Sisters Joyce Martin Bowden, left, and Jeannette Martin Horn are the owners of J&J Martin Farm Produce in Mt. Olive, a Century Farm in Wayne County.

Across North Carolina, small-scale producers and farmers apply through Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T for a chance to be named N.C. Small Farmer of the Year. Beyond the perks of winning  $2,000 and a monogrammed jacket, being chosen as N.C. Small Farmer of the Year allows growers to highlight their top-quality operations to a new audience, expand their community outreach and grow their connections within the state’s agricultural sector, which in turn can boost wholesale profits and expand their markets.

Here’s a closer look at three recent winners of the N.C. Small Farmer of the Year award, which is presented annually in the spring:

Last year’s winners, Wayne County sisters Joyce Martin Bowden and Jeannette Martin Horn of J&J Martin Farms Produce, have not only seen growth in sales but also have garnered significant media exposure.

“We’ve gotten new buyers mostly as a result of winning Small Farmer of the Year,” Bowden said. “We were doing just a minimum number of wholesales before winning, and we’ve had two new wholesale opportunities as a result of winning. Those are relationships that are going to continue into the future.”

Horn added: “It increased our market base and it increased curiosity into our name. We’ve seen more women who have asked us how to get into farming. We’ve sent everyone the numbers to the Regional Conservation Service and the local Extension office to help.”

The sisters farm 100 acres, on which they produce a wide variety of crops, including field peas, green beans, mustard and turnip greens, squash, onions, tomatoes and pecans. They also have seen growth in sales in their farmer’s market after winning in 2023.

“The publicity made us more widely known,” Bowden said. “People who had not shopped with us previously came to see us because they’d seen us in the media and read articles about us. We got new customers that way.”

Speaking engagements also have played a large role in expanding their market. The two have shared their story at the International Farming Food Summit in Chapel Hill, to gatherings of small farmers in North Carolina and as far away as Indianapolis.

“Winning made us more visible to the community, and that helped us help other people. It’s made us visible to younger farmers who see us do it, and they’re motivated to follow their dreams of being a farmer,” Bowden said. “We’ve talked to a lot of people who’ve asked us how to get land, how to get connected with the local Extension agency, and we’re able to answer those questions and direct them to resources to help them get started.”

To Horn, working with Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T allowed the sisters to build on top of their existing knowledge as professional farmers.

“Working with Extension is important because of information,” Horn said. “Big farm, small farm, whatever, it takes all of it. You’ve got to have a starting point to gather information. In our county, Extension was a key starting point.

“When Joyce first moved back here and got into small farming, we started with the Extension agency. All of the different classes that you take — pesticide, horticulture, the AgVentures Farm Grant program — it’s a must to work with the Extension agency. Even though Joyce and I were professionals who went to school and came back to farming after we’d retired, you need as much education now.”

Connie and Millard Locklear, left, 2022 Small Farmers of the Year, share climate resilience and food-hub concepts with a group including A&T Chancellor Harold Martin; U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack; Hilda Pinnix-Ragland, A&T board of directors chairwoman; and Dewayne Goldmon, senior advisor for racial equity to the secretary of agriculture. The Locklears said that being named Small Farmer of the Year has opened many doors for them.

Since winning the award in 2022, Millard and Connie Locklear of New Ground Farms LLC in Robeson County have used the recognition to advance their agricultural community.

“I started working with that Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina in Robeson County in November 2022,” Millard Locklear said. “We started up an agriculture program with the Lumbee Tribe and have been working with how to get agriculture back to the small entrepreneurial farmers.”

Ron Simmons, left, owner and operator of Master Blend Family Farms, and 2018 Small Farmer of the Year, high fives Steve Troxler, N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture, during a Small Farmers’ Appreciation Luncheon recently at the A&T Alumni Foundation Event Center.

“It’s opened a lot of doors for us,” said Connie Locklear. “We’ve been featured in the Robesonian, the Fayetteville Observer, Our State magazine. We’ve been invited to participate in the Farm Aid documentary. It’s opened doors to bring people to Robeson County who’ll know that there are things going on in the farm world.”

Since 2015, the Locklears have grown winter and spring root vegetables, collards, and herbs on their 27-acre farm.

Their collaboration with Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T, Connie Locklear said, has been “beyond my wildest dreams.”

“Extension will come out to the farm, look to see what works in the practices we’re doing, and teaching us how to use those practices to our advantage,” she said.

Millard Locklear added: “They’ve got an excellent program. They look at each aspect of farming from greenhouse management and integrated pest managements to cover crop managements and large-scale productions. They teach us marketing, how we take that product and be able to market it and put a value to it.”

“There’s no secret to it; it’s just consistency and hard work,” said Ronald Simmons Jr., president of Master Blend Family Farms in Kenansville and 2018 winner of N.C. Small Farmer of the Year. “I work hard and stay dedicated to what we have to get done.”

Simmons, who produces award-winning niche-pork products, returned to 2024’s Small Farms Week, themed “New Paths to Profits,” as keynote speaker, but his relationship with N.C. A&T Cooperative Extension started before 2017 through Duplin County’s agency. As a new farmer getting involved with risk management seminars, he met M. Ray McKinnie, Ph.D., now administrator of the Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T and associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

“What I absorbed from Dr. McKinnie was not just the idea of building a brand,” Simmons said. “He took me a step further. He gave me a lot of tips on how to be a proud farmer and how to carry yourself in everyday situations.”

Since winning the statewide award in 2018, Simmons has continued to receive accolades for his farm. He won the Duplin County Gold Star Award the same year in recognition of his contributions to the county. In 2021, Simmons was named part of the inaugural class of Kingsford’s Preserve the Pit Fellowship, a group that receives the tools, training and mentorship to continue the barbecue traditions of the Black community. Simmons said this outreach is critical not only to his success but his overall mission.

“The nation could be facing a food crisis,” Simmons said. “The population of farmers is dwindling and there are more mouths to feed. I find myself hoping to inspire all farmers so they can reach out and inspire others. It’s a huge responsibility making sure everyone is getting fed. My biggest pleasure is to sit with other farmers, hear their stories and figure out how I can get them the information that might be helpful to them.”