Type of opportunity:

Sale (Standard), Sale (Owner Financed), Lease (1 to 5 Years), Lease (5+ Years), Lease with Option to Buy. More info: looking to grow vegetables and grain crops, and potentially expand into livestock.

Equipment & infrastructure:

Barn, Well / Pond / Other water source, Irrigation equipment. More info: A water source such as River, creek, and or pond to pump irrigation water. And a barn to temporarily store equipment, tools, and or harvested crops.

Current production on farm:

Field crops, Hemp, Herbs, Orchard, Vegetable production. More info: Currently I work on a farm as a vegetable crop manager. I also manage some alternative crops such as hemp and herbs, and also assist with the row crops and orchards.

Current farming practices:

Conventional. More info: We are a conventional farm responsibly using chemicals for weed control, and disease management. My goal is to transition to a more sustainable operation with regenerative practices.

Previous farming experience:

Employee

Number of years experience:

5

Other qualifications:

Academic degree in agriculture or related field. More info: Grew up tending a large 1 acre garden with my dad. We sold produce at a roadside stand. In college I worked with other research groups working with crops such as, small grains and tobacco. After graduating I worked in a small grain pathology lab, and am still now working at a NC state Research farm managing vegetable crops.

Production goals:

Field crops, Sheep/Goat (Dairy/Meat), Vegetable production. More info: My goal is to start a farming operation of my own. I would like to use sustainable practices to grow vegetables, and grains for both the wholesale and retail markets. Eventually down the line, I would like to incorporate livestock into the farm. I would probably start with Sheep for meat production but will also consider cattle.

Personal experience and production goals summary:

For the past four years I have been managing vegetable crops at NC state research farm.  We are a conventional farm growing 5 to 10 acres of field vegetable crops, 200 acres row crops, 20 acres of orchard crops and other various alternative crops such as hemp, herbs, and hops.  All field vegetables are grown on rasied beds with plastic mulch and drip. Fresh market tomatoes are the primary vegetable grown but I also grow squash, zuccini, peppers and sweet corn.  Although I am only responable for the vegetables, I also assist in with the corn and soybean prodction and help in the orchard as needed. 

Working at this elevated role on the farm, I have gained a tremendous amount of skills and have learned some hard lessons along the way.  Even though I do love this job, I have always wanted to take the leap and manage my own operation.  For the first few years I plan to continue working my full time job to have off farm income. I would like to apply the skills I have learned to sustainably grow fresh vegetables for both the whole sale and direct to consumer markets. I would like to include corn, and small grain into the rotation and would like to have these grains milled for flour.