http://www.asapconnections.org/thefamilyfarmtour.html
The first farm we toured was Maple Creek Farm. They sell meats and vegetables, but the most interesting aspect of their farm is that they are North Carolina's only commercial producer of maple syrup. We were given a tour of their sugar maple forest and provided an explanation on how the trees are tapped. It was very interesting to see how they use gravity and a system of hoses to bring the sugar maple sap down the mountain to be processed. We were given a lecture on the maple syrup making process, provided some samples, and met some very friendly people. Needless to say, we learned a lot about maple syrup! One important fact: darker maple syrups are sweeter and preferred by people of the South while the lighter syrup is not as sweet and preferred by people up North, where they pay a premium for it.
The second farm we toured was Bee Tree Farm. We did not take a tour at this farm, but we were able to purchase some organic wines they make on site.
The third farm we toured was the Spinning Spider Creamery. Here we were given a tour of a micro-dairy which utilizes 100 goats to provided milk for all kinds of artisan cheeses. On this tour we saw goats being milked by hand, received an explanation on how goats are milked by machine, took a guided tour through the kitchen, and heard an explanation of the cheese making process. We also got to view how the milk goats live and even play with some newborn baby goats (kids).
The fourth farm wasn't on the tour, but it should have been. As we were driving to our next destination, we were stopped in the middle of the road by Nathan Beachy of Nate's Farm. Nate raises natural grass fed beef, has it butchered and sells it by the whole cow or the piece. We purchased some New York Strips, fillets, and ground beef from Nate, and having already tried the fillets off the grill, I can tell you we will be back for more.
The fifth farm we toured was Sunset Valley Farm. This farm makes a huge variety of high quality value added products such as herb blends, jams, dressings, etc from their produce and from produce they purchase inside a 50 mile radius. We were given a demonstration on how to make apple butter and provided with several great samples of the tasty products they make. The owner also spoke to us on how government regulations are making it tougher and tougher on the small farmer.
The sixth farm we toured was Holly Hill Farm. Here the farmers gave us a tour of their certified organic vegetables and herbs. We were able to hear about some techniques they use which are not common on large scale farms, and also learned how tough it is to meet certain regulations in order to keep an organic certification (lots of paperwork!).
The seventh farm we toured was Queen's Produce and Berry Farm. This is a berry u-pick which also sells vegetables, eggs, and cut flowers.
In this photo you can see some sheep being raised for meat on Maple Creek Farm.
These donkeys were also on Maple Creek Farm and protect the sheep herd from coyotes and other predators.
Here you can see what a sugar maple tap looks like. Notice the hose runs down the mountain to the building below.
This is one of the evaporators used by Maple Creek Farm to turn the maple sap into maple syrup.
On our way to one of the farms we saw this wild turkey in the road with her babies. Once they saw us they quickly took flight!
In this photo you can see hand milking of a goat at the Spinning Spider Creamery.
Spinning Spider Creamery also showed us how goat cheese is made.
The creamery uses swiss goats to provide their milk. This kid is too young to milk and just wanted to play with Leigh Ann's hat.
