Agriculture is big business in Robeson County. More than $200 million worth of agricultural commodities are produced in this county each year. Commodities produced include everything from tobacco, corn, soybeans, cotton, and wheat to collards, peas, tomatoes, and strawberries to hogs, chickens, cows, and goats.

Those involved in agricultural production and marketing are well aware of how diverse and how large our agricultural economy really is. But many others that are not involved in agriculture on a daily basis may be a little surprised at these statistics.

Because of the importance of agriculture to our economy, our local farmers must stay as up-to-date as possible about new products and new technology. Those who are most successful in any business are usually the ones who are early adaptors, the ones with the most information, and those who take advantage of new and different ways to do things more efficiently and more profitably.

The agricultural agents with the Robeson County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service work very closely with our local farmers to test a lot of the new products and new technology that is being made available. This on-farm demonstration work and on-farm research work is critical in determining if certain practices will work with our climate, soils, and crops. It also helps determine if new products will do what they are supposed to do and if they will be more effective and more affordable than other products already available.

Many local farmers play a key role in Extension's efforts to do this on-farm demonstration and on-farm research work. They provide their land so these products and new technology can be tested, and they often provide the equipment and labor that may be needed to develop the test plots.

Of course, there are some advantages for these farmers to be involved in this field work. They get to see the products or practices firsthand and get to evaluate them on their own farm. They often are provided the products that are needed, and many times they receive financial assistance in the form of grants.

I do not have enough space in this column to provide details about all the research and demonstration work that our agricultural agents are involved with in this county. I will give a quick summary here, and in future columns, I will provide more details about certain projects. If you have specific questions, please do not hesitate contacting me or my agents.

There are several SARE grant projects currently going on in this county. SARE is an acronym for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. The producers involved in this research and education receive funds to implement new commodities or new practices in their current farm operations and, in exchange, must agree to allow Extension agents to gather research data. They must also agree to allow others to visit their farm operations to view what they are doing and how they are doing it.

Mr. Lesley Sanderson operates an intensive vegetable farm in the Prospect community. With a SARE grant, he has established an extensive planting of paw paw trees, oriental persimmons, and figs. The work he is doing is also in conjunction with research that is being conducted by the University of Kentucky.

Mrs. Phyllis Pate is using a SARE grant to develop a private-owned research farm in the East Howellsville community. This farm will show how alternative crops can be grown to replace some of the traditional crops in the county and how specific conservation practices can be used to improve soil and water quality.

Extension agents are working with more than a dozen farmers in the county to install black plastic mulch and trickle irrigation for intensive vegetable production. Funds from the Golden Leaf Foundation were used to purchase the equipment and supplies needed to install these systems.

Four local farmers have received grant funds from NCDA to develop wells and install irrigation pumps on their farms for intensive vegetable production.

A pecan variety demonstration has been developed to determine which varieties will perform best in this area. Research will be conducted during the summer to evaluate various methods of tillage for corn. Several products will be evaluated in another on-farm test to determine which works best to control aphids on tobacco. An assortment of products will be tested in another on-farm test to determine which one is best to control Granville wilt in tobacco. Another on-farm research test is evaluating various products for the control of nematodes in cotton.

Managing waste from chicken houses is a major concern for our local poultry producers. Our staff is currently involved in research work to evaluate the effectiveness of different kinds of litter materials. Another research test is evaluating the properties of air that is exhausted from poultry houses through the large ventilation fan systems.

Since Robeson County is located at the extreme southern end of the state, our farmers usually experience the first infestations of many of the damaging insects as they migrate north. Being able to determine when these insects first arrive allows us to advise our farmers when to be prepared to spray and also allows us to alert growers further north when these insects are headed their way. Our staff uses sticky traps to monitor for the tobacco split worm moth and also monitors two light traps on a daily basis to determine the presence of other moths. The information gathered from these traps are posted to the Internet and are shared instantaneously to all growers across the state.

As you can see, there is a lot of research and demonstration work going on in the county to support our agricultural producers. The data gathered from these tests give them the information they need to help them make the right decisions. We want to do everything we can to make sure agriculture remains big business in Robeson County

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 6/10/03