03/28/2024
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The Bladen County Farm-City Week Banquet was held on Tuesday at the Cape Fear Farmer’s Market in Elizabethtown. Ralph Carter was the speaker for the evening. 

Becky Spearman introduced the evening’s speaker Ralph Carter, owner Carter Farms and Vice-President of the Carolina Blueberry Association and President of the North Carolina Blueberry Council.

Carter said that the cooler weather has helped to put the blueberry plants into a dormant phase for this year. He said just like people need to rest and sleep, so do the blueberry plants hence the dormant phase.

“Bladen County has been good to us,” said Carter.

He told those in attendance that he is a third generation grower. He said Carter Farms was founded in the 1940s by his grandparents and his parents started into the industry in 1951 and he followed suit after completing high school.

Carter recounted how he told his father he wanted to be a farmer and his father gave him four acres of land to tend and some money to get started. He said with the money he earned from the crops on that four acres, he was able to purchase his first piece of land.

He explained to those in attendance the history of how blueberries made their way to North Carolina.  Carter said in late 1920 to early 1930,  blueberry growers came to North Carolina.  He said the growers wanted to get on an earlier market and settled in Burgaw. In 1936, they produced the first berries in North Carolina. In Bladen County, it was the mid-1930s when blueberries were introduced.

“When I was  first appointed on NC Council, we were third in the nation in blueberry production. Now we are 6th,” said Carter.

He said the ranking is judged by the number of pounds of berries produced. He said the state has lost 25 percent of its production due to weather. Carter said this year’s crop was about 38 million pounds of berries and they sold for about 58 million dollars.

Here in Bladen County our part of that 58 million is about 37-38 million dollars, said Carter.

“It has been a good living for me. The Lord has blessed us with it,” said Carter.

He added the berry industry still receives the same “pay” as it did 15  years ago; but the costs of production have been steadily increasing.

“The future of the berry industry is cutting labor costs,” said Carter.

Following his remarks, Sandra Cain presented Carter with a gift of a Bladen County Afghan.

Also offering remarks for the evening,  NC Rep. William Brisson said, “This is the time of year for Thanksgiving and Bladen County has a lot to be thankful for.”

He also thanked the Elizabethtown Kiwanis Club for sponsoring the event and Sandra Cain for her work with Bladen County Cooperative Extension to make the Farm-City Banquet a success.

Keith Walters, the Southeast District Extension Director, said Farm-City Week expresses gratitude for farmers.  He added farmers have to be good stewards of the land.

Walters also shared some statistics with those in attendance. He said Bladen County is ranked 6th in the production of livestock, dairy and poultry. The county was ranked 3rd in hog and pig production in 2014 and ranked 5th in Turkeys raised.

Leon Martin, chairman of the Extension Advisory Committee for Bladen County Cooperative Extension, said RFD TV recently identified Bladen County as the best place in the nation for farming.

Lisa Bryan, with the Elizabethtown Kiwanis, reported on the Kiwanis activities and spoke briefly about the upcoming Christmas party for girls who reside in the Kiwanis cabin at the Lake Waccamaw Boys and Girls Home.

Andy James, Smithfield Foods hog production, gave an overview of Smithfield’s activities. He told those in attendance that Smithfield is the worlds leading producer of hogs.  He said they currently have 5,000 employees and grow 865,000 sows and 16.2 million market hogs

He said the company takes animal care and animal cruelty very seriously. James said the company has a zero tolerance policy on animal abuse.

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