Taking the tobacco road to sustainability - Blue Hill Organic Farm
By Charlie Jackson (Originally
printed in the December/January 2002-03 New Life Journal)
For
over a century tobacco has been the lifeblood of the local agricultural
economy. To survive in the hills and hollows of western North Carolina
a farmer had to know how to grow burley tobacco. Times are changing for
our farmers and an old way of life that has shaped our rural communities
is coming to an end. In order to survive, farmers are looking to new
crops and new ways of farming. Wayne Uffelman began his farming life
growing tobacco. Today, he and his wife Ruth and their daughters Amelia
and Julie Claire, are still growing tobacco…organically. They also
specialize in the organic production of mixed vegetables, three varieties
of potatoes, and heirloom corn varieties on their 50 acre Blue Hill Organic
Farm on Paw Paw Creek in Madison County. This year they decided to branch
out to chicks and free-range egg production - currently 600 chickens
roam the pastures of Blue Hill Organic Farm.
Wayne and Ruth are creatively looking for new ways to make farming viable
in western North Carolina. Wayne believes that there is more promise
today towards building the local economy than in recent years - but
he is hesitant to paint too pretty a picture. He knows that our local
organic produce has to compete with organic produce from thousands of
miles away, but he senses that people are beginning to understand that
when a local farm goes under, we all pay. Wayne also knows that people
tend to concentrate on the price rather than on the value of locally
grown food. We are in danger of losing the ability to grow food locally
because we are losing farmland and experienced farmers. If we no longer
have a local food system, control slips away from us all and we no longer
have a voice. "You can't place a price on retaining control, preserving
local farms, and strengthening our local economy," says Uffelman.
Farmers have to pay attention. Wayne and Ruth have been mulling over
the new organic standards and what that means for the small family farm.
Ruth knows that their loyal band of tailgate customers want to know if
the produce is organic, not if it is organically certified. That's the
beauty of a local
economy - getting to know the people that grow your food and relying
on them to maintain high standards. Wayne and Ruth sell their eggs, potatoes,
and other produce at the North Asheville Tailgate Market. Tailgate markets
are a wonderful place to meet people, and Ruth has many stories about
her customers. The market is about relationships. "The tailgate
market is very fulfilling for the farmers. There is a personal nature
to the market. When we sell a beautiful bunch of beets to someone and
they return the next week to tell you how good they were - its just very
satisfying."
Wayne was drawn to farming by the back-to-the-land movement as the self-reliance
theme appealed to him and is what still keeps him
farming. Wayne fears that we are losing that independence when we lose
our family farms. Far away farms that have no contact with the community
cannot respond to local needs. Ruth and Wayne farm organically and sell
locally because they believe that it is the right thing to do; it protects
our water and soil quality and produces fresh and healthy food and helps
build the local economy. They build soil because "healthy soil makes
healthy food." Their chickens are raised free-range because it is
healthier and it is more humane for the chickens. Their feed is grown
locally and sustainably on Warren Wilson College Farm. They add flax
seed and kelp to the feed to boost levels of Omega 3's. They also add
calcium to raise the nutritional value of the eggs. They then harvest
the eggs and rush them to market. All this adds up to freshness and great
taste and is a response to the demands of their local customers. "There's
nothing quite as delicious as a home grown egg!" says Ruth.
Wayne came to organic farmer through his participation in the Transition
Program of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP). In
1997 he joined the first group of farmers in our region to take part
in a program to develop alternative crops to tobacco and to look at new
ways of marketing. The Transition Program provided the farmers with mentoring
and small grants that were used for soil improvement and to defray some
of the cost of organic certification. This program was instrumental in
opening up new markets for Blue Hill Organic Farm. You can now find quality
Blue Hill Organic Farm certified organic produce and free-range eggs
at the North Asheville Tailgate Market and at many local grocers and
restaurants that support local farms. You can also call the farm at
828-649-2792.
Growing
Minds
For
over a century tobacco has been the lifeblood of the local agricultural
economy. To survive in the hills and hollows of western North Carolina
a farmer had to know how to grow burley tobacco. Times are changing for
our farmers and an old way of life that has shaped our rural communities
is coming to an end. In order to survive, farmers are looking to new
crops and new ways of farming. Wayne Uffelman began his farming life
growing tobacco. Today, he and his wife Ruth and their daughters Amelia
and Julie Claire, are still growing tobacco…organically. They also
specialize in the organic production of mixed vegetables, three varieties
of potatoes, and heirloom corn varieties on their 50 acre Blue Hill Organic
Farm on Paw Paw Creek in Madison County. This year they decided to branch
out to chicks and free-range egg production - currently 600 chickens
roam the pastures of Blue Hill Organic Farm. 
but
he is hesitant to paint too pretty a picture. He knows that our local
organic produce has to compete with organic produce from thousands of
miles away, but he senses that people are beginning to understand that
when a local farm goes under, we all pay. Wayne also knows that people
tend to concentrate on the price rather than on the value of locally
grown food. We are in danger of losing the ability to grow food locally
because we are losing farmland and experienced farmers. If we no longer
have a local food system, control slips away from us all and we no longer
have a voice. "You can't place a price on retaining control, preserving
local farms, and strengthening our local economy," says Uffelman.
local
economy - getting to know the people that grow your food and relying
on them to maintain high standards. Wayne and Ruth sell their eggs, potatoes,
and other produce at the North Asheville Tailgate Market. Tailgate markets
are a wonderful place to meet people, and Ruth has many stories about
her customers. The market is about relationships. "The tailgate
market is very fulfilling for the farmers. There is a personal nature
to the market. When we sell a beautiful bunch of beets to someone and
they return the next week to tell you how good they were - its just very
satisfying."
him
farming. Wayne fears that we are losing that independence when we lose
our family farms. Far away farms that have no contact with the community
cannot respond to local needs. Ruth and Wayne farm organically and sell
locally because they believe that it is the right thing to do; it protects
our water and soil quality and produces fresh and healthy food and helps
build the local economy. They build soil because "healthy soil makes
healthy food." Their chickens are raised free-range because it is
healthier and it is more humane for the chickens. Their feed is grown
locally and sustainably on Warren Wilson College Farm. They add flax
seed and kelp to the feed to boost levels of Omega 3's. They also add
calcium to raise the nutritional value of the eggs. They then harvest
the eggs and rush them to market. All this adds up to freshness and great
taste and is a response to the demands of their local customers. "There's
nothing quite as delicious as a home grown egg!" says Ruth.