Lucas Farm aids farm research on many fronts ♥

As published in the Courier-Tribune on June 20, 2012

By Hugh Martin

CANDOR — When most people reach the age of 62 they start slowing down, looking forward to the days when they no longer have to work.

That’s not the case with Charles Lucas. He is just getting into full swing, farming 10 acres of sandy soil alongside researchers and interns from N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro.
YEAR-ROUND — To extend his growing seasons,
Charles Lucas uses high tunnels, which he is showing
to cooperative extension agent Danelle McKnight, right.

Lucas is soft-spoken and generous. He tells about the day in 2008 when he heard about a workshop in Rockingham and went.

“I was in the barber shop getting my hair cut and someone told me about the meeting,” he said. “The workshop was given by Dr. Manny Reyes from A&T about farming using high tunnels.”

High tunnels are modified greenhouses that are large enough for tractors and other farm equipment to drive into and work the soil. The large doors and roll-up sides allow cooler air to move through the structure when the weather is hot.

The high tunnels have allowed Lucas to plant crops as early as January and to harvest into late November, extending the growing season considerably.

Lucas is originally from South Carolina, where much of his family still lives. After returning home, disabled, from Vietnam in 1969, he wondered what he was going to do with his life. In 1975 a member of his church, who was familiar with the area told him about some land for sale near Candor.

“I bought this property and tried my hand at farming back in 1975,” Lucas said. “I grew some corn and watermelons and gave them to the people in the community.”

Lucas said that his neighbors in the Emery community took him under their wing.

“There wasn’t a lot of support for farmers back in those days,” he said. “There is a lot more in the way of resources available now to help small farmers get started.”

When Lucas attended the workshop in 2008 a new chapter in his life began.

“I was the only one at the meeting with available land,” he said. He struck a deal with Reyes and his small farm became a laboratory for students from the university.

“The farm is a multi-project lab,” said Danelle McKnight, N.C. Cooperative Extension horticulture agent for Montgomery County. “There are four research projects being conducted on the Lucas farm. In addition to the high tunnels, research is being conducted on cover crops, agro-forestry and rainwater harvesting for irrigation.”

A number of A&T researchers take advantage of the farm’s location, just one hour down U.S. 220 from the university. Dr. M.R. Reedy, Dr. Godfrey Gayle, Dr. Ofei Yeborh, Dr. Joshua Idossi, Dr. Mitch Woodard and Reyes all direct student interns in the research being conducted on the farm. The interns come from as far away as Nigeria, Cambodia and Vietnam and collect data two days a week at the farm.

“Montgomery County is on a roll,” said Lucas. “We have foreign students on our soil every week.”

The latest project is rainwater harvesting, which collects water from the roof of Lucas’ 3,000-square-foot house. The rainwater is stored in two holding tanks that each hold 1,100 gallons. During dry spells the rainwater can be supplemented with water from a 150-foot deep well that was dug in 1928.

The water is pumped as needed into a 550-gallon tank situated on a 12-foot-tall tower and then distributed to the crops that are being grown in the other research projects.

The system was installed this spring. A meter shows that over 33,000 gallons of water have already been harvested for use.

Another project, agro-forestry, is researching the possibility of growing crops along with trees to increase the production of the land that is in use. Forty pecan trees have been planted and spaced in a way that will allow the cultivation of other crops in between. The nutrients that are provided to these crops will also benefit the trees.

Cover crop research has included the planting of an African legume, Moringa, along with a crop of peas, which are also legumes. The legumes provide nitrogen for the soil rather than remove it, which improves the land for other crops.

Everything grown on the farm is considered organic. Lucas is working on becoming a certified organic farmer and the research is providing a good basis for the process. He touts the benefits of using the harvested rainwater for his crops.

“Rainwater is the best thing to irrigate organic crops,” he said. “Rainwater has more nitrogen and nutrients than surface or city water. Water is the greatest resource in the sand.”

Lucas himself is on a roll. On April 17, he was sworn as a Soil and Water Conservation district supervisor.

“I am enjoying working with Don Thompson, Larry Scarborough, Boon Chesson, Jeff Maness and staff at the Soil and Water Conservation office in Troy,” he said. “It is indeed an honor and a pleasure to serve my county and I hope to make a difference to the small farmers of this area.”

Lucas provides vegetables to local produce stands but has sold peas as far away as Virginia. He is working on constructing a stand of his own and has already acquired a walk-in cooler to preserve his harvests.

At age 62 he is not slowing down at all.

“Farming has been good for me,” he said. “Working the land helps me mentally and physically and has allowed me to give back to the community that has been so good to me.”

Lucas praises the efforts of McKnight and her mission to help small farmers in the area: “Her generation is making a change in this county.”

McKnight said, “I think our people are ready for a change.”