NC farmers trade tobacco crops for profitable pig production

A group of North Carolina farmers say if the move is done with care and under guidance, changing a farm’s main commodity offers both financial and experiential rewards.

During the last two years, two groups of North Carolina farmers have taken that leap, transitioning from producing tobacco and other crops to producing pork and pork products, with the help of North Carolina A&T Cooperative Extension’s “From Bright Leaf to Berkshires” program.

Derrick Coble, N.C. A&T Extension swine specialist and program director said the program’s goal is to provide tobacco farmers who have been financially impacted by tobacco policy and social changes with options to improve their farms’ profitability.

Specifically, the program trains farmers to produce Berkshire pigs using hoop structure barns, an alternative swine production system.

“Hoop house structures originated in Canada at the turn of the century,” Coble said. “Inside the hoop house, the deep-bedded system filled with hay, sawdust or anything fibrous will absorb waste. These structures also have walls that can be pulled down so it can be managed as a cold barn during winter.”

The training is essential. Caswell County farmer Santonio Bolton said raising hogs as his grandparents did is much different than “growing pork” today.