By Morgan Watts
N.C. Cooperative Extension

The 2020 and 2021 classes of North Carolina Farm School graduated on June 10. Due to COVID, the 2020 class was not able to have an official graduation until this year. In total, 27 participants from the Piedmont area of North Carolina completed all the required assignments to graduate from North Carolina Farm School. These past two years, participants have definitely had their challenges; the 2020 class started meeting in person, but halfway through, it had to transition to Zoom meetings because of COVID. They were also only able to complete one of the four in-person field days. The 2021 class had only Zoom meetings for the business sessions, but they were able to participate in all four field days since some COVID restrictions were lifted in 2021. We are very excited about the past two years of graduates and the things they will do and accomplish in their respective counties across N.C.

N.C. Farm School is set to return to the Piedmont area in winter of 2022. The exact host county has not been determined yet but if you are interested in participating in the 2022 class, let us know so we can get you the information when it is released. NCFS covers the business aspects of starting a farm including comparing different farm enterprises, risk management, taxes, capital needs and record keeping. We also visit a variety of farms to see the different setups across the region.

The following is a list of graduates from the 2020 and 2021 classes and the county they represent: Christina and Juan Benton, Mecklenburg; Jessie Cline, Rowan; Jenna Crew, Gaston; Camala and Dan Francis, Davidson; Tammy Gentle, Cabarrus; Justin Halama, Davidson; Susan and John Hall, Rowan; Hollie Hutchens, Rowan; Penny Kipper, Gaston; Michael and Nadine Massarelli, Rowan; Adriane Mindo, Mecklenburg; Paris and Bianca Sharpe, Mecklenburg; Tammy Gentle, Cabarrus; Amanda Williams, Moore; Jennifer Chambers, Moore; Ashley Honbarrier, Rowan; Callie Johnson, Davidson; John Felder, Guilford; Kateia and Paul Barrett, Mecklenburg; Kevin Plasschaert, Randolph; Maureen Sullivan, Iredell;  and Sandra Richardson, Ashe.

If you are interested in learning more about North Carolina Farm School or receiving information for the 2022 school when it’s available, please email amwatts@ncsu.edu or call 704-216-8970.