Howard McAdams' Efland farm has been in operation since 1885. Gary Murray's family has been farming the same land since the early 1900s. These farmers have seen a lot of changes in farming over the last few years -- from how they farm to what they grow -- and why.
McAdams Farm primarily grew tobacco for 115 years, until economics and government and health policy made them switch in 2000 to vegetables and meat. Today, they farm strawberries, beef, lamb and vegetables including peppers, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, eggplant, tomatoes, flowers and melons. Through the decades, McAdams sold tobacco and beef wholesale at auction to corporations.
Today, nearly 100 percent of the farm's goods are sold directly to the consumer.
"It's a lot different than wholesale," said McAdams, who's farmed all his life except for a brief stint at a non-farming job. "The biggest change from the corporate system to the personal system is financial. With tobacco, one transaction was several thousand dollars where, now, at the Farmers Market, our average transaction is $5. Another difference is the people. We've met a lot of great customers, people who want locally grown food and support small farmers."
The Murrays' Sunset Farms at Snow Camp began in 1903 with grain crops. Soy beans, oats and barley were sold wholesale at market. Wheat was ground into flour at a local mill and field corn was fed to hogs. Grandfather, father and son all had jobs and farmed on the side. Son Gary Murray brought the first vegetable crop to sale, an acre of sweet corn, when he was just 12.
Today, Sunset Farms has been selling at the Carrboro Farmers Market for nearly 30 years. Gary Murray's son, Chris, has joined the family farm, bringing a focus on sustainable and organic farming and a return to some old-fashioned practices, said Murray, who recently retired from his job and farms full-time now with son Chris.
"We used to sell wholesale and now we're 100 percent retail sales, including a CSA (community supported agriculture)," Murray said. "We've changed our operation to be more sustainable, including the way we're growing free-range animals with no hormones or antibiotics and feeding beef cows grass only, with no grain at all. We're going back to the old way of fertilizing with manure and rotating crops from vegetables to cover crop to animals and then to vegetables again."
Sunset Farms, once a summer-only vendor, now supplies Carrboro Farmers' Market shoppers with year-round food, including heirloom tomatoes, melons, okra, sweet corn, chicken, beef, eggplant, strawberries, cherries, cukes, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, greens and squash. They hope to add swine, turkeys and rabbits.
Both farmers find that what they sell is determined by where they sell -- the Carrboro Farmers Market.
"We're choosing crops for flavor," McAdams said. "I never knew I would be such a stickler for detail when it comes to quality. If it doesn't taste good or hold up well in a box for the trip from the farm to the Market, we choose something else."
Murray agrees that flexibility and creativity are vital to small farm success.
"Our motto is try it and see," he said. "I never dreamed Chris, a college graduate, would want to come home and do this, but it just gets in your blood and you can't get rid of it. We like being independent, being our own bosses. We love people. We are doing agriculture for the future. I look to CSAs to be the next big thing for small farms. Our main goal is not to get a lot bigger but to get a lot better."
When asked about the future of his family farm, McAdams quipped he didn't even know what was for supper. But one thing he and Murray both know is that they love farming.
"I think there's good opportunity in this area for farming," McAdams said. "Our community really embraces and understands what small farmers provide."
Melanie Raskin is one of 35 volunteers at the Carrboro Farmers Market, which has been bringing local foods to the community for more than 30 years. Open year-round, 60 farmers and artisans sell vegetables, fruit, meats and fowl, canned and baked goods, dried flowers and greenery, cheese and crafts at the Carrboro Town Common on Saturdays, 7 a.m. to noon. For more information go to carrborofarmersmarket.com.
THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW
Small Farming Yesterday
* No electricity
* Horse-power
* Water drawn and carried from wells
* Manure-based fertilizers
* Sell to corporations at auction or wholesale
Small Farming Today
* Electricity
* Tractors and other equipment replace horses and mules
* Water irrigation systems eliminate hand-watering
* Petroleum-based fertilizers (except for farmers who opt for organic methods)
* Sell directly to individual consumers at farmers markets
