Larry Roark hopes that this spring he will spend more time tending to the fruits and vegetables on his small farm than waiting for customers to arrive at area farmers markets.
Roark is one of about 20 farmers in Stokes, Rockingham and Caswell counties participating in Piedmont Local Food, a new program that will match farmers with restaurants and other customers who want locally grown food.
Although not all of the details of the program have been completed, the idea is to start a Web site for farmers to sell their produce. It should be operational by March.
Farmers would drop off the orders at a central location. The produce would either be delivered or available for customers to pick up.
"As farmers, we've been able to grow the food to take to market, but then you sit there waiting for people to wander in and purchase it," said Roark, who runs Deep Creek Farms in northern Stokes County.
"By making it more of a group effort, it benefits both the farmers, by allowing them more time to spend in the garden, and the consumers because it gives them a bigger shopping network and makes it more convenient by letting them go on the Internet rather than going market to market."
The program is a collaboration between economic-development groups and cooperative-extension-service agencies in the three counties and Foothills Connect, an organization in Rutherford County that helps small businesses develop and grow.
With tobacco production dwindling, the program represents a new source of revenue for farmers in Stokes County.
The amount of tobacco harvested in the county dropped from 6,600 acres in 1997 to 3,000 acres in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Much of that drop can be attributed to the federal tobacco-buyout program that was established in 2004, said Michael Hylton, the extension agent for Stokes County.
"What we hope is that by marketing to restaurants and individuals, it will diversify those farms and sustain those family farms," Hylton said. "A lot of people are looking at the possibility of having to sell the farm, and hopefully, this will help rectify that situation."
Hylton said he hopes that restaurant owners will buy produce from the farmers once they hear about the availability of locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables.
Under the plan, farmers would make 80 percent from their sales, and 20 percent would pay for the delivery of the produce and marketing.
Over the last few months, Hylton has been talking to farmers about the program.
"They are hungry for something new and for an additional way to make a living," he said.
Roark falls into that category.
He is a retired general contractor who farms about 5 acres. He began farming about four years ago to make some extra money.
This year, he plans to grow a variety of greens, sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers, among other vegetables.
"We hope to meet the consumers and invite them to come to our farm and experience the farm with us," Roark said.
The next meeting for the Piedmont Local Food group will be at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 19 at the office of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Reidsville.
lodonnell@wsjournal.com
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