For present and future farmers, however, even more progress is headed their way. Just across the Neuse River, where 401 is soon to double in size to four lanes, will be the new North Campus for Wake Tech . Not to be forgotten, either, is the Northern Wake Expressway, churning ever closer as road crews prepare to bring even more traffic, noise, development and people into what' s left of rural Wake County. But by 2010, most bets are off. To the east, out past Louisburg, some of rural America comes back into view.
Farms are still the rule, but here and there, trailer parks and subdivisions keep cropping up.
With homes come people - some of whom hate farmers, hate the smell and hate getting caught in traffic behind a tractor. Then there are the kids from the new developments who pull up tobacco stalks for fun. And if Thompson irrigates a field, heaven forbid some of the water spray over someone's yard. Next thing he knows, somebody has called the sheriff. Some farmers have even gone so far as to post green signs near their farms to alert drivers there may be something else on the road beside a Mercedes, BMW or an 18-wheeler bigger than the largest battle tanks ever built.