High-Tech Equipment Brings Asheboro Farming into the 21st Century
agriculture, asheboro, business, computers, corn, global positioning system, hay, high-tech equipment, soybeans, tobacco,
Imagine planting crops using satellite signals. Now‚ picture chickens relying on computers for food and warmth.
While this may sound like a science fiction plot‚ some people in Asheboro see it as the means to bring farming into the 21st century.
Agriculture is a major business throughout Randolph County‚ with soybeans‚ corn‚ hay‚ tobacco and small grains such as wheat leading the way in crops. Beef and dairy cattle and poultry guide the local livestock industry.
While farmers still routinely rotate crops and many feed their animals the old-fashioned way‚ a growing number are testing new innovations.
Some farmers are turning to Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to determine what sections of fields yield the best crops and also to spread lime or herbicides within a programmed range with near precision.
Often associated with finding stolen vehicles‚ the GPS also can guide a planter system to vary seeding rates. Local agricultural experts recently conducted preliminary work on the planter system that can‚ among other features‚ change dispersion rates so that more seeds are scattered in a field’s richest soil.
“This has a lot of potential here because our soils are so variable‚” says Troy Coggins‚ field crops extension agent for Randolph and Davidson counties. “The drainage‚ texture and depths of soils can all vary in a single field.”
And livestock‚ for years raised on hand-carried buckets of food and troughs of water‚ are now seeing less of the farmer. Chickens that live in new high-tech houses drink water and eat food continuously dispersed by a computer. Even the temperature in chicken houses is maintained by a computer system.
Whitaker Farms and Greenhouses‚ a fourth-generation farm in northeast Randolph County‚ is testing new technologies including computer-run greenhouse irrigation systems and machines that harvest tobacco.
“We like to experiment with our crops and learn better ways to do things‚” says Faylene Whitaker who farms with her husband Richard and sons. “We’re always taking classes to stay on top of the latest things.”
With more than 148‚500 acres of farmland‚ Randolph County ranks top in North Carolina for beef cattle‚ second in the state for dairy cattle and third for poultry‚ says Barry Foushee‚ a livestock extension agent for the county.
“We’re a highly populated county‚ but still fairly rural‚” Foushee says.
And‚ even as tobacco crops have declined in recent years‚ other industries are emerging such as pumpkins‚ strawberries and tomatoes. Foushee says “agri-tourism” is thriving with niche markets such as fun mazes in cornfields‚ organic farms and a local bed and breakfast that raises sheep.
Ann and Ron Fay opened the Rising Meadow Farm and Inn in 1996‚ along with Beth and Winfield Henry (the Fay’s daughter and son-in-law).
“We were ready for something different‚” says Ann Fay who‚ along with her husband Ron‚ previously had careers in education. “We decided to find an old farm where we could run an inn and where we also could farm. There is a great deal of satisfaction in working with animals and being in charge of what you’re doing.”
The Fays moved to North Carolina from upstate New York and renovated the 128-acre farm and two 1880s farmhouses that were on the property. Visitors now stay in one of the houses‚ which was remodeled to include two guestrooms with private bathrooms. The farm includes sheep‚ cows‚ horses‚ goats‚ chickens‚ cats and a border collie named Lass. The Fays also dye their own wool and sell blankets made from their sheep’s wool.
“People really react to the feeling of this whole place‚” Ann says. “It’s so quiet here and we like to visit with our guests and teach them about farming‚ from gathering chicken eggs to bottle-feeding lambs.”
Story by Kari K. Ridge
Photo by Martin Bennett
