by Rachel Clark, CFSA Development Director | Thursday, July 23, 2020 –

Shelly Stamper, Shell-Belle Farm posing on a truck at Lomax Farm

Since her introduction to CFSA’s Lomax Education & Research Farm in 2017, Shelly Stamper has been an integral part of the Lomax community. During her first year farming, Shelly leased land at Lomax and enrolled in the Farmer-in-Training (FiT) program. Her year as a FiT provided a low-risk, educational environment for Shelly to fully immerse herself in agriculture and start her own business surrounded by a supportive, experienced farming community.

Years later, Shelly owns and operates Shell-Belle Farm and still utilizes the greenhouse at Lomax. She currently plays an active role in several Lomax initiatives including those that are swiftly responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We had the opportunity to virtually sit down with Shelly for an interview in April. 

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By Rachel Kriegsman, CFSA Development Coordinator

Photo by CFSA

The next time you find yourself in the Charlotte area, especially if you identify as a whiskey enthusiast, you’ll want to consider stopping by Southern Grace Distilleries. 

Located 20 minutes northeast of Charlotte in Cabarrus County, Southern Grace distills and ages a variety of liquors at the site of a former North Carolina prison that operated from 1929 to 2011. Unique through and through, this is the only U.S. distillery located in a former prison. The distillery brings new purpose to the building, converting the spaces that used to be behind bars into fermentation rooms.

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By CFSA | Friday, Aug. 31, 2018 – 

Tractor at Lomax

At the Elma C. Lomax Farm in Concord, CFSA interacts with farmers at various points in their careers. A quick glance through the events held at Lomax through the last year included sustainable agriculture classes offered by Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, workshops presenting research on high-tunnel and field production, volunteer days, and field trips for elementary and middle school students. This is all in addition to the Farmer-in-Training program, where farmers use the Lomax equipment and land as they are establishing their own business and looking for land of their own. 

However, as we interact with farmers of all points in their career at Lomax, we don’t have a lot of exposure to one specific type of farmer: the coffee grower.

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by Mary Bures, NC Wildlife Federation

This summer, CFSA’s Lomax Farm partnered with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation to bring students in their Great Outdoors University Program to visit Lomax Farm and the Farmers-in-Training. An important part of agritourism allows children to experience farms and how farmers grow the food that they eat.

 

Photo submitted by Mary Bures, GoU

Photo submitted by Mary Bures, GoU

NC Wildlife Federation’s Great Outdoors University (GoU) has enjoyed an action-packed 2016 season of experiences, including those with our destination partner Lomax Farms.  GoU of greater Charlotte, NC launched its first programs in June of 2013 and has served over 30,000 participants to date. GoU is a conservation-based experiential education program designed to bring life-changing experiences to kids 6-18 years old who have limited opportunity to explore the natural world. The GoU curriculum empowers youth by connecting them with nature using fun hands-on/minds-on inquiry-based teaching methods in outdoor environments like farms, forests, streams and nature preserves.

 

For many of these children, GoU provides their first opportunity to get outside and explore the natural world and its many wonders and benefits.

Great Outdoors University takes a collaborative approach utilizing the strength of North Carolina Wildlife Federation affiliate resources and forming alliances with community partners, like the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. For many of these children, GoU provides their first opportunity to get outside and explore the natural world and its many wonders and benefits.

 

Mary Bures (Manager of GoU) reached out to Aaron Newton (CFSA’s Lomax Farm Coordinator) and worked to create the “Farm to Table Program,” giving kids an introduction to a working organic and sustainable farm. What some of us take for granted became a first time experience for them.

 

Photo submitted by Mary Bures, GoU

Photo submitted by Mary Bures, GoU

The kids began their adventure at Lomax by participating in an activity to discovering an assigned fruit or vegetable. Then, with Matt Warden, Lomax Farmer-in-Training, half of the group explored the community garden. There they learned about the importance of pollinators as they explored a variety of pollinator plants including bee balm, asters and mint, which the kids excitedly discovered with their senses of smell and taste. The students then learned about the drip irrigation system and one group even assisted in laying a bit of pipe. Finally, they had the opportunity to pick (perhaps for the first time) their own vegetables. We enjoyed a variety of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, okra, and eggplant throughout the season.

 

The group would then gather in the common vegetable prep area. The kids learned about this part of the operation and how the participating farmers prepared their crops for market. They assisted in washing the veggies and prepping them to eat.  Of course this was one of their favorite parts of the program!  What a thrill to see kids really enjoying their freshly picked veggies! 

 

Photo submitted by Mary Bures, GoU

Photo submitted by Mary Bures, GoU

In addition to harvesting and preparing crops, the children also enjoyed a hands-on planting session with Aaron. He taught them the importance of soil preparation and they actually had the opportunity to mix it with their own hands. Just as the farmers would start their crops, the kids were able to plant their own seeds and take them home to nurture and grow.

 

In the end the kids had a wonderful time digging in the dirt, eating some freshly picked organic veggies and learning about sustainable farming.  Who knows…perhaps some will come back in a decade and join as a Farmer-in-Training at Lomax.

 

Thanks to Aaron and his team, this was one of GoU’s most successful programs this season and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Lomax.

For more information on NCWF’s Great Outdoors University, visit http://www.ncwf.org/GoU.

How a 125-year- old recipe, fond childhood memories, and an odd-ball vegetable inspired a new food business

by Amy Armbruster, CFSA’s Communications Coordinator

Editor’s Note: When we started writing this story, we intended it to be about an upstart new specialty foods company saving summer’s flavors in a jar of salsa. But, this story about Jerusalem Artichoke Relish is too good to keep a secret. Yes, we know that Jerusalem artichokes aren’t harvested in the summer. And, we promise, read to the end and you’ll understand why this story is indeed about saving summer. Sometimes, the story is just so good, you have to follow it where it leads.

 

Angie and Marc Olear, Crouch's Gourmet Specialties

Angie and Marc Olear of Crouch’s Gourmet Specialties
Photo submitted by Angie Olear

What is the flavor of childhood? Those foods that are preserved in our memories so vividly that when we eat them again, we are right back there in our Grandma’s kitchen, 12 years old, helping her make her famous relish. We can almost summon those loved ones back to us with just one bite. For Angie Olear, one particular memory from her Nanny’s kitchen led her and her husband on a peculiar journey: from home canner to farmer to the owner of Concord, NC specialty food company, Crouch’s Gourmet Specialties.

But, it all started with a memory.  Angie told me about her Nanny Crouch, who grew up in the country with a sprawling garden and “eyes in the back of her head.” Her Nanny grew Jerusalem artichokes wild. They were tucked away in hidden places all around her yard and Angie clearly remembers going out with her sister to dig them up. The edible parts of these plants – also called sunchokes – are their knobby roots, which have a crisp texture like that of water chestnuts. “One summer, we were out under Nanny’s kitchen window trying to get some artichokes when we heard Nanny’s voice, loud and clear: “Get out of my artichokes! They’re not ready yet!”

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by Aaron Newton, CFSA’s Lomax Farm Coordinator


Photo by J.H Photo

Providing consistent access to nutrients during the early stages of transplant development is a problem many organic growers face. At Lomax Farm we’ve developed a strategy that addresses nutrient availability in transplant production and uses some key, low-cost equipment to accomplish the task.

This fall, we will be testing different seed-starting recipes, and we will share those results with everyone later this year. For this Expert Tip, however, we will focus on equipment, and we’ll be using a standard recipe as an example.

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