extension Richard Bonanno Associate Dean and Director, N.C. Agricultural Research Service Steve Lommel Associate Dean and Director, Academic Programs John Dole Assistant Dean and Director, CALS Advancement Sonia Murphy Assistant Director, CALS Alumni and Friends Society Lindsay Skinner Chief Communications Officer Richard Campbell Visit Us Online > cals.ncsu.edu NC State University promotes equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination and harassment based upon one’s age, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation and veteran status. Send correspondence and requests for change of address to CALS Magazine Editor, Campus Box 7603, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 -7603. 10,000 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of 89¢ per copy. Printed on recycled paper.
8 CALS Magazine
Grunden Takes New Leadership Role Amy Grunden, a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Microbiology, became assistant director for the life sciences for the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (NCARS) in July. “She has a proven track record in faculty mentoring, research leadership and managing large interdisciplinary efforts, all attributes that will support and grow the CALS research enterprise,” said Steve Lommel, NCARS director and CALS associate dean for research. Grunden leads an interdisciplinary team on an international Novo Nordisk Foundation-funded research program to leverage microbes to improve wheat resilience. She will work on several major programs, including the Plant Sciences Initiative and Food Animal Initiative. “I’m looking forward to being a true liaison for the life sciences faculty and staff members,” Grunden said.
Boston Retires After three decades with CALS, Rebecca “Becky” Boston, a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor and former assistant director of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (NCARS) has entered the ranks of professor emerita. Boston and her students have made many groundbreaking discoveries through their research on the biochemical processes responsible for phenotypes of maize seed mutants. She considers developing students, postdocs, and junior colleagues her biggest contribution to the scientific community. “From the time I arrived here, there’s always been a very cooperative and collegial research community of people being willing to help and people doing excellent science,” Boston said. She intends to remain connected to the university.
Ahead of the Curve By D’Lyn Ford
Ashley Campos jokes that she did things backwards. It’s more accurate to say she was ahead of the curve. Eager to be among the first in NC State’s Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Master’s Program (IBMP) in 2018, she filled out the application last, after doing interviews and taking the GRE. “Fortunately, everything worked out, and it has been an interesting ride for sure,” Campos says. IBMP, funded by the National Science Foundation and NC State, prepares students from underrepresented groups for biotech careers, doctoral study or medical school. “I always like to push myself out of my comfort zone,” Campos says. The former collegiate soccer player graduated from Queens University in Charlotte in 2015 and worked for a few years before pursuing a master’s degree. “When I heard about this opportunity, it definitely piqued my interest to expand my knowledge about biochemistry, as well as get experience in a field of research.” In August, Campos became the first IBMP student to defend her thesis—right after starting a new job in Durham as a scientist with Eurofins, an international life sciences company. During her interviews, Campos discussed her interdisciplinary
research on antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter in cattle, part of the thesis work that IBMP students do in one of five departments. Campos worked with Sophia
“
I always like to push myself out of my comfort zone.
Kathariou, a professor in Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, along with researchers in the College of Veterinary Medicine. IBMP students also work in CALS labs in Animal Science, Prestage Poultry Science, Plant and Microbial Biology, and Molecular and Structural Biochemistry. “I definitely think that one of the factors for being able to get the job that I did was having that applicable, hands-on experience,” Campos says. > cals.ncsu.edu 9
“
My big career goal is to do rare disease research.
Personalized Support Like Campos, Dontae Mosley remembers his excitement in hearing about IBMP during a brief conversation at UNC Pembroke, where he earned a bachelor’s in biotechnology in 2019. Carrying sandwiches for a meeting, Mosley stopped to show the way to Greg Buhrman, NC State’s IBMP coordinator. They talked for 15 minutes before others joined them, but it was a game changer for Mosley, who wanted to pursue a master’s. “For my undergrad career, my mother and father took out loans in their name and they kind of pushed me through undergrad,” Mosley says. “And I was really thankful for that.” That help wasn’t a possibility for graduate school. Buhrman explained that IBMP provides practical and academic support to increase the number of master’s students from underrepresented groups. “Our diversity at NC State has been going up fairly well with undergraduates and some for Ph.D. level students, but at the master’s level, it’s been stagnant,” Buhrman says.
10 CALS Magazine
IBMP helps remove financial barriers by providing support of $10,000 from NSF plus a stipend of about $18,000 from NC State. After a mutual matching process in their second year, students receive funding through a research lab. Two months after meeting Buhrman, Mosley interviewed at NC State, leaving with personalized recommendations. To strengthen his foundation for graduate biochemistry work, he took classes in the spring before starting IBMP in August. This fall, he’ll spend 25 to 30 hours a week working in a lab. He’s looking forward to an IBMP graduate seminar that connects students with biotech recruiters and industry professionals. “My big career goal is to do rare disease research—understanding why these diseases happen, the mechanisms behind it,” Mosley says. “Getting this degree in biochemistry will help me focus on that.” >
Pandemic Progress For Emilio Balbuena, a second-year IBMP student, shutdowns due to COVID-19 had the potential to throw his progress off track. Instead, he made the most of working from home in Kannapolis, where he’s doing thesis research on nutritional pathways through NC State’s Plants for Human Health Institute. With in-person scientific conferences canceled, Balbuena made a virtual research poster presentation on behalf of the Kerim Eroglu lab. An interdisciplinary team is studying whether brightly colored compounds called carotenoids, such as beta carotene in carrots and lycopene in tomatoes, might protect against lung cancer.
“
A little over a year in, and I’m already published.
A few weeks later, Balbuena reached a career milestone, becoming one of the co-authors of a scientific paper in MDPI Antioxidants Journal. “A little over a year in, and I’m already published,” he says. Balbuena, who earned his bachelor’s in biochemistry from NC State, credits faculty support for IBMP students, both on and off the main campus. “Your professors and committee do checks along the way to make sure you’re on the right track with your thesis project,” he says. “You’ve got people looking out for you.”
Learn more about NC State’s Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Master’s Program > go.ncsu.edu/ibmp
Risk and Resilience By Dee Shore
North Carolina farmers have faced significant stress in recent years, and COVID-19 has made matters worse. What is NC State doing to help turn the tide? And why should we all care?
T
he average American farmer feeds an estimated 166 people every day. But in North Carolina, some farmers feel squeezed.
The costs to produce food, feed and fiber have been rising for nearly a decade, while the prices farmers receive for their crops have not. These trends have created what economists call a cost-price squeeze: Profit margins have become wisp-thin—or nonexistent—for many of the state’s producers. 12 CALS Magazine
As Nick Piggott, a CALS agricultural and resource economics professor, explains, “The world price is a large part of our local prices, and we don’t have the consistently higher yields that they have in the Midwest. “You take that with the fact that we’ve seen disruptions in agriculture due to the COVID-19 pandemic and major weather events that have impacted crop yields, and profitability has become even more challenging.”
COVER STORY In February, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast national farm debt to rise this year to a record high of $425 billion. When adjusted for inflation, that number is lower than it was in the 1980s farm crisis, but it’s been climbing for more than two decades. The bankruptcy rate in 2019, according to the American Farm Bureau, was up 33% over 2018 in North Carolina and 48% in the Southeast. The national rate slowed in the first half of 2020, in part because of
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, but it was 8% above year-ago levels. Risk is an everyday reality for farmers, much of it beyond their direct control, Piggott says. Along with weather, tariffs and trade wars, farmers deal with emerging pests and pathogens. The COVID-19 pandemic added challenges. “It was a shock that we didn’t see coming, and it definitely hit agriculture,” Piggott says. cals.ncsu.edu 13
Agriculture in North Carolina
$92.7B
46.4K
Total value of agriculture and agribusiness
69%
Livestock
Farms in N.C.
31%
90%+ 8.4M
Crops
$11.1B
Acres of farmland
Total farm cash receipts
181
2
78%
decrease over 30 years
500-year floods in 3 years 3 hurricanes in 4 growing seasons
$1.1B+
Family owned
Estimated ag loss from Hurricane Florence
89%
decrease over 30 years
3
Record-breaking droughts in 15 years
Average farm size in acres
fueled 2016 wildfires in the Great Smoky Mountains
$1.67B Net farm income
10%
decrease over 10 years
Farmers by age
772K
N.C. jobs supported through agriculture
58.1 avg. age 4% < 35
Sources: USDA NASS 2017 Census of Agriculture, NC Broadband Infrastructure Office
21%
39%
23% 12%
10% 35-44
45-54
27%
Farmed for < 10 years
avg. age = 47.5 14 CALS Magazine
30%
55-64
65-74
75+
33%
Female
avg. age = 57
of rural N.C. lacks high-speed broadband access
4.1M
Data points per day on average farm by 2050
COVID-19 rocked the meat industry. Processing plants closed or slowed production as workers got sick and companies implemented safety measures. From April to June, processing capacity was down as much as 40% for pork and beef, Piggott says. Some farmers, mainly in the Midwest, had to depopulate their herds or flocks, while others had to raise fewer animals. In late August, the effect on farmers was lessening as processing capacity returned to 2019 levels. COVID-19 poses “an additional risk on top of all the other risks for farmers,” Piggott says. “And the longer the virus lingers, the bigger the economic impacts will be.”
The View from the Top Despite the risks, Steve Troxler and Shawn Harding—who hold two of the state’s most influential agricultural leadership positions—are confident in farming’s future. Troxler, the N.C. commissioner of agriculture, notes, “I’ve seen these people basically knocked to their knees, but I’ve seen them stand back up. They know there’s a good future in farming.”
Harding, a Beaufort County farmer who became North Carolina Farm Bureau president in December, says the heartbreaking stories raise important questions. “Agriculture is a business. We understand the business principles, but is there something we need to do as a society?” Harding asks. “Something that we need to look at that will make agriculture as important as any other occupation?” North Carolina agriculture remains in transition. “Tobacco was such a big part of this state for so many years, and now it’s just not the same,” Harding says. “Quite frankly, a lot of our farmers are just, ‘What do we do? What do we do at this point?’” Fortunately, Troxler says, new opportunities are emerging. Legislative support and CARES Act funds are building capacity for local meat processing, which should help the state’s livestock and aquaculture producers, he says. The pandemic increased interest in locally produced food, a trend Troxler hopes will attract new customers. He and Harding agree that agriculture in North Carolina isn’t down for the count. “We can do it,” Troxler says. “And the reason we will do it is research.”
The CALS Connection Research has a strong record in raising American farmers’ efficiency, creating new opportunities for North Carolina farmers, says CALS Dean Richard Linton. “There are a lot of incredible agriscience success stories, and the common thread for all of them is North Carolina’s innovative farmers and agribusinesses. They are constantly asking ‘what’s next’ for their operations and are visionary investors in and adopters of new technology and science.”
In 2018, after Hurricane Florence, “we did a lot of reconnaissance in Eastern North Carolina to see what needed to be done, and when we stopped to talk to farm families, I saw tears running down their faces,” Troxler says. He has seen more tears in recent years than at any time in his life. “Farm families,” Troxler says, “have about had enough.” Mountain Research Station > Haywood County
cals.ncsu.edu 15
COVER STORY
Futures prices for agricultural commodities nosedived as restaurants, schools and universities closed, scaled back or moved online. Demand increased from grocery stores and food banks.
There’s particular promise in interdisciplinary partnerships NC State is building to address challenges in plant sciences and food animal agriculture, Linton says. Pairing the internet with advanced data sciences could help farmers make better real-time production decisions, down to the square inch, he adds. That could give them a competitive edge in the global market. However, many of the state’s farmers lack reliable, affordable broadband access to make sense of all the data they could collect. This spring, 1,500 North Carolina farmers responded to a survey from the North Carolina Broadband Infrastructure Office and NC State’s Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. Only 16 percent of those who tested their internet connectivity met the FCC’s definition of high speed. Lack of universal broadband access created disadvantages early this year, says Hannah Dankbar, NC State Extension’s local food program manager. Dankbar says that while some farmers pivoted to direct-to-consumer sales online, revamping “their whole marketing plan for the year, which is really difficult and not ideal to be doing in March,” those with slower connections faced hurdles. Enhancing rural internet service would bolster NC State’s ability to evaluate new technology and innovation before producers risk deploying it on their farms, Linton says. A proposed Future Ready Farms network would help connect farmers with the state’s 18 agricultural research stations, North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative, North Carolina Food Innovation Lab in Kannapolis and new Agricultural Sciences Center that the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is building in Raleigh.
16 CALS Magazine
Starting a Deeper Conversation Some farmers see a need for deeper connections with consumers, worried that the public doesn’t understand how critical agriculture is to the state’s economy and quality of life. “We’re such a small segment of the population now because we’ve been so efficient,” Harding says. “I think the challenge is to say, ‘Hey, there’s only 2% of us producing food for 98% of you.’ The way we produce that food is something people are interested in now.” It’s time for the agricultural sector to make the most of that interest, Harding says. “We want to have a conversation with people about how their food is grown and what we do,” Harding adds. “It’s more than telling the story of agriculture. … It’s engaging in a conversation with consumers.” Archie Griffin, a farmer in Beaufort County, agrees. “What I want most for this farm is for it to be successful, and I want to give back to the community,” he says. “I want the community around me, when they hear the Griffin Farms name, to say, ‘Oh, yeah, not only do they have good crops and good produce, they stand out. And they care.’” READ MORE: Griffin and other agricultural innovators share their strategies, starting on page 18.
COVER STORY
‘Asking for Help is a Sign of Strength’ Farming and stress have long been synonymous, says North Carolina Agromedicine Institute Director Robin Tutor-Marcom. But today, the stress is getting worse. She calls it compounded stress. In recent years, North Carolina agriculture has been hit hard not just by record-breaking national disasters but also with a sustained barrage of problems: tariffs and trade wars, lawsuits, low crop prices, rising costs, a labor shortage, changing policies and regulations, a sharp uptick in farm bankruptcies and, now, disruptions due to COVID-19. These factors create major, sometimes life-threatening, stress, she says. And it has hit close to home. In 2019, Tutor-Marcom’s adult son decided to sell his swine operation because the stress overwhelmed him. “ T imes like these,” he told her, “will make you think of doing things you wouldn’t normally do.” Robin Tutor-Marcom took that as a personal and professional challenge.
sionals, agricultural lenders and N.C. Cooperative Extension agents. She also developed an agricultural stress website, which lists resources for farmers experiencing anxiety or depression. The site contains a video message from NC State Extension Director Richard Bonanno, encouraging farmers to reach out when they need help. The message is informed by his own experience as a family farmer. “Combined with a lack of rural mental health infrastructure and the reluctance of farmers to seek assistance even during tough times—let’s face it,
“We rally around and support one another like a family, and this situation calls for community as much as any I’ve seen.”
The institute she leads is a partnership of East Carolina, NC State and North Carolina A&T State universities. It addresses the health and safety risks faced by farmers, foresters and fishermen, their families and communities. Farmers’ mental health has become a major focus for the institute. Calls come in nearly every day. Tutor-Marcom, who holds a doctorate in agricultural and extension education from NC State, has conducted workshops across the state to raise awareness among health-care profes-
40%
we can be a proud and stubborn bunch—studies have shown that emotional and mental health issues continue to spike among farm families nationwide,” Bonanno says. “Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness, and the farming community is as strong a group of people as I’ve ever known,” Bonanno adds. “We rally around and support one another like a
family, and this situation calls for community as much as any I’ve seen.” If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text 741741 to the Crisis Text Line. NC Agromedicine Institute farm stress site: ncagromedicine.org/program-agriculturalstress.php NC State Extension video on stress: go.ncsu.edu/extension-farm-stress
higher injury rate for ag workers than other workers cals.ncsu.edu 17
Jose “Pepe” Calderon Spring Hope, NC Strategy: Global marketing As the international sales director for the United States’ largest sweet potato farm, Jose Calderon is considered a top agricultural exporter. In 2009, State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler honored him as the Exporter of the Year. In 2017, Gov. Roy Cooper appointed him to the state’s Board of Agriculture through 2023, making him the first Latino to serve on the board. His U.S. career, though, had humble beginnings. Calderon, known by his nickname, Pepe, came 18 years ago from Costa Rica through the federal H-2A program. He went to work at Barnes Farming in Nash County. Despite his college degrees in accounting, business administration and computer science, and his agricultural experience on banana and pineapple plantations, he started out at the company by picking tobacco and harvesting sweet potatoes.
“The issue we face is competition, and it will continue to be challenging not just for sweet potatoes but for U.S. agriculture as a whole.”
The farm’s management recognized Calderon’s talents and moved him up the ladder. Since 2007, he’s worked with Farm Pak, Barnes Farming’s marketing division. His accent made it difficult for the East Coast buyers he was working with to understand him, so he tried focusing on the European market, where, he jokes, everyone speaks English with an accent. Sweet potatoes were uncommon in Europe, and to succeed, Calderon had to convince consumers there to try the crop. They needed recipes that suited both their eating habits and their taste buds. “It wasn’t really hard—just costly. We hired a company to create and distribute the recipes in ways that attracted consumers,” Calderon says. “We did little brochures and cards, mailing them, printing them in magazines and distributing them online.” International customers buy 30% to 50% of Barnes Farming’s sweet potatoes each year. But there’s competition, especially from Spain. Varieties and storage systems developed at NC State have given the U.S. an advantage, but these assets are quickly being adopted by international competitors. 18 CALS Magazine
“Eventually we’re going to be out of competition because of our production costs,” Calderon says. He pointed to labor costs as the main reason. The H-2A program that allowed him to come to the United States requires that workers be paid at least $12.50 per hour. “We are competing with countries paying $5 a day,” Calderon says. “I don’t think that the U.S. can continue that and still lead the competition.” Still he sees several alternatives: advancing high-density vertical farming in controlled environments to yield more
COVER STORY The NC State connection uniform crops, developing new varieties with value-added benefits and alternative uses, and creating new markets for sweet potatoes that don’t conform to market preferences like shape and size. “North Carolina will always be a leading state for farming,” he says. “Hopefully we can improve our yields to justify and balance out the costs we pay to produce sweet potatoes and the price that buyers are willing to pay for them.”
Calderon participated in Executive Farm Management, a 12-day education program delivered across six weeks in January and February and led by NC State through a partnership with East Carolina University, Clemson University Cooperative Extension and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. “They promote it as a boot camp, and I totally agree with that. It’s very intensive, with a lot of good information,” he says. Calderon also credits NC State for its track record in sweet potato-related research and extension, which has helped North Carolina earn the No. 1 spot among sweet potato-producing states. Still, more research is needed, he says, especially when it comes to pest management, new varieties and chemical treatments.
The NC State connection Archie Griffin graduated from NC State in 2012 with degrees in agronomy and crop science. He’s taken part in the Executive Farm Management program, an NC State Extension partnership with other Southeastern universities, and the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Agricultural Leadership Development Program. Both are led by CALS faculty members and partners. “We also rely on NC State researchers and on Extension. We are in constant contact—at least once a week,” Griffin says. “At NC State, everybody who is there is there to help you, and all you have to do is ask.” 20 CALS Magazine
COVER STORY
Archie Griffin Washington, NC | Strategy: Precision technology What keeps Archie Griffin up at night? More often than not, it’s a sense of foreboding that he may one day lose the farm that his grandfather started building in the 1960s. “No one wants to fail,” Griffin says. “You’ve seen what the previous generation has been able to build and accomplish, and you have that drive to not only keep that alive but make it even better. It’s tremendous pressure.” With his father, Steve, Archie farms almost 2,000 acres of tobacco, corn, soybeans and wheat in Eastern North Carolina. The cost of producing row crops has increased significantly in recent years, while the prices their customers pay for those commodities have fallen.
“Things are becoming tighter and tighter and tighter. You’re having to increase efficiency. You’re having to optimize your resources. And you’re having to innovate.”
To confront the costprice squeeze, the Griffins use precision farming technology to gather data on what’s happening in real time on their farm. It’s a must for eking out savings, Archie says.
“We try to map out and collect information on fuel usage, soil compaction, the optimal revolutions per minute to run on the tractor to reduce fuel costs, the optimal fertilizers to put out—the right amount for that soil based upon its historical yields,” he says. “We’re trying to use this data to optimize our resources and our margins.”
Archie, who holds a bachelor’s degree from NC State and an MBA from East Carolina University, says that he has also learned a lot from his father, especially about being willing to change. Change is not always motivated by profit, Archie says. “It’s directed toward our environment and preserving what we have. I’m looking at more of a
long-term legacy standpoint than I am the short-term.” Archie is also considering ways to make the farm part of a circular economy—a regenerative system in which almost everything is recycled. “One thing we want to know is how we can add value to one commodity to reduce the cost of another one,” Archie says. He saw a striking example as he traveled the world as a 2018-20 Nuffield International Farming Scholar. “I went to a farm in the United Kingdom, and it was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen. On the outside it looked like an ordinary farm,” Archie says. “But this farm was different, and it changed over time.” The heart of the farm was swine, chicken and grain production. But the farm had added a butcher shop, a farm-to-fork restaurant and an anaerobic digester to create organic fertilizer and fuel to heat all of their farm operations. “Not only did they open up and create multiple revenue streams, but they also reduced the budget line and costs,” Archie says. When commodity prices nosedived this spring, Archie remembered the UK farm. The Griffins began re-evaluating their business plan, with an eye toward building on rising interest in locally produced food. “What we’re trying to do is to develop a strategy that gives not only the local foods experience but gives an experience beyond just being able to buy your own food,” Archie says. He envisions a restaurant, farmers market and brewery—a little village, as he puts it—where people can experience the farm and are known by name. “Paying attention to consumer demands and trends … is the biggest thing that’s going to help us move forward in the future.”
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The NC State connection Since earning a bachelor’s degree in agricultural and environmental technology, Lamb has gained leadership skills through the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission Agricultural Leadership Development program at NC State. He also collaborates on university research aimed at converting sludge from waste lagoons into valuable byproducts, including energy. Earlier, he worked with the university to create small, remote-controlled boats to make sampling waste lagoons easier and safer. 22 CALS Magazine
COVER STORY
James Lamb Clinton, NC | Strategy: Combining off-farm employment with contract farming What a long way North Carolina’s 2020 Farmer of the Year James Lamb has come since March 19, 1990. Lamb’s life changed forever that day, when his dad died suddenly. He was no longer a farmer’s son. Instead, he was a farmer, faced with making crucial decisions every day. He was 16 and the only one of six children still at home. How, he wondered, could he keep the family’s 75-acre farm? How could he balance his work as a student with work on the farm? And what would he do after graduating from high school? His mother worked off the farm, and with planting time approaching, Lamb decided to take a part-time job, rent some of the family land, and assume responsibility for his father’s row crops, beef cattle and pigs. All the while, he kept up with his studies.
brings his income up to what he’d been offered by the equipment maker, he says. Lamb’s mom, now 89, checks on the pigs during the day and lets Lamb know of any problems. Lamb takes over in the evenings, after he’s done with his job. During busy times, he hires a part-time worker. His biggest challenge is keeping his farm profitable—something made more complicated by disruptions caused by the pandemic. Between March and August, Lamb had three “turns”—times when he sends the piglets he’s raised to finishing farms and receives a new batch. Each time, he received fewer pigs than he has room for. Even though shoppers have been paying higher prices for pork at the grocery store, his income has fallen.
Lamb went on to attend NC State on a “Whether you do contract livestock or row full-ride scholarship for children of veterans. crops, you don’t have the ability to spread After earning a bachelor’s degree in 1996, your cost to your consumer,” Lamb says. he got a job offer with an out-of-state farm “Everything has gone up in the last 20 equipment company but instead chose years, but the price we get hasn’t gone up to return to Sampson County to farm and enough to make up for those costs.” raise a family. Lamb stopped growing row crops because he needed costly new equipment that banks were reluctant to finance. Instead, he took a job as an environmental specialist with Prestage Farms, a large pork and poultry company. Lamb ensures that company-owned farms in North Carolina and South Carolina comply with environmental regulations. He also helps contract growers get and keep necessary permits. Lamb later signed a contract with the company to produce pigs on his farm. Raising 20,000 piglets in his nursery operation
Still, Lamb is hopeful the farm will ulti-
“I chose to come back to Sampson County and to become a swine producer because I wanted to raise a family in rural North Carolina. If it wasn’t for the contract farming system, that would have been hard, if not impossible.”
mately provide his two daughters with additional income. One is in pharmacy school at the University of South Carolina, and the other is an eighth-grader. “In America, unlike some other parts of the world, we don’t wake up every morning wondering how we are going to eat. Instead, it’s a matter of what we want to eat,” Lamb notes. “That’s because our farmers work hard and are dedicated to providing people with healthy, safe and abundant food.” cals.ncsu.edu 23
Doris and Donald Kidd Selma, NC Strategy: Niche marketing Doris and Donald Kidd aren’t what Doris would call “mega farmers”—far from it. And in North Carolina, they’re not alone. Although farm size is growing, small farms of all kinds continue to predominate. Of the state’s 46,418 farms, 21,125—about 46%— have fewer than 50 acres, according to 2017 Census data. The Kidds farm on four to five of the 15 acres of former tobacco land that they bought in 1989. That purchase was their first step toward a long-time dream, raising their son as they’d been raised—on a working farm. Now retired (she is a former school teacher, and he was a boiler inspector for the North Carolina Department of Labor), the couple uses the money generated from the farm to supplement their pensions. The farm also provides them with “freedom and space and the ability to work in the dirt and see things grow,” Donald says. The couple is among a handful of North Carolina garlic farmers and one of few producing elephant garlic, a cross between leeks and garlic. They also grow lettuce, herbs and other greens in a greenhouse and then transplant them into a high tunnel—an unheated plastic-covered structure that gives the plants an extra layer of protection from the elements. Their biggest challenge is the weather. “It’s been really tough to deal with what appears to be a change in climate,” Donald says. “We’ve been dogged by unseasonably warm, wet winters for the last five years. … This year, we were barely able to get the garlic in the ground before it started raining.” Another challenge is competing against foreign imports. “Most of the garlic sold in the U.S. is grown in China and other countries where prices are really depressed,” Donald says. To overcome that disadvantage, they focus on a niche market— consumers willing to pay more for locally produced food. At
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The NC State connection The Kidds expanded their operation in 2019 with an NC AgVentures grant to buy a larger garlic drying barn. AgVentures is supported exclusively by the state’s Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and administered by NC State Extension with help from county Cooperative Extension agents. Farmers in 46 counties are eligible to apply.
the State Farmers Market in Raleigh, they have customers who “recognize what we do and what we put into it, and they are willing to pay a little more.” After a slow start this year due to COVID-19, sales picked up and the Kidds closed their season with a profit. Not only that, they gained a new sales venue— the monthly Black Farmers Market in Raleigh, which launched this summer. They also found success at the affiliated Black Farmers Market in Durham. “We had such a huge garlic crop this year, we were able to try these markets,” Doris says. “To have a market like that is really exceptional. “Getting food on the table that’s sustainable and that’s healthy for people is important,” she adds. “Being able to contribute to that has been a real blessing for us.”
COVER STORY
“People want to know where their food is coming from and how it’s grown. They want it to be healthy for them and sustainable for the environment.” DORIS KIDD cals.ncsu.edu 25
“We’re always trying to keep our eyes open for new opportunities to diversify, and I think we’re going to have to continue to do so.”
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COVER STORY
Jason Davis Mills River, NC | Strategy: Diversification To say that Jason Davis has encountered challenges over the 21 years he’s been farming would be an understatement. Yet it’s nearly impossible to overstate his passion for farming. It gives him the chance to work outdoors and to raise his three children in Mills River, a mountain town he’s always called home. Davis didn’t grow up on a farm, but he fell in love with farming as a young teen. To earn money, he took jobs on two nearby farms—a dairy farm and a row-crop operation. He went away to a Bible college but returned when one of the farmers he’d worked with decided to retire. He leased that grower’s land and arranged for owner- financing of his equipment. He slowly grew his North River Farm from burley tobacco, hay and row crops. Now he has five divisions: row crops, vegetables, cattle, forage crops and agritourism. He does everything he can to offer customers what they want. Some of what he raises goes to wholesalers, but consumers can come to the farm to pick their own food, or they can buy it at local farmers and tailgate markets. The Mills River runs through his property, and he invites people to picnic by the river. Most recently, he’s launched an outfitting company for those who want to hunt and fish. Davis hosts events throughout the year to allow people of all ages to come to the farm, learn where their food comes from and see the practices he uses to be a good steward of the land. Davis has weathered hard times when he wanted to give up: floods, droughts, back-to-back hurricanes, labor shortages, wildfires and a devastating barn fire. “It was full of hay, and we lost a lot of our assets,” Davis recalls. “Most of the older equipment in the barn was uninsured.” The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges, changing the way the farm operates and its 2020 crop goals, Davis says.
He maintained his cattle herd and expanded his horse boarding operation, but cut back on corn and soybean planting due to low commodity prices. Labor shortages and reduced marketing options hurt his vegetable operation. And all of the farm’s agritourism events were canceled or postponed. “Farming has been full of challenges—and lots of hard work, lots of heartburn, lots of stress,” Davis says. But he has also had his share of it’s-worth-it moments, too. “It’s been several years ago, and we were going through tough weather,” he says. “We were behind the eight ball, late with our planting and late with our hay harvest.” At 11 or 12 at night, he drove his tractor to the crest of a hill. “I remember looking out over the community, seeing the lights and the airplanes taking off from the runway from the Asheville airport,” Davis recalls. “I remember just stopping and thinking … how privileged I am to be a farmer. “And I also felt the sense that everything was going to be all right.”
The NC State connection “We learned very early on to rely on Extension (as) a neutral, nonpartisan way to get research-based information,” Davis says. “Extension agents were willing to come out to our farm and get their boots dirty—to get right in there with us and experience what we were going through. … The researchers and educators at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center also provide us with tremendous learning experiences. They are a real asset to our farm.” Davis regularly gives back. He’s served on his county and state Extension advisory boards, and he’s also hosted research trials on his farm, including some to test the viability of East Coast broccoli production.
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A Fresh Approach By Alice Manning Touchette
Two scientists turned farmers are bringing salad greens to the Research Triangle year-round with their state-of-the-art hydroponic farm. 2016 CALS graduates Mary Cove and Allison Culbreth, co-owners of Blue Thumb Farms in Zebulon, strive to provide local, delicious and environmentally sustainable produce. The self-taught farmers met while pursuing master’s degrees in applied ecology at NC State. Working on aquaculture projects to raise fish, the two quickly formed a friendship and, in spring 2017, a grand plan. “We realized that the only lettuce we could buy at our grocery stores was shipped from California or Arizona,” Culbreth says. “From our work at the Fish Barn, we knew how to operate hydroponic systems. Hydroponics is the farming of the future, now.” Following a year of intensive work, they opened Blue Thumb Farms (a nod to their roots in aquaculture). Located 15 miles southeast of Raleigh, Blue Thumb produces thousands of packages of baby iceberg, arugula, kale, romaine and other greens each week. Hydroponic Know-How The growing process starts in the headhouse where the two farmers seed plants for germination. Baby greens and herbs go into greenhouse beds on large Styrofoam rafts. Seedlings are lightly misted and left untouched for 20 days, drawing all their nutrients from the waterbed. Growers rely on a precise blend of nutrients and constant water sampling to pinpoint what plants need. To keep plant roots healthy, water from the beds circulates through the headhouse where it’s ozonated every four hours. “The ozone gas zaps anything that may be growing in the water that shouldn’t be and adds a lot of oxygen, which keeps the plants healthy,” Culbreth says. A ventilation system monitors the greenhouse temperature, releasing trapped air and creating a cross-breeze when it gets too warm or turning on heaters when the temperature drops. >
Mary Cove (left) and Allison Culbreth 28 CALS Magazine
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“The beauty of our farming is that by default it’s clean,” Cove says. “It’s protected from the elements, pesticide-free, non-GMO. We don’t have wildlife coming through our crops like terrestrial farms, and we have a strict food safety protocol, meaning that the products are only touched by our team with gloved hands at the very end of the growing cycle when we package them.” Culbreth, Cove and their team harvest, pack and deliver the produce within 24 hours. Pandemic Impact Blue Thumb’s stringent food safety system served them well when the COVID-19 pandemic hit North Carolina. “Our protocols were already very strict, but now we wear masks for every activity that is closer than six feet in the greenhouse, and all delivery drivers wear masks and gloves and they constantly sanitize everything,” Cove says. “We’re a little family here, so keeping our employees safe is really important to us.” Blue Thumb also increased partnerships with home delivery companies, including The Produce Box. “Because we’re an essential business, we offered employment continuously to all our employees, hired another person for our team and added a second delivery vehicle, a 16-foot box truck,” Culbreth says. “Our business shifted a little, but we were still able to expand.” In the midst of all the change, Cove was a new mother. Her daughter was born in early February.
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“Spending any time away from her is tough, but I’m proud to continue working on something I really care about. It’s about a future for her also,” Cove says. “Because of the pandemic, my husband is working from home and able to be with her, which has been fortunate and a silver lining to all this.”
Science-Driven Sustainability Research backgrounds enable the business partners to make Blue Thumb more efficient and environmentally friendly.
uses 90% to 95% less water than the same product grown in the ground.”
“We are constantly collecting data because we’re super-focused on science and sustainability. They go hand-in-hand here,” Cove says. “Our farming
Using a greenhouse reduces growing time and energy use, while selling locally saves fuel. Blue Thumb is committed to being waste-conscious at every step, from seeding to order to packing in recyclable containers. Both Cove and Culbreth value what they learned at NC State. “I walked away from my master’s with the ability to problem-solve and troubleshoot, not give up and keep my cool,” Cove says. “I did not know that I was going to need to be a salesperson, an accountant, a plumber and a farmer all in the same day, but I learned at NC State that there is always a solution somewhere, and we can figure it out.” Culbreth agrees. “Having a research background has made all the difference. We’re finding out things that other farms don’t know about, enabling us to grow superior products and make people happy.”
“We are constantly collecting data because we’re superfocused on science and sustainability. They go hand-in-hand here.” MARY COVE
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A Partnership That Protects By D’Lyn Ford NC State alumna Lisbeth Carolina Arias moved from designing statement clothing to teaming up with N.C. Cooperative Extension to provide masks for farmworkers during the pandemic. Arias’ company, Descalza, makes special occasion clothing with textiles from weavers in Guatemala and El Salvador. With events canceled, her customers asked her to design masks. She wanted to do more. “Descalza’s very centered around community,” Arias explains. “I wanted to find a way where we could work together with someone else.” She consulted longtime friend Roberto Rosales, an educator with Extension’s Farmworker Health and Safety Education Program. Rosales works with farmers and farm labor contractors to provide health and safety training, masks and
COVID-19 prevention information for farmworkers who work, travel, shop and live together. Arias set up a “buy one, give one” offer to donate a fabric mask for each one purchased through Descalza. “We’re doing the distribution of masks through our farmworker training so that it’s actually an ideal partnership where we’re directly taking the masks to workers that it’s providing a service for,” Rosales says.
Foundation in 4-H Arias’ NC State connections began with 4-H. At 9, she joined a folklorico group that found rehearsal space through Lee County Extension, which offered 4-H programs to the dancers. “At the time I didn’t see that these activities and experiences that they have for 4-H’ers were helping me develop skills that I now use as a businesswoman,” Arias says. After appearing in a fotonovela booklet showing how 4-H teaches life skills and helps prepare young people for college, Arias was recruited as a volunteer with Juntos, a program to help Latino students graduate from high school and enroll in college, remembers Cintia Aguilar, who co-founded Juntos with Andrew Behnke, a former faculty member, and Diana Urieta. “4-H is a lot about giving back to the community,” says Aguilar, Extension community and rural development manager. “I know in Lisbeth’s case, I think she has had such a wonderful role model in her mother … but I think also the culture of Extension, 4-H and the Juntos program contributed to her actions to help others and promote and seek educational opportunities.”
Internships and Inspiration While studying fashion and textile design at NC State, Arias, who came to the U.S. from El Salvador at age 2, found new ways to connect with her culture and her family. She had several internship experiences, one with Mayan women in Guatemala.
“Working with these women left an imprint on me, and I knew I wanted to go back to those textiles,” Arias says. Faculty mentors encouraged Arias to pursue her interest. And her mother, who had worked as a seamstress for manufacturing companies, shared valuable knowledge as Arias took sewing and apparel classes. After earning her degree in 2015, Arias moved to New York for a year for fashion industry experience. “Basically, what I got out of New York was validation, that I was capable of creating designs that were aesthetically pleasing, that were functional,” Arias says, adding, “I had this epiphany that if I can work this hard for someone else’s dream, then I can work this hard for mine.”
Working Barefoot Arias’ online and pop-up clothing business, launched in 2017, features fabric from weavers in Guatemala and El Salvador. “When I started Descalza, I knew that fashion is a way that we express ourselves, and as immigrants in this country, we’re always trying to move forward but at the same time, we don’t want to let go of our roots.” Descalza, Spanish for “barefoot,” reminds her of the artisans, who often work without shoes. Her mother takes a slightly different view. “I love her version a lot as well, because she said that as immigrants, you start out here in this country ‘descalza,’ meaning that you start out here with nothing. Then as years go by, you make something out of yourself.” That’s an aspiration for Arias. “At the end of the day, what I want to do—with 4-H, Juntos or Descalza—is be that reflection for my community because oftentimes, especially in states like North Carolina, you don’t often get to see someone like me in the spotlight or someone like me starting their own business. “I just want to be that reflection so that my community can see that you’re capable of … making so much out of yourself, for yourself, for your family, and for those that are looking at you.”
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Experts You Can Count On Chef and restaurant proprietor Jason Smith never met NC State Extension food safety specialist Ben Chapman before the coronavirus hit. Now they’re Facebook friends, and someday Smith hopes to thank Chapman and his team in person for the training they created to help restaurants protect employees and customers. More than 13,000 restaurant workers—including the staff at Smith’s restaurants, Cantina 18 in Raleigh and Harvest 18 in Durham—have completed Count on Me NC training. The modules provide science-based recommendations for managers, waiters and kitchen staff.
“Count on Me NC did an awfully good job presenting information in a functional way,” says Smith, a 25-year restaurant industry veteran. “I was worried it would be more like a science class, but we got what we needed— best practices to protect ourselves and the public. “The training was memorable, packaged for people in the trenches.” Count on Me grew out of a public-private partnership: expertise from Extension, funding from the state Department of Health and Human Services, and backing from the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association (NCRLA) and Visit NC. The training
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was created while dining rooms statewide were closed, before reopening at 50% capacity on May 22. “When we reopened restaurants, we knew customers would have some reluctance about returning,” says Lynn Minges, NCRLA president and CEO. “We knew we could create a safer environment by using social distancing and following protocols, but we needed a program in place to help train employees quickly as restaurants reopened and to help make customers feel comfortable coming back as we welcomed them back into our dining rooms.” Count on Me NC, available in English and Spanish, is part of onboarding for staff at Smith’s restaurants. He displays the completion certificates prominently, thinking of the future. “Our goal is to come out on the other side of this,” Smith says. Chapman and an expanded NC State team will be there to help. They received a $1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant for research on COVID-19 and outreach to restaurants, funded through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. “We really want to understand how the pathogen moves in food settings and who’s at most risk,” Chapman explains. “Some of the work will look at virus persistence and some will look at efficacy of face coverings for workers such as cashiers.”
— D’Lyn Ford
SOCIAL MEDIA
do you hope to t c a p im t a h W d with your rl o w e th n o e hav degree? g... Type somethin
To revolutionize the world of landscaping machinery (the_dakotahudson238)
To make more efficient and healthier beef cattle! (mpalko2)
Help develop the minds of the next generation of agriculturalists! (Ag Ed) (karleigh_sherrill)
Bridge the gap between the farmer and the consumer—tell the farmer’s story (peytgardner)
Educate future generations with the knowledge of ag! (madsthedryer)
To help other countries’ agriculture through the Peace Corps (lis.not.liz)
Conduct research to ease the burden on farmers by breeding crops that produce greater yields and are resistant to unfavorable conditions (shellerkf) Ensure food safety through the health of our food animals! (mollyaddison) To help fight food insecurity through sustainable food systems! (the.littlest.izzy) I use it to help produce over 2 million eggs for consumers (jameshall9571)
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From Sunrise to Startups By Stacy Chandler CALS graduate students keep an eye on farming’s horizon. In labs and fields, they’re working to solve today’s problems and preparing to take on tomorrow’s challenges.
CONNECTING FOOD AND CROP SCIENCE The seed of Ph.D. student Amanda Kaufman’s interest in food science was planted back in high school, when she took a class on food safety in Lincolnton, North Carolina. She came to NC State to study food science and bioprocessing science, then worked in the food manufacturing industry for a couple of years. After learning about nutritional supplements, carbonated soft drinks and chocolate manufacturing, she wanted to know more about the agricultural side of food science. “I wanted to be closer to the growers and closer to the farms,” she says. She returned to her alma mater for graduate studies and was able to join a project in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, researching the incorporation of organic peanuts into the supply chain in North Carolina. As organic foods gain ground in public consciousness and on grocery store shelves, more and more farmers are interested in transitioning their crops—but that requires substantial investment, time and risk. Kaufman’s research involves gathering information from both growers and consumers to offer insight on potential payoffs and help farmers make informed decisions about organic production. “We don’t have any concrete information for North Carolina interest. That’s definitely something we’re hoping to get to support farmers
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who might be interested in growing organic peanuts but don’t know if there’s even a market for it, specifically in this state,” she explains. She’s also studying pesticide use in peanut farming, both on research stations and in the lab. In addition, she’s working on maturity studies to help farmers assess levels of oleic acid in the peanut crop at different times, as oleic acid becomes prized for its health benefits and role in shelf stability of processed foods. Kaufman says she feels fortunate to have found research projects that bridge food science and crop science, working with co-advisors Lisa Dean, USDA Professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, and David Jordan, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. And she doesn’t mind spending a lot of time with peanuts. “It was perfect that it was peanuts, because I eat peanuts—I love peanuts,” she says, laughing. Kaufman enjoys learning about other changes on the horizon for farming, including robotics, digital farming and advances in crop protection. She doesn’t plan to end her time in the lab or the field after finishing her doctorate. “I love doing research, so I definitely want to stay in some sort of research role,” she says. “I’m also a food scientist at heart.” >
“I wanted to be closer to the growers and closer to the farms.”
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RURAL ROOTS MaKayla Gross’ view of the future of farming looks a lot like home. She grew up on her family’s farm in Lee County, and she and her siblings plan to be the sixth generation to work that land. “I grew up picking vegetables in the summer and working at our produce barn in the spring and the summer. We have a corn maze in the fall. We grow soybeans, tobacco, rye and more. We’ve always dabbled in everything, so I always knew I wanted to go into agriculture,” she says. As a graduate student in the soybean extension program, Gross works with Rachel Vann, assistant professor and extension soybean specialist, to investigate how winter crop rotations affect soybean productivity in North Carolina and update grower recommendations. Emerging winter crop possibilities, including peas, rapeseed and various cover crops, would allow farmers to choose the rotation system that best fits their operation. With a global population of nearly 10 billion expected by 2050, soybean production will only increase in importance, Gross says. Soybeans are used in animal feed, protein-rich food for humans, cooking oil and biodiesel fuels, as well as other industrial applications. More efforts to support soybean production are on the horizon for farmers in North Carolina and beyond, Gross says. “Technology is changing, and growers are having to change. They have to adapt to this technology in order to maximize their land because we’re having to grow more food on less land than we ever have before, and I don’t think that that’s going to get any better,” she says. “We have to find ways to maximize what we’re doing and do it efficiently and effectively.” After graduating this fall, Gross plans to bring on-farm research home to her family’s land, where diversification has always been key. “It’s in my heritage. It’s in my blood,” she says. “Waking up when the sun comes up in the morning and going as hard as you can that day, relying on Mother Nature. … I just love being able to plant a seed and nourish it and provide it everything that it needs, and as the end result to get to harvest that crop.” >
Still Growing MaKayla Gross also serves as the Visit NC Farms app administrator for Lee County. This spring, that opened up new opportunities for Gross and Callie Steger, an NC State senior majoring in crop and soil sciences. To make it easier for farmers and consumers to connect during the pandemic, Bill Stone, Lee County Extension director, commissioned a video series called Still Growing. “With the situation and people being more concerned about where their food is coming from, we felt like now was the perfect time to bring people’s focus back to what’s right around them and what kind of products they can get from farms in their area,” Stone says. Steger shot the videos and wrote the scripts, with Gross lending a hand on editing and topic ideas. “We’re really trying to tell the farmer’s story and to make that connection between these families that grow this food while also bringing awareness to the fact that farmers are still working in this time of COVID-19,” Steger says. “People are looking for more local food, and they want to support small businesses,” Gross adds. So far, the response has been strong, and commodity groups have shared the YouTube videos on local strawberries, nursery and ornamental plants, produce and blueberries.
“My ultimate goal is to support the growers of North Carolina in the best way that I can.” cals.ncsu.edu 39
AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNEY Jabeen Ahmad headed to law school with a strong desire to help people, and in her time as a trial lawyer and public defender, she did just that. But the hard, often heartbreaking work wasn’t something she could sustain. She started looking for different ways to use her legal background, along with the communication skills she learned studying journalism and anthropology as an undergraduate. To strengthen her scientific foundation, Ahmad came to NC State, where she completed a master’s degree in physiology and is now a third-year doctoral student in plant biology. “Interdisciplinary studies are crucial now. It is absolutely essential to have a skill set that can cross into all of these different spheres,” she says. Ahmad says her new experiences provide a pathway for doing what she really loves, “constantly being challenged, solving problems, learning new things, and then being able to use the legal skills I have in order to help people innovate and protect their inventions.” Her goal is to help people turn their ideas into reality. To feed a growing population, innovation will be vital to shaping farming for the future, she says. The key question she’s working on: “How can we develop technology that can change our farming processes, or even change the crops and the plants that we use, to meet this demand of providing enough food to feed everyone?”
Specifically, Ahmad and her advisor, Amy Grunden, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Microbiology, have been studying the microbiome—bacteria, fungi and other organisms—that live in soil or on plant roots. They’re looking for ways that these microbes can help plants adapt to challenges without pesticides, fertilizers and other potentially harmful chemicals. “If we can find more ways to naturally help plants survive and thrive in adverse conditions, then that really opens up an entire world of research and possibilities for crop production, for food sustainability and for environmental rehabilitation,” Ahmad explains. Some farming innovations, like genetically modified crops, are hard to understand, and thus not always well received. Ahmad says that’s where an interdisciplinary background like hers can be helpful. “It is really important for us in the research world, in the science world, to be able to communicate what it is that we’re doing, why it’s important and clear up all of the misunderstandings that exist out there,” she says. After her doctoral studies, Ahmad hopes to be part of an agricultural technology startup. She wants to do research, offer guidance and bring together interested parties. Just as she once did in court, she wants to help reach solutions that allow people to thrive.
“Interdisciplinary studies are crucial now. It is absolutely essential to have a skill set that can cross into all of these different spheres.”
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I AM CALS continued from page 1 A mix of art and science goes into finding the right assortment of local products and choosing where they appear in 159 Fresh Market locations. In addition to delving into data to understand the retail landscape and diet trends, Jennifer Badger samples products to better understand regional flavor preferences, such as barbecue sauces and sweet potatoes in North Carolina.
Locavores Badger has seen sales of local foods increase by about a third since she started. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, growth was forecast for 2020. “Consumer interest in where food comes from, who makes it and additional traceability information is definitely a trend we’re seeing across our stores,” she says. “We define local as anything made in North Carolina or made within 100 miles of the store that product is going to be sold in.” Badger turns to the closest regional source if there’s a need for products that aren’t made within a 100-mile radius. Milk and dairy products for Charlotte metro customers, for example, come from Virginia.
Wholesale Help Buying local provides benefits beyond tasty foods, such as reducing the carbon footprint. “When fresh food products are not being trucked to a warehouse and then to a store, it reduces the amount of fuel, time and other resources necessary for distribution,” Badger says, adding that it helps build the local economy. Beyond meeting consumer demand, Badger works with distribution, scanning and computer systems, and she helps suppliers with legal and food safety paperwork. “When I started with The Fresh Market, there were no clear guidelines for our local program, and I knew that our national vendor submission form was confusing enough for me,” Badger says. “The business side of things doesn’t come naturally for everyone, and the legal requirements for states vary, so it can get confusing and overwhelming.” She helped create a “Local 101” cheat sheet that explains what the quality assurance team needs from merchants
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and local vendors as well as what the store needs to provide. “Our goal with The Fresh Market’s local program is to make wholesaling products easy to understand so that our food producers can spend time in the kitchen doing what they love.”
Meeting Higher Demand In Badger’s role, supply and demand is critical, especially during a global pandemic. Like so many stores around the country, The Fresh Market experienced increased sales as shoppers stockpiled supplies. Starting in January, it was vitamin supplements. As the COVID-19 pandemic continued, more shelf-stable items, like baking supplies, began flying off store shelves. “The sales volumes we’ve experienced are about the same as what we see during a hurricane plus a holiday. It’s a huge surge of sales and the national supply chains have felt pressure,” Badger says. “I’m so happy we have a local program in place and have been able to fill those gaps.” One of those gaps: local half-and-half and heavy cream. “Those were two items that we could not keep enough supply. As soon as we got products in, it was out the door.”
Taste for Business Badger grew up in Brevard, North Carolina, on her family’s homestead. “We had a huge garden, and some of it we used ourselves and whatever was left over, we sold at the local tailgate market.” That’s where an 8-year-old Badger learned how to run a business, earning her first $100 selling wild, handpicked blackberries. “They sold really well. I don’t remember ever taking blackberries home,” she says. “Being in that environment definitely sparked my interest in local food and agriculture business.”
First-Generation College Student For college, NC State was a natural fit. Because the landgrant university’s roots are in agriculture, Badger didn’t apply anywhere else. “I was confident in NC State and what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I rolled the dice a little bit, and I’m so
glad that I did. My life would not be the same without attending NC State.”
My parents were huge advocates of my desire to continue learning.”
However, college was new for Badger and her family.
Badger landed a part-time internship with CALS Career Services her freshman year and worked there throughout college. The position did more than help pay her way through school; it also taught her about professionalism and job searches.
“I’m a first-generation college student, and I’m super proud of that,” she says. “My dad worked in textile manufacturing pretty much his whole life, and my mom worked for the credit union as a loan officer.” Like many people in 2008, Badger’s father lost his job. “That was a pivotal time for me, because I was going into high school and thinking about college.
“I was confident in NC State and what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I rolled the dice a little bit, and I’m so glad that I did. My life would not be the same without attending NC State.” Jennifer Badger ‘16
“If I have any advice for current CALS students, it would be to visit CALS Career Services.” Take it from an alum who’s learned to make the most of an opportunity. — Kristin Sargent
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FROM THE ARCHIVES North Carolina Home Demonstration club women, 1920. Hand in hand with agents, club members nursed and cooked for the sick during the 1918 pandemic.
An Urgent Need North Carolina’s home demonstration program began as a way to share information on canning and food preservation. Under the leadership of Jane McKimmon, hired in 1911, home demonstration agents started clubs with women across the state. When the 1918 influenza pandemic hit, professional nurses were in short supply. Home demonstration agents and club members stepped up to serve their communities. Helen Simmons, home demonstration agent in Durham, wrote that “from Sunday morning to Saturday night I have gone as fast and as far as possible nursing the country cases of influenza.” She fed patients, dispensed medicine, cleaned homes and children, and even helped prepare several of the dead for burial.
in the home where she boarded, along with cooking for a family of seven. Martin saw how severely Black residents had been hit by the pandemic while making home visits with two other women. “We made reports to the physician of just what we found and he endeavored to reach the worst cases first,” she wrote. The women’s efforts were recognized in the 1918 Extension Service annual report, which said “possibly the women rendered a greater service to the State during the great epidemic of influenza than in any other single way,” filling the “urgent need for feeding and nursing the sick, and giving them medical attention.”
No nurses were available in Whiteville, where Lucille Clark, the Columbus County home demonstration agent, was put in charge of an emergency hospital in the courthouse.
Today, family and consumer sciences agents with NC State Extension offer science-based information about nutrition, health, food safety, food preservation and local foods. But they don’t stop there. As in 1918, agents provide a lifeline of needed information for families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rachel Martin, home demonstration agent in Lillington, started by caring for two influenza patients and a baby
Learn more: ces.ncsu.edu/about-fcs
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We Grow NC
At NC State, we partner with North Carolina business, industry and community leaders in all 100 counties to create economic and intellectual prosperity in every corner of the state. We Think and Do to grow NC.
We Grow Economies
We Grow Opportunities
Vibrant main streets depend on a thriving agricultural economy. Research and innovation at NC State help farmers increase productivity and profits that yield economic opportunities for rural North Carolina.
Roughly 80% of our state’s harvest is shipped elsewhere for food production. NC State food scientists are partnering with industry and government to grow our food economy from seed to supermarket in our own backyard.
We Grow Solutions
We Grow Talent
North Carolina’s challenges are as unique as its 532 cities and towns. That’s why NC State Extension partners with community leaders in all 100 counties to identify and develop local solutions for local challenges.
Access to college for students from rural communities is harder than ever. At NC State, we’re opening more paths for students to enter, succeed and graduate to meet local employers’ needs for a well-prepared workforce.
Learn more: WeGrowNC.ncsu.edu
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