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3/15/2010–Pilot Mountain Pride Agriculture Center
Agriculture center in Pilot will offer new opportunities
Soon, Surry County produce may be found on grocery store shelves, in school cafeterias, and in other locations throughout the Triad.
This will be made possible through the new Pilot Mountain Pride Agriculture Center, which should open in May. This center will allow local farmers to sell their produce on a larger scale. The center will buy the produce and sell it at a slightly higher price, only making enough to cover the cost of operating the center. The produce will be sold to places such as schools, restaurants, hospitals, and stores in Surry County and the Winston-Salem region.
Farmers also will be able to rent the center to use the assembly line to wash, grade, and package their produce to get it ready for market.
“It’s just about creating markets for farmers and putting money in farmers’ pockets,” said Chris Knopf, assistant county manager for economic development and tourism.
Bryan Cave, cooperative extension director, believes the center will serve two purposes. He explained, “It’s for existing farmers, to open a door they’ve never had before.”
The other purpose is “to make agriculture affordable for younger folks to get started.”
The average age of a farmer in Surry County is approaching 60. Cave said it’s hard for many young people to get started because of the money it costs to farm full-scale. The average amount a farmer has invested in his operation is $650,000, says Cave.
“It’s hard for someone young to start,” he explained.
He hopes Pilot Mountain Pride will help make that easier.
“We’ve got to have somebody to feed us when the others age out,” said Cave.
Cave explained that the center will function similarly as a cooperative, but it has no membership fees. To sell to the center, people can grow one acre or 25 acres of fruits and vegetables accepted by the center. The center has a long list of foods it will buy if it is of good quality. Cave said the center will be ideal for people who simply have a home garden and want to expand. The growers just need to receive Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification to be able to participate.
So far Cave said 40 to 45 people have committed to participating. People can call him at the cooperative extension office in Dobson to find out more about the center and how to get GAP certified. Farmers do not have to sign contracts with the center. They just tell the center what they are interested in growing, and the center will agree to try to sell it. Cave has told farmers not to expect to sell everything to the center during the first year or so.
Cave said local farmers have been involved in the process since the beginning. Before structuring how the center would be set up, the county conducted a marketing study. Over the past few years, Cave has talked to many farmers about the center and its potential.
He also has talked to businesses which are interested in purchasing the final product. Cave said, “Folks like local.”
Knopf said the county has been talking about starting an agriculture center for around six years. In the past few years, county officials were able to get started. Now the center will be housed in a former industrial facility in Pilot Mountain. Surry Community College will also occupy part of the building. The upfit of the building was paid for by a grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation. Funds from selling produce will pay for the maintenance of the building, but no profit will be made by the center.
“It’s designed to operate and pay for itself,” said Knopf.
Now the process is in its final stage before being completed. And the farmers are getting ready as well. GAP training began at the end of March for local farmers.
“It’s really coming together nicely,” Knopf remarked.
Cave hopes that the center, by providing an avenue for people to sell produce, will encourage more people to get started in agriculture.
“We’re hoping that we actually get new farmers,” said Cave.
For more information about to the center, visit the online blog: pilotmountainpride.blogspot.com. A Web site will soon be completed for the center.
Meghann Evans
The Mount Airy News
March 15, 2010
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