Help is on the way: The USDA has declared 47 N.C. counties natural-disaster areas as a result of the Easter freeze. This opens the door for disaster assistance, including emergency loans through the Farm Security Administration. Disaster provisions were included in the recently enacted Iraq Supplemental Appropriations bill. The bill covers disasters from 2005, 2006 and 2007, as long as the crop was planted prior to Feb. 28, 2007. Farmers can receive benefits for one of the three years.
Farm in your future? Buncombe County Cooperative Extension Director Kenneth Reeves reported receiving a letter last week that read, in part, “Aging farmer couple ready to retire, would love to meet young farmers with enthusiasm … to keep our land in agricultural production.” Reeves notes that a large amount of farm acreage is lost to development each year because of retirement. Farmers see selling their land to developers as the only way to secure future income. “But not everyone wants to give up this hard but gracious way of living, and they especially do not want to see houses on the land that they have worked so hard to maintain.” The Buncombe County Cooperative Extension is ready to compile a list of farmers without land who would like to be matched with retiring farm families. Think of it as a “dating agency for the incommensurable healthy pleasure of eating local food tomorrow,” he suggests. Call Reeves at 255-5522 to learn more.
Fond of ponds? At a free water-gardening seminar, expert Marc Montell will discuss water gardening through the seasons, demystify pond-care products and demonstrate pond-maintenance devices. It takes place on Saturday, June 9, at 10 a.m. at Reems Creek Nursery in Weaverville. Call 645-3937 to pre-register.
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