On the move : North Carolina A&T State University School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences newsletter

              Bill Moretz calls their names
easily, almost poetically: “Virginia Beauty,
Zesty Z and Black Oxford.” There’s also the
“Summer Rambo” – and not a seasonal retreat
for actor Sylvester Stallone.
No. Summer Rambo, like the others, is
the name of one of the more than 100 different
varieties of apples grown at Moretz Mountain
Orchard in Boone; one of only a couple of
orchards left in this part of the state where the
land is sloping and mountainous, “exceptionally
expensive” and the apple business – like so
much else about agriculture – has evolved.
For his management of this high-density,
3-acre orchard and the integrated production
method that uses a flock of laying hens to
help keep the orchard floor fertilized and
pests under control, Moretz has been named
the 2013 North Carolina Small Farmer of the
Year. He was feted in ceremonies last month
by The Cooperative Extension Program at
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical
State University, which established the award in
1987 to emphasize the importance of small-scale
agriculture and its practitioners.
Moretz Mountain Orchard includes
750 apple trees representing more than 100
varieties, from the ever-popular Red Delicious
to lesser-known types such as Summer Rambo.
That variety, with a distinctive tart flavor, was
developed in France in the 1500s. Moretz also
offers a pedigree on the Yellow Newtown
Pippin, also known as the Albemarle Pippin,
which dates back 400 years or so and was a
favorite on voyages from America to England
because it traveled well; enabling passengers and
crew to have fresh fruit during all those weeks
at sea. Moretz is a walking Wikipedia on apples,
but a modest one who credits other Southern
experts for their bountiful knowledge. Yet, ask
him a question and he’s off; confirming that
Granny Smith – Australian in origin and a cross
between Golden Delicious and Japanese Indo
– is good for pies, as is a Jonathan, which holds
its shape nicely and “has a nice apple-y flavor.”
Applesauce is best from varieties such as Snow,
McIntosh and Zesty Z.
Watauga County Cooperative Extension,
which nominated Moretz for the Small Farmer
award, has helped him in various ways, from
identifying a pesky bug that he’s never seen
before to offering techniques and technology.
Moretz used to pride himself on keeping the
edges of his orchard mowed, until Extension
Agent Richard Boylan told him that keeping
the grass higher was an effective pest control –
providing shelter for beneficial insects that eat
pests. Extension also advised Moretz on season
extension strategies, such as leasing additional
farm land in the adjacent and warmer Wilkes
County and growing seasonal vegetables to
supplement his income before and after apple
crops. Cooperative Extension also advises
Moretz on the best breeds of laying hens to buy
for the eggs he sells.
“They’re a great resources to go to for
information.” Moretz says. “I’ve learned a lot
from Cooperative Extension.”
Moretz is a third generation farmer, still
maintaining an orchard started by his late
grandfather, Paul Moretz, whose operation
consisted of large 40-foot trees, standard size
for their time. Moretz’s father, Kenneth Moretz,
began incorporating blocks of smaller, semi-dwarf
varieties to improve orchard efficiency.
Smaller trees are easier to prune and harvest,
and take up less space. When Bill Moretz took
over the orchard in 1989, he continued that
transformation and today most of the orchard
is a high-density system of dwarf trees. He also
grows asparagus, peaches, plums, pears, cherries,
six types of berries, kiwi and other fruits.
For years, the locals and visitors just knew
that the Moretz family was one of the places
to buy apples and so they trekked a winding,
wending, narrow road to the family farmstead.
But as times evolved, the third-generation apple
heir formally christened the business as Moretz
Mountain Orchard – giving it a clear identity to
adapt to an evolving market.
“The whole mentality has changed from
what it used to be,” Moretz says, laughing.
“You got to go with the times.”
Whereas the farmers once sold apples by
the bushel and many customers would use them
in canning, or had storage cellars or outbuild-ings
at home to maintain apples for weeks,
contemporary customers are different. Today’s
consumers, Moretz says, buy apples a quarter
of a peck or a half-peck – enough to last a week.
“Both are direct markets, but now instead
of people driving up to the orchard and buying,
I’m doing lots of sales at local farmers markets
and state farmers markets and CSAs (community
supported agriculture),” Moretz says.
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on the move
Preparing. Finding. Implementing solutions.
www.ag.ncat.edu
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As American as apple pride
on the move North Carolina A&T State University School of Agriculture
and Environmental Sciences Newsletter — Produced by
Agricultural Communications
Dr. Harold L. Martin Sr., Chancellor
Dr. Bill Randle, Dean, School of Agriculture
and Environmental Sciences
Dr. Antoine Alston, Interim Associate Dean,
Academic Studies
Willie T. Ellis Jr., Associate Dean, Administration
Dr. Shirley Hymon-Parker, Associate Dean,
Agricultural Research
Dr. M. Ray McKinnie, Associate Dean,
Administrator, The Cooperative Extension Program
North Carolina A&T State University is a land-grant
high research activity institution and AA/EEO employer.
Send change of address and correspondence to:
on the move Newsletter Editor
Agricultural Research Program
CH Moore Agricultural Research Station
Greensboro, NC 27411
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Distributed in furtherance of the acts of Congress of May 8
and June 30, 1914. Employment and program opportunities
are open to all people regardless of race, color, national
origin, sex, age or disability. North Carolina A&T State
University, North Carolina State University, US Department
of Agriculture and local governments cooperating.
North Carolina Agricultural and
Technical State University
School of Agriculture and
Environmental Sciences Newsletter
www.ag.ncat.edu
April 2013 • Vol. XII, No. 2
• The SAES Student Awards Banquet
for the 2012-13 academic year is
Tuesday, April 30, beginning at
6 p.m. in the Memorial Student
Union Building.
• Small Farms Field Day at the
University Farm: Thursday, June 20
• Institute for Future Agriculture
Leaders (IFAL): June 9-14.
• 2013 Research Apprenticeship
Program for High School Students:
June 23-July 19
• Agribusiness Institute for high
school juniors and seniors (in
partnership with the STEM Early
College): July 8-18.
Dr. Salam Ibrahim, an SAES food scientist, works with a student who was part of the
2012 Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP), Shannon Walston.
Moretz
Approximately
120 comercial
mushroom growers are
participating in North
Carolina Agricultural
and Technical State
University’s mushroom
program this year, and
although their ventures
are scattered from
the mountains to the
coast, they all get their start at the N.C. A&T University Farm in
Greensboro. Here, a mushroom research unit provides material and
research-based information to support the state’s small, but growing
shiitake mushroom industry. The University Farm is also the site for
ongoing workshops in log-grown shiitake.
Thanks to research at the farm and in campus labs, nine different
shiitake strains are being distributed to farmers from the University
Farm, each appropriate to different growing conditions or growers’
needs, because what grows well in the mountains might not succeed
in the coast, and vice versa.
Log-grown shiitake mushrooms is a popular alternative venture
for small, diversified farms in North Carolina, observed Christy
Bredenkamp, Extension horticulture agent for Swain and Jackson
counties. Cooperative Extension presents new, research-based
agricultural technologies to farmers all the time, but Bredenkamp
says she has seen few take hold as quickly as log-grown shiitake
mushrooms. The reason is, perhaps, due to the low monetary
investment required up front, she added.
“It (adoption) is a little bit higher with mushrooms. More of
them are willing to take that step into commercial growing, compared
to other alternative crops,” she said.
Like most crops, growing shiitake mushrooms on logs is a
seasonal venture and fits well within a diversified farming business,
since most of the time and labor involved in cutting and inoculating
logs takes place in the winter months. Harvest takes place in spring,
and again in fall.
“Can they make a living at it? No. But can they make a good
addition to their income? Yes,” Bredenkamp said.
Though seasonal log growing is appropriate as a supplemental
commercial enterprise, with sales usually taking place in local farmers
markets or to restaurants, that fact does not preclude larger ventures
from arising. The mushroom program has also provided technical
assistance for growers who are serious about starting an intensive
indoor growing operation, which is where the greatest potential for
year-round productivity occurs.
Information on mushroom production is available through local
N. C. Cooperative Extension centers or through North Carolina
A&T State University at mushroom@ncat.edu.
on the move Preparing. Finding. Implementing solutions.
Dr. Devona L. Dixon has joined
the Family and Consumer Sciences
Department as an assistant professor
in Fashion Merchandising and Design.
Dixon received her doctorate in the social
and psychological aspects of dress from
Louisiana State University. She also
has a master’s in design, merchandising
and consumer sciences, from Colorado
State University, and a bachelor’s in
clothing textiles and related arts from
Southern University and A&M College.
Her research interests include body image
perceptions and the social psychology
of African-American dress and fashion
history. Dixon’s teaching specialties
include merchandise buying, apparel
manufacturing and quality analysis, and
history of 20th century fashion. She is a
native of Baton Rouge, La. Dixon comes
to the SAES from Western Kentucky
University, where she was an assistant
professor in the Design, Merchandising
and Textiles Program.
University Farm spawns
mushroom industry for N.C.
faculty & staff notes
Small Farms
Week Quotes
The theme for 2013 Small Farms Week was “Tools for the Next
Generation” and speakers at various activities spoke from experience
as the next generation or about the next generation. Here are some
excerpts from their discussions:
“I always grew up on the farm. I’m just a country boy. I like to hunt and
fish and all that stuff. Football and video games, I can just pass that
along.” — Bryan Hickman, 16, explaining at the SFW kickoff why
he prefers working at his grandfather’s Kinlaw’s Farm Fresh Produce
to typical teenage pursuits.
“My first job (at 10) was walking behind the tractor and putting down the
seeds. I loved following behind my grandparents. It didn’t matter what
they were doing … tobacco or hog farming. I just love planting stuff and
watching it grow. After college I came back home, with my husband, and
now he loves farming too.” — Angela Whitaker, 31, of Autry Farms,
explaining why she farms, at the SFW kickoff.
“When I was young, I used to be kind of ashamed for the other students
to know that I came from the farm. But as I matured, I was so proud. That
farm afforded me and nine other brothers and sisters a decent education.
So let’s just be proud of what we do. If somebody asks you what you do
for your country, you tell them ‘I grow food that supports the nation.’”—
Dorothy G. McKoy, retired educator and former Bladen Central High
School salutatorian, keynote speaker at the SFW kickoff.
“I was never so happy as to hear the theme of this year’s Small Farms
Week celebration. One of our greatest challenges is to attract that next
generation into our food system. We need everybody in this audience
to talk about agriculture and get the next generation ready.”— Dr. Bill
Randle, dean of the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
at A&T, at Small Farmers’ Appreciation Day
“Less than 2 percent of us are feeding the other 98 percent of us in
this country. One farmer feeds 125 people. Forecasters have said that
we will need to produce 50 percent more food by 2030, and produce
70 percent more by 2050. But we have lost 6.6 million acres of farmland
in North Carolina since 1970. Can we lose another 6.6 million of acres
of farmland in our state and reach our goals? … If we (farmers) are
going to feed the world, we have got to have more agricultural
research. Not less.” — Steve Troxler, N.C. Commissioner of
Agriculture, at Small Farmers’ Appreciation Day
Dr. Bill Randle, dean
of the SAES, at the
Small Farmers’
Appreciation Luncheon,
where he remarked:
“Small Farms Week is
one of the highlights of
what we do in the SAES.”
Dorothy Gray McKoy, a member of the North Carolina 4-H Hall of Fame
and luncheon speaker at the 2013 N.C. Small Farms Week Kickoff, tells
farmers to be proud of what they do.
Dr. M. Ray McKinnie, associate dean and administrator for The
Cooperative Extension Program at A&T, presents Bill Moretz a jacket
attesting to “Aggie Pride” as well as his 2013 Small Farmer-of-the-
Year Award.
Clifton Kinlaw of Kinlaw’s Farm Fresh Produce and his grandsons,
Daniel Kinlaw (center) and Bryan Hickman all had observations on
farm life to share at the 2013 Small Farms Week Kickoff.
Steve Troxler, N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture,
welcomes guests to the 2013 Small Farmers’
Appreciation Luncheon on the A&T campus.