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While traveling the landscape of Duplin County North Carolina you are
bound to notice several things. There is an abundance of hog, poultry,
and large-scale farming operations. Small farms, once the backcloth
standard in this rural county are becoming more intermittent. For farmer
Mitchell Paige, however, his operation has not become an endangered
livelihood lost among a milieu of encroaching large-scale farming
operations. Mr. Paige’s roughly 400-acre operation is thriving and is an
example of what other operations, small and large, should strive to
replicate.
Mr. Paige, a 4th generation farmer, is keenly aware of the issues that
affect his business, including the economy, culture, climate, and
natural resources unique to Duplin County. “There are large farms
popping up all the time down here, farms where the people who own the
land don’t live here and have others farm it for them. There are poultry
operations being frequently, as well, but the landowners do not
understand the type of land and water we have here,” said Paige. “We’ve
been here, lived here, grew up here and it takes a lot more than being a
huge landowner to be successful...you’ve got to know and care about the
soil, water, and other resources we have to make it work for your farm
and for everyone around you.”
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