By Bryant Spivey
Johnston County Extension Director
SMITHFIELD – The Johnston County Board of Commissioners declared November 16-23, 2023 as Farm-City Week in our county. NC Cooperative Extension, in conjunction with many volunteers and businesses, helps to guide the events of our local Farm-City celebration. Farm-City Week celebrates the partnership between farmers, agribusinesses, and consumers that effectively feeds us all each and every day.
While everyone participates in the food supply and consumption chain differently, it is evident that we live in a country where food is abundant and widely available while also providing safe and effective nutrition opportunities. With this being said, there are certainly those in our society that have greater challenges and can struggle with access to food.
Farm-City Week in Johnston County even seeks to support those that may be less fortunate with an associated food drive called 4-H Hungry to Help. 4-H Hungry to Help is part of the Johnston County 4-H community service initiative. 4-H clubs and FFA chapters competed in the food collection. Additionally, those in attendance at Farm-City Week events brought food donations for the food drive.
Food collections were focused on the Backpack Buddies program in local schools. This program provides easy-open, ready-to-eat food to needy Johnston County youth when they are not in school. Food donations were delivered to Polenta Elementary, West Smithfield Elementary, South Johnston High School, South Smithfield Elementary, and the Smithfield Salvation Army. 4-H Clubs, Johnston County schools, and Farm-City Week donations brought in a total of 1,812 pounds of non-perishable foods.
Another important event during Farm-City Week is the Johnston County Youth Livestock Festival Supper, an annual event that serves as a fundraiser for the Youth Livestock Show & Sale. This event took place on November 17th at the Johnston County Livestock Arena and included entertainment and a buffet of barbeque pork and beef, chitlins, brunswick stew, slaw, collards, sweetpotatoes, and all the fixins. Over 100 youth and their families are preparing to compete in the show & sale this coming spring.
Farm-City Week culminates with the Farm-City Week Banquet which was held on Tuesday, November 21 st at the Johnston County Agricultural Center. The speaker for the event was Dean Garey Fox, of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State University. Entertainment was provided by Miss Cleveland, Maura Westbrook and two local families were recognized for their contributions to food and agriculture over many years.
While the Farm-City Week recognition does not have a specific title, it is a very special recognition of lifetime achievement and legacy in Johnston County. Since 1987, the Johnston County Farm-City Week committee has honored businesses and farmers across Johnston County for their contributions to our agriculture and society. Those that have been recognized in the history of this event represent the finest of Johnston County.
Business Award – Powell Livestock
The business award recognition this year was presented to a family that has been in business for 64 years. Powell Livestock was born from a business partnership between J.E. Wilson and Hugh Braxton Powell Senior. The Powell Family eventually took over the business operations and they continue to work today under the leadership of HB Powell Junior.
The early days of Powell Livestock included a homemade steel trailer that HB’s father would use to pick up 2 cows at the time. They also served in helping buy 25 to 30 bulls per week for Carolina Packers. There were once many dairy farms in the region that looked to Powell Livestock for services as well. Even today, they continue to diversify with the needs of their customers by not only offering the cattle sale on Thursdays, but in recent years began doing a sheep and goat sale on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month.
The current barn that stands today is not the original barn where the business was born. In fact, the current barn was built in 1967 after a terrible fire burned the structure before it. That other barn lacked only one week of having stood for a year before that incident took place. The barn that stands today is a direct result of neighbors, family, and friends that came together to rebuild. The same notion remains today of what it means to belong to a community. The agricultural community, specifically, appreciates Powell Livestock’s service to marketing, selling, and caring for livestock.
Farm Award – J. Roland Wood Farm
The farm award this year was presented to a long-time family farming operation that started in 1962. J. Roland Wood farms began when Roland’s father Wilbert Wood helped him start with 1 acre of tobacco in 1962. After his graduation from Meadow High School in 1966, Roland married Winifred Thornton Wood in 1967 and then joined the army, serving a tour of duty in Vietnam. He returned home in 1969 and went to work at Chicopee in Benson while farming in his extra time. After a year, he dedicated all of his time to his farming roots and began farming fulltime.
They felt that sweetpotatoes could be successfully produced on the sandy soils around their farm, and then in 1979 they took a step further to begin packing and shipping sweetpotatoes. At this time, they had one warehouse that housed both the storage area and the packing line and they were able to store, pack, and deliver sweetpotatoes from September to May. In the summer months, they concentrated on the tobacco crop and managing the sweetpotato production.
Today, Roland and Winifred’s children Michael Wood and Suzanne Wood Rhodes are both active in the business and serve as the farm and operations manager and office manager, respectively. They are global GAP certified and can store 400,000 bushels of sweetpotatoes produced on 1,500 acres. With 200,000 bushels of cold storage they are able to store and pack sweetpotatoes year-round. In addition, they grow 150 acres of flue-cured tobacco and 400 acres of soybeans. Their sweetpotato brands are Little Mike’s, Suzy’s Supremes, Big Daddy’s, Wood Farms, and Sweet Winnie’s.
