Dear readers,
My name is Stephanie Carter, and I’m a farmer on the west side of Hoke County (that’s Raeford). On our somewhat normal (depending on the day and the family member you ask!) farm, we raise chickens for Perdue, milk 50-100 dairy goats for our commercial goat dairy (where we make cheeses, fudge, caramels and bath and body product), have pick-your-own blueberries during the summer, harvest honey from our bee hives, grow our own hay and sell it when we have excess (definitely did not happen this last year), and raise and sell our own grass-fed beef, lamb and goat meat.
So all that above information is great and all, but what does that have to do with this newspaper, and what benefit is it to you? Well, all that information was to let you know that I might know something when I write about it. This column will enlighten you on new recipes, seasonal eating, the plight of the American farmer, unique stories from farmers and hopefully some good laughs along the way.
Did you know that, according to the USDA, there were 1.9 million farms and ranches in the U.S., and that while farmers comprise just 1% of the population, 63% of them farmers were over the age of 55?
These statistics continue to show a decrease in agricultural involvement throughout the United States, which could lead to a strong dependency on imports. We need to promote American agriculture and focus on educating our younger generations, which hopefully we will do with this column in the future.