Organic Agriculture Research in Action: High Tunnels and Cover Cropping with Moore Family Farms

By Rebecca Champagne

Moore Family Farms is a family-owned and operated farm located in Warsaw, North Carolina. Managed by Robert Moore and his son Dakota, the farm was founded in 1833 based on principles of sustainability. Out of the 260-acre farm, 22 acres are in production—12 conventional and 10 certified organic. On the organic side of the farm, they grow watermelons, collard greens, and cabbage. The non-organic side of the farm produces bell peppers, tomatoes, and cantaloupe.

“Our farm was revived in 2018, focusing on sustainable practices to honor our heritage while also adapting to modern agricultural trends,” Dakota explained.

Their crops are sold mainly wholesale through a regional organic produce distributor called Happy Dirt. They also had a contract with the Second Harvest Food Bank through the Local Food Purchase Assistance program (LFPA), but this contract was unfortunately lost due to federal funding freezes. They are currently exploring additional markets through Feast Down East, a local non-profit organization that connects farmers, restaurants, grocers, and consumers.

Moore Family Farms began the process of transitioning part of their farm to organic production in 2020 and has been certified since late 2023. Dakota mentioned that rising input prices prompted them to seek certification. “Fertilizer prices skyrocketed between 2019 and 2021, and we couldn’t afford to buy them,” he explained. “We did a lot of economic research into organic and decided to jump in.”