Area Growers Reap Awards, Learn Lessons

August 14, 1997

Greensboro, NC: Hard work, persistence and the assistance of Cooperative Extension have helped some Columbus County growers win awards, and others overcome farming's often unpredictable challenges.

Columbus County, located in North Carolina's southeastern corner, is the state's third largest county in total area, and it supports a variety of agricultural crops, such as watermelons, strawberries, tobacco, sweet corn and peaches.

The wide range of produce and diverse nature of a large county translate into a variety of growing conditions and situations for the county's farmers, and when they have questions, these farmers often turn to Columbus County Cooperative Extension.

"I don't know what I'd do without Extension," Phil McPherson recently told the participants of the annual North Carolina A&T State University School of Agriculture Dean's Small Farms and Communities Tour, as they inspected the innovative drip irrigation system he uses with his strawberry patch.

Though McPherson, a farmer and well driller in the Western Prong Community, has grown strawberries for only one year, he has already had his share of challenges. From underestimating the time and effort required for effective spraying to misdiagnosing his production problems, McPherson has learned a lot from his mistakes, and he credits Extension for his quick recovery.

"The (plant) tissue samples Extension has helped me take have shown me where my mistakes were and helped me correct those mistakes," said McPherson.

Tissue samples taken from area fields are sent to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture where they are analyzed for nutrient levels. Within a span of about two weeks, the results of the analysis and recommendations for action are returned to farmers, allowing them to adjust their fertilization and irrigation practices.

For Bobby Williams, whose strawberries earned first place at this year's Chadbourn Strawberry Festival, success comes from refining his farming operation based on the lessons he learned the previous year.

"There are so many unplanned factors in farming," said Williams. "You can't anticipate everything, so you just have to take what you learned one year and apply it to the next."

This year, for example, while Williams' sweet corn, failed to meet his yield expectations, due to a number of unseasonably cool evenings, his bumper crop of tomatoes proved more than he could sell through his two main means of marketing ­ retail directly from his farm and at farmers' markets, as well as wholesale.

"Next year I'll do a little more advertising and hopefully have a greater variety of produce to take to the farmers' markets," said Williams.

Another factor in Williams' success is the help he receives from Larry Wright, a Columbus County agriculture technician with the NC A&T Cooperative Extension Program.

"Larry's been a big help," said Williams. "He helps us decide what steps we need to take to make a profit, and he helped us get involved in A&T's 'Ways to Grow' project."

The NC A&T Cooperative Extension Program's "Ways to Grow" project, which was funded in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, gave 50 small-scale farmers through North Carolina grants, and technical and marketing advice to develop specialty crops.

Before the "Ways to Grow" grant, Williams had never grown strawberries on a commercial scale or used an irrigation system more complex than a yard sprinkler. With the grant and about $4,000 of his own money, Williams dug a pond on his land and installed an irrigation system, which uses the pond to provide water to his strawberries.

Williams and his wife, Mona, live on 30-acre farm about three miles east of Chadbourn where they grow potatoes, tomatoes, peaches and sweet corn, in addition to their award-winning strawberries.

With a 119-pound watermelon, Brice (J. B.) and Roselene Tyree captured first place in the Biggest Watermelon Contest which was held during the Southeastern North Carolina Watermelon Festival in Fair Bluff.

Of course, the quality of the Tyree's watermelons, grown on a farm that has been in the family for more than 200 years, was no secret even before the contest.

Located on Highway 701, a major corridor to the Myrtle Beach area, the Tyrees' watermelon stand has loyal customers from as far away as Canada.

"I have a number of customers who stop by every year on their way to the beach," said Mrs. Tyree who has been selling watermelons from their roadside stand for 17 years, after the couple retired from a career of tobacco farming. "It's nice to see familiar faces every year."

In addition to a lot of hard work, Cooperative Extension, Mrs. Tyree says, has been a factor in their success at farming.

In recent years, Columbus County Cooperative Extension has helped the Tyrees with everything from soil analysis and the selection of seed varieties, to setting up a greenhouse to reach an earlier market and using signs to advertise when seasonal products are available.

Cooperative Extension has also helped the Tyrees with Mother Nature's surprises, such as last year's Hurricane Fran, which dumped 72 inches of rain in some parts of Columbus County.

When the heavy rain caused the Tyrees' pond to flood and consequently incur weed and oxygen problems, they called Wright who helped them restore the pond to its previous capacity.

According to Wright, oxygen deficiency and weed growth were the pond's biggest problems following its flooding.

"We (Columbus County Cooperative Extension) helped them select the right chemicals to cut down on the weeds," said Wright. "And we suggested some ways that they might raise the oxygen level. With a little work, the pond was again able to be used for irrigation."

"Extension is always there when you need them," said Mrs. Tyree. "All you have to do is call."

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For more information, please contact Larry Wright, Columbus County Cooperative Extension Center, (910) 640-6605.