Each week during this season we are sharing a story about our inspiring members and how our work together is accomplishing our mission. It is your financial support that fuels and sustains the work we do across both North and South Carolina. Your support is more important now than ever. Please give today.

You can donate at carolinafarmstewards.org/give, call us at 919-542-2402 or mail a check to CFSA, PO Box 448, Pittsboro, NC 27312.

Your gift to CFSA is one of the best ways you can
support local farmers and champion food
that is good for consumers, good for farmers and farmworkers,
and good for the land.

Thank you for being an important part of the sustainable food movement!

If you have already made your End-of-Year gift, THANK YOU!

Our vision . . . Good for the Land

The food we eat, and the agricultural practices that produce it, have the biggest impact on the environment of anything we do on this earth. The third leg of our vision, “good for the land,” is the foundation for all we and our members do as sustainable and organic farmers.

Carey and Natalie Howell, of Howell Specialty Farmz in Fort Mill, SC, are farming on 18 acres depleted from decades of growing cotton. They are managing their land with the goal of regenerating the soil.

Carey is a Veteran who served in the Army National Guard. Natalie had been in nursing and continues to work at home in health-care consulting. They began farming specialty vegetables but as they began to learn the needs of their soil, they added enterprises which contribute to their farm income while also contributing to the revitalization of the land.

They have begun thermophilic composting, have goats to clear the underbrush, and are proud of their AWA Certified (Animal Welfare Approved) flock of pasture raised laying hens which produce eggs for market while “working” to improve the soil across the farm.

Most recently, a chance encounter with a developer in the area led to many free dump truck loads of dirt to fill a huge, highly erodible gulley on the property and to construct of a series of terraces. This area will be used for events and agritourism, providing income to enable the Howells to expand their soil-building efforts on the rest of the farm and to offer educational opportunities for their community.

“We really have a heart to salvage this place because we want the community to have a healthy understanding of the things our grandparents just knew and understood,” Natalie explains. “The services of CFSA have been essential in helping us learn the skills we need to do to achieve our goals.

CFSA is working with the Howells on a Conservation Activity Plan (CAP-138) and a plan for transitioning to USDA Certified Organic. CFSA has helped evaluate and explain their soil samples, advised on inputs for soil health, and recommended practices which will improve the quality of their soil.

Carey and Natalie are working hard to regenerate this land and leave a legacy which will give future generations the opportunity to learn about and experience the benefits of a healthy, sustainable farm in their community.

Farmers like Carey and Natalie can’t do it without you.

Your gift today will provide the training and support another new farmer needs to succeed and provide us ALL with the food we need in the Carolinas.

Please give generously.

You can donate online at carolinafarmstewards.org/give

or mail a check to CFSA, PO Box 448, Pittsboro, NC 27312

or call us at 919-542-2402

Read more about Carey and Natalie, Howell Specialty Farmz, on our Sweet Potato Blog at https://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/good-for-the-land/