If you drive through the hills and along the river in Madison County, North Carolina, you’ll see a community in transition. Some fields are fallow, others are filled with hay, and around the bend, farmers are growing fruits and vegetables while chickens, pigs, and sheep graze on open pasture. Just a few decades ago, Ross … Read more
Picture the perfect Christmas tree. It’s tall and cone-shaped, has strong boughs for hanging ornaments, its needles stay on the tree for weeks after it’s harvested, and it smells divine. This ideal Christmas tree is likely a Fraser fir. Fraser fir trees grow naturally at elevations above 4,500 feet and thrive in the Southern Appalachian … Read more
Food sovereignty has been central to indigenous communities for thousands of years. Families worked together to grow gardens, prepare meals, and share or trade the bounty with each other. Growing traditional crops like corn, beans, and pumpkins was not only a source of pride, but also a way to be self-sufficient within a community. Joseph … Read more
KP Whaley of Tiny Bridge Farm in Henderson County, North Carolina grew up in the industrial city of Rockford, Illinois where his father and three older brothers were machinists. “We all grew up working with our hands in oil and steel,” he says. However, his family had their hands in the soil first. KP’s father … Read more
ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we’re talking to farmer Wesley Sleight of Sleight Family Farm in McDowell County. Wes works with ASAP’s Growing Minds Farm to School Program and recently joined the advisory committee for the NC Farm to Preschool Network.
During the depths of winter, it can feel invigorating to think about the abundance of fruits and vegetables to come. Spring lettuce is on its way soon, and tomato seeds are glimmers of hope that summer will arrive again. CSAs bring that bounty to from the farm the kitchen each week. A CSA, or Community … Read more
I’m hunting the ghost of tobacco farming with Taylor Barnhill from the Appalachian Barn Alliance. As we drive around the tight curves and steep hillsides of Madison County, we see dozens of old barns teetering on the edge of the road. The wooden boards are worn and faded, vines climb up the sides, and many … Read more
ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we talk with attorney Bill Durr of Ward and Smith, P.A., which is a sponsor of the 2020 Business of Farming Conference. Durr will co-lead a conference workshop, A Decade of Farming and the Legal Issues You’ll Face Along the Way.
If you drive through the hills and along the river in Madison County, North Carolina, you’ll see a community in transition. Some fields are fallow, others are filled with hay, and around the bend, farmers are growing fruits and vegetables while chickens, pigs, and sheep graze on open pasture. Just a few decades ago, Ross … Read more
The holiday season is in full swing here in Western North Carolina, and farmers markets are bustling with locals and visitors looking for holiday gifts. We ran into two customers at Asheville City Market who agreed to let us follow them around while they shopped. C.A. Carlson lives in Asheville and goes to Asheville City … Read more