Salvador Moreno Jr. says the only business model that comes close to his family’s work in commercial farming is gambling. We’re speaking in the office of SMM Farm, the 40-acre farm established by Moreno’s father, Salvador Moreno Sr., in Hayesville, North Carolina, in 2004. When we meet it’s a blustery […]
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In English, the Hebrew word “yesod” (pronounced yeh-sode) translates to “foundation.” Given its multiple layers of meaning, it’s a fitting moniker for a farm inspired by Jewish values, like Yesod Farm+Kitchen, in Fairview, North Carolina. Yesod suggests “connecting with Jewish ancestral wisdom, specifically with our agricultural wisdom,” says farm cofounder […]
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A start-up, backed by nearly half-billion-dollar investment, seeks to create living wages and sustainable agricultural practices in the region. Some worry about the impact on traditional farmers and others about the source of the funding. AppHarvest, the brainchild of Jonathan Webb, son of Corbin, Kentucky, hopes to deliver indoor, large-scale […]
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When Chue Lee first started selling Laotian sticky rice at the East Asheville farmers market, she didn’t have much luck. The rice was unfamiliar to customers and cost quite a bit more than what you could get at the supermarket. People just didn’t know what to make of it. “Well, […]
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American ginseng is imperiled by overharvesting. Locals are racing to preserve the plant — and its economic potential. Iris Gao keeps a ginseng root in her office. It’s fixed on black velvet with three other bleached-brown specimens, all of them twisty and otherworldly and protected by glass in a shadowbox frame. […]
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It’s a busy time for the tomato-producing farms in this part of the state. Farms have staffed up with hundreds of workers, most of whom are Latino. Some live locally. Others are migrant workers who travel from farm to farm, chasing the summer growing seasons. Still, others […]
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