Yarborough knows the mountains, and Cheeks has put his knowledge and expertise to good use on his Clay County farm. From his home base at the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville, Yarborough visits and advises farmers in some of the least accessible areas of the western N.C. mountains. His territory includes Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Swain and Yancey counties. The territory may be large, but the problems tend to be the same. Farms in the mountains are remote with little access to commercial agricultural resources.
Land is expensive.
Growers must find niche markets for their products to maintain cost-effective and sustainable operations. Cost effectiveness and sustainability are two things Yarborough knows a lot about. If you ask him, he ll tell you the key to both is no-till agriculture. With no-till, the ground is not plowed before planting. Seeds are drilled directly into the stubble of the previous crop and fertilizer is injected into the soil.