Looking for the following:
Type of opportunity:
Sale (Standard).
Current production on farm:
Aquaculture, Flowers, Herbs, Poultry (Broiler/Layer), Vegetable production.
Current farming practices:
Biodynamic, Certified organic.
Qualifications and goals:
Previous farming experience:
Manager
Number of years experience:
10
Other qualifications:
Incubator program, Farm business training, Academic degree in agriculture or related field.
Production goals:
Cattle (Dairy/Beef), Field crops, Flowers, Herbs, Poultry (Broiler/Layer), Vegetable production.
More info: .
Personal experience and production goals summary:
Andy, Katie, and their daughter Lokee Mae, who are NC FarmLink farm seekers searching for a family farm they can call their own. They seek to purchase a home or land to build upon in Buncombe County that can accommodate their growing family as well as acreage for their flock of heritage breed ducks. With their hearts in the mountains of WNC, Andy & Katie dream of putting their roots down in or around the Asheville area. With room to grow, they look to scale up their flock and expand into mushroom production. Organically & biodynamically driven, they hope to raise their child on a working farm, protect farmland, & preserve ecological biodiversity.
As a young child growing up in rural Ohio, Andy aided his Grandparents on their small family farm. After attending the CFSA Sustainable Agricultural Conference and Organic Growers School in 2010, he took up formal apprenticeship under esteemed organic farmer, Mary Roberts of Windcrest Farm. Andy is a graduate of the Elma C. Lomax Incubator Farm, one of the few certified organic incubator farms in the Southeast. After moving their family to Lomax to pursue their dream of farming, Cabarrus County Commissioners unexpectedly broke ties with Lomax issuing a notice that the farmers in training would no longer have access to their crops, water, and power. Answering the call to action, Andy and Katie gathered thousands of signatures, wrote many letters, and alongside CFSA’s own executive director Roland McReynolds, testified before the Cabarrus County Commissioners to plead the farm’s case. After a hard-fought victory, Lomax was placed into the expert hands of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. Currently, Andy serves as the store manager for Lotus Farm and Garden Supply, a locally owned and operated farm and garden store focused on innovative and sustainable methods of agriculture.
