Young farmer just loves his work

It's a year-round job, he says - and rewarding

By: By Chick Jacobs | THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER<br>
Published: December 07, 2009

VANDER --

The season is over, the cotton harvested.

Time to take it easy, right?

"You don't get much time to take it easy in this business," he says. "There's always going to be something to do."

That's why Smith, Cumberland County's 2009 Young Farmer of the Year, sometimes seems anxious when he's talking. He'd rather be doing.

The 24-year-old N.C. State grad raises crops on more than 1,400 acres of land scattered

over three counties. During the growing season, he splits his time and interest between cotton, soybeans, tobacco and peanuts if the market is good.

"We're running pretty wide open then," he says, leaning against the tailgate of his truck. "We stay busy. I like it that way."

And now?

"Now's when we clean the equipment, make repairs and take care of the land for next year," he says. "You can put some of it off if you want, but you'll just have more to do later.

"It's nice to be out on the land when everything is done. It's quiet. You can think about things."

It seems that Smith, a graduate and two-sport standout at Cape Fear High School, was born to farm. He's the son of Duane and Betty Jo Smith, who run Smith Farms, and his grandfather helped clear much of the land the family now works.

"I grew up doing little things here and there for my dad," Smith says. "But there was never pressure to follow him. It's just as I grew older, it felt like something I enjoyed. It's hard work, but I really like it."

He ran back and forth to Raleigh while attending N.C. State, helping out when he could.

"I had a lot of help, a lot of good advice from my family and friends," he says. "I'm very fortunate to have these people for support and for guidance. It helps to know there's always someone you can call."

After graduating, he helped the farm branch out, adding cotton and peanuts to the crops grown.

"Best I could tell, no one up here grew peanuts," he says. "It was just tradition, but there's a lot less work involved with them, so we gave it a shot."

However, his heart -- and much of the land he works -- is in cotton. He grew 25 acres in his first year of farming. This past year, about 750 acres of his land grew the crop.

"You worry about it from early May until November ...," Smith says. "But when things go right, you walk into a field, and it looks just like snow, up to your waist. It's a beautiful sight."