Raised on the Farm

39: NC Pork Council Award Winners 2026 | Part 1

• Chad, Marlowe, & Marisa • Episode 39

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0:00 | 49:11

We sit down with this year's NC Pork Council Award Winners to hear their stories. This is part 1 of 2. 

Excellence in Innovation--Dr. Christina Phillips

Outstanding Pork Producer--Debbie Craig

Lois G Britt Service Award--Curtis Barwick nc

Don't forget to mark your calendars for Pork Foward on April 15 in Clinton! 

Find us on Instagram @raisedonthefarm
Questions? Email us at raisedonthefarmpodcast@gmail.com 

Welcome And Pork Forward Invite

Marisa

Hi, and welcome back to another episode of Raised on the Farm Podcast, where everything is on the table. I want to invite you once again to the Pork Forward event on April 15th at the Sampson County Exposition Center in Clinton, North Carolina. We'll be there and we'll hope that you will come say hi and see us. In this episode, we sit down with the recipients of the North Carolina Pork Council's annual award winners. As always, the honorees are an incredible example of the passion, dedication, and talent seen in the industry. This is part one of two of interviews, so be sure to come back soon to hear from the other recipients.

Christina Phillips And Innovation Award

SPEAKER_03

Well, Dr. Christina Phillips, welcome to Raise on the Farm Podcast. It's great to have you with us today.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you guys for having me.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Yeah. So you're being awarded the Excellence Innovation Innovation Award from the North Carolina Pork Council. And just a little bit about that. The uh this award is to honor and recognize individuals or institutions for advancing the pork industry through innovative techniques, application, andor action that include but are not limited to environmental stewardship, sustainability, research, science, and other related advancements in the pork industry. Uh wasn't established until 2018, but man, quite quite a few people. Craig Westerbeak, Gus Simmons, Dr. Terry Coffey, your colleague Ashley DeDecker. Some some some good company to be in, Christina. Yeah, yeah, for sure. So tell us a little bit about Christina. I mean, I I know Christina, so I know Walt Will, I know Casey, I know the whole gang, but tell us about your family, Christina, and just tell us a little bit about you.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, no problem. So yeah, you mentioned my family. Um, my husband, Casey, and I have been married for uh 19 years this year. We met each other at NC State. Go pack. Um, how about that game last night, by the way?

SPEAKER_03

Oh, that game was good.

SPEAKER_00

Can't can't go a whole podcast without at least mention it. Let's just get it all up front. It's welcome here. That's right. That's right. Um uh my husband is a forester for the North Carolina Wildlife Commission. Um, and obviously I work uh here at Smithfield Hog Production. Um, I've been here for 14 years, thoroughly enjoyed my job. Um, and we have two boys, uh Will, who just turned 13, and Walt, who turns 11 this month.

SPEAKER_03

And they are active boys.

SPEAKER_00

That's right. Football, baseball, basketball, scouts, and I'm sure there's other things. A lot of fishing and camping, too. And what is your position with Smithfield? So today uh my position is senior director of research and extension. Um I started off um hired by Dr. Terry Coffey um in 2011 as an assistant director and have kind of worked my way up um to director and then most recently promoted um by Craig to senior director, um, not only over research, but also our new department um termed extension. Um and you're familiar with the university model, um, and so really being um proactive and getting out new information to farms um to make changes um in our new research developments.

Marisa

That's awesome. Do you have a favorite part about your job?

SPEAKER_00

Favorite part about my job. Um the part that I enjoy the most is answering questions for colleagues that I work so closely with. So my background is a research scientist in pig production, um, but I'm not a PhD nutritionist, I'm not a veterinarian, um, I'm not a meat scientist, um, and I don't work in production every single day. I'm in research. And so I really enjoy them coming to me with a problem to solve, um, maybe an opportunity to save money. Um, maybe it's something to help us be more sustainable, um, raising pigs in North Carolina. And so helping them figure those out um and and and keeping pork production moving in the right direction. I think that's the favorite part about my job. That's awesome. Great answer.

SPEAKER_03

That is cool. Give me, can you give me an example like of maybe just a problem that maybe recently has been presented to you or an issue or something or an opportunity?

Project Cookie And Upcycled Feed

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I'll I'll give you kind of one of my favorite ones. And and this one, it's it's it's not super recent in terms of when it started, um, but it's something that's kind of come to fruition over time. Um, and I'll and I'll talk a little bit about where it started and where it is today, and then what my little tiny piece of the pie was to help it keep moving along, just to kind of give you an idea of kind of what my contributions are. It's it's not the big idea coming up with it. Um, it's not necessarily the implementing it part, it's the proving what will it do and how will it impact pigs economically, right? Um, and so um you guys know better than anybody that corn is a North Carolina is a corn deficit state, right? We raise a lot of pigs here and we don't grow enough corn to feed all the pigs that we have. Um so we have to import corn. Um, and so that makes raising pigs more expensive here in North Carolina because 70% of the cost of raising a pig is the feed. Um, and so we were kind of brought an idea um several years ago about feeding pigs a different energy source other than corn. Not not to completely replace corn, right? Cold's the gold corn is the gold standard, um, but to replace a portion of that energy of the diet uh with what you guys know today as bakery byproduct. Um, and so um we called it Project Cookie in its infancy. Um, and it's it's now um to where Smithfield has two bakery byproduct plants internally that take upcycled ingredients from tortilla plants, um um bread makers, um, Oreos, you name it, all those high-energy bakery products, and they recycle them and we put that into pig feed. Um, what my portion of that project was is a very small one, but it was integral in knowing whether this was going to be uh sustainable and economical in pig production, is that we had to take that byproduct and feed it to pigs in different increments, right, different percentages in the diet, and see which ones had the best pig performance, but also pigs are what they eat, right? And so, what does that do to their their belly quality, how you know, their bacon slicing ability, um, the consumers' uh perception of meat quality. Um, and so we were able to figure out all those pieces uh for Smithwood hog production so that we could today now have bakery plants that provide a source of energy to our meals, in addition to the corn and the diet, of course, but at a higher percentage, making the total cost of the diet uh more economical.

SPEAKER_03

So my pigs are eating little Debbie's, is that what I'm hearing?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, they are. I love that. Oh the cookie project.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

The cookie project. That's right. That's right.

Scholarships That Built A Career

SPEAKER_03

That's that's very interesting, interesting, Christina. But um I want to hear about how Murphy Family Farms, the Dupin County Farm Bureau, and the North Carolina Farm Bureau kind of helped pave the way for you and in your education and how you're giving back to them now.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. I wouldn't be here today without their financial support. Um, and so I started working in the hog barns, uh, not because my parents were farmers, um, but because I live here in Wallace. I grew up here in DuPlin County, um, and was invited by members of the church, uh, members that worked at Murphy Family Farms. Hey, come do summer internships with us. We really need young people to get involved in pork production. We think you'd be great. Um and I said, sure, why not? Um, and so I actually, while in high school, I did uh two different summer internships with Murphy Family Farms, uh, one on the South Farm, learning everything from what to do in the fairing department to the breeding department, um, just all the ins and outs of the operations of a south farm. Um, and I decided I wanted to learn more about pork production in general and came back and did a second internship uh with uh Dr. Charles Stark, who was employed at the time to be over their female um operations. Um, and I worked at their research farms. Um so the Sands uh Waters Research Farms, those they were that's that were their names back in the day. Um, but interestingly enough, and I'm I'm looking to my left because to my office over here is a colleague who I met working on the Sands Research Farm um that many years ago. Um and so um it's just kind of cool to have those connections um from way back when um and and and still work in uh pigs, uh, but doing something I really enjoy. Um so Murphy Family Farms um had a scholarship that they offered uh for students from Duklin, um, Bladen, and Sampson County, um, and you just have to have an interest in pursuing um pork production as a career. Um, and obviously it was merit-based, right? And so they're they're gonna pick the folks that they think will have the the best um ability to to finish college and and get a degree and have a good impact on pork production. So um my college, my entire four-year degree at NC State was funded by Murphy Family Farms, um, North Carolina Farm Bureau. I received the R. Flake Shaw Scholarship, um, as well as our local branch here um in Duplin County uh Farm Bureau who um offered smaller scholarships. But the way I like to say it is if it pays for books or pays for food, it gets you through those four years. Um so I just I think they all deserve a big thank you. Um and I wouldn't be here without them.

SPEAKER_03

It really is full circle. I mean, uh it's a great story. It really is.

Marisa

Well, it's a good it's it's such a good example of investing in young people to then, you know, who then come back and invest back into the community and the industries, and yeah, it that's that's a great great story, great example.

SPEAKER_03

Yep. So after uh NC State, did you spend some time in Minnesota? Is that right?

SPEAKER_00

I did. Um, I did spend some time in Minnesota. So um I completed my bachelor's at NT State. Um I stayed for another couple years to do a master's in spine nutrition, um, but realized quickly I didn't want to be a nutritionist. Um, and I wanted to um kind of pursue this research scientist area um and wanted to um broaden uh my scope in it in pig production. Um and specifically at the time there was a lot of welfare things in the headlines, not much different than today, right? Everybody wants to say, yeah uh have an input on how we farm. Um and so I thought, gosh, man, um, those people don't really know a lot about pig production, and that's okay. Um, but but people within pig production need to have the ability to um to provide data to to show the why the decisions are that they make. Um and so I decided to pursue a PhD in uh swine welfare um at University of Minnesota. Um, and I drug Casey there unwillingly to the cold.

SPEAKER_03

Marissa knows about dragging her husband around. Or actually her husband drags Marissa around a little bit.

Marisa

Yeah. Hubbs drugged me for a PhD. Yeah. Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_00

It'll be worth it.

Marisa

It was good. It was good. And we find out we found our way back to ENC, so it's all good. That's right. Same.

SPEAKER_03

Well, I guess um I guess my question now would be um, how do you so when you learn something new through your research, um, how do you push it down to the farm level and so that it's implemented and the and the pigs can benefit from it?

SPEAKER_00

So um that's been the biggest challenge. I would say one of the biggest challenges of my career thus far um is just that communication piece. Um, and so first and foremost, um when we decide to do a project at Smithwood Hog Production, the the people whose discipline that it that it impacts the most are are highly involved, right? I I told you my background. I'm not a veterinarian. So if there's a question about how to improve pig health, which vaccine should we use, or which dosage, or or when should they be vaccinated? Um, that vet team is integral in designing that protocol so that it can be implemented uh properly. Um, and then they're kind of tasked with the ones that are selling that message, right? Because they're the experts in health um within hog production. Now we have, as I explained, created the new extension department at hog production. And that team is really designed to help those leaders of our company get that message to the farm level, Chad. Because as you know, we have a lot of really cool and talented veterinarians, but they can't be at every farm every day, right? Um so that's what that extension team is designed to do is create additional materials and do on-farm training to help spread the message of when there's a change in a process and and and ultimately why and how. Um and a lot of times I think maybe when we describe a new process, we're really good at showing the how, right? The the SOP, if you will. Um, but explaining that why maybe gets lost. Um, and and I don't know about you, but I'm more apt to do something if I know the why, um, or more apt to do it better if I know the why. So I think that's a big piece of what we were missing previously that we hope to incorporate uh with adding on that new department.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. And as a grower, um, I you know, we put a lot of we put a lot of stock in what veterinarians say. You know, if a veterinarian says, if Dr. Barry Patrell tells me something, I I believe it. So I mean that carrying that message down is uh is important.

SPEAKER_00

That's exactly right.

Marisa

Well, and and I really like what you said about it's it's important to to explain the why and get that understood because adoption is better that way. And when we're thinking about innovation, right, you know, farmers don't want to adopt that innovation just because they need to know the why. And so that's really cool that you get to be there and say, how can we make this make this understood and happen? Um that's really cool.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. It doesn't come without its challenges, but um, that's what I can imagine. A challenge is losing, right? You know, a challenge is fun. So for not being challenged, uh that that's that's not fun.

Marisa

Does your brain ever turn off? Are you always just problem solving in your head?

SPEAKER_00

Um a lot of problem solving in my head. Um, I think my brain turns off maybe when I have a fishing pole in my hand.

Hog Talk And Teaching The Why

SPEAKER_03

So nice. That's awesome. Tell us a little bit about hog talk. Is that your brainchild, um, Christina, or is that so I will not take 100% sole credit for it.

SPEAKER_00

It is the brainchild of the extension department, uh, which was created by Dr. Ashley DeDecker and myself. Um, but it's it's a culmination of a lot of conversations that she and I had about exactly what you asked me. How do we get changes to the to the site level? Um and having a an email list or a phone number list of everybody that works in a barn um in this area is it's almost impossible. And it's and it's constantly changing, right? Um, but I know something that that doesn't change, and that is I have this in my hand a lot of the day, right? And um, maybe when I'm making dinner for my family, I might be doing some mindless scrolling on social media. And we thought a lot of other people probably do that too. What better way than to send a message uh than using something that they're already looking at on a daily basis? Um, and that was really the the brainchild behind creating hog talk. Um, and we really wanted it to spread organically. We didn't want it to be this was this one person's idea or this was this company's social media site. That's not what it is at all. Um, it's to talk about hog production, to share ideas um on how to best do things. Um, and uh we really think it's catching on.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's good. We've we've shared some of that stuff, and so we we want to help support you guys.

SPEAKER_00

Awesome.

Marisa

Yeah, it's good content for sure.

SPEAKER_03

I think y'all have had a lot of fun with that too, because I see some cutting up going on.

SPEAKER_00

So the fun part is definite, right? And so we talked about learning and talking about getting the message. Um, I don't know about you, but when I have a professor or a teacher or somebody that's teaching me something, I learn if it's funny, I'll remember it. Um, and I thought that was a really good opportunity uh with social media to create something funny. Not all the time, you know, some things are are pretty um serious, animal welfare is serious, uh, human safety are serious. But if you can include a meme of something and it's gonna make them laugh, uh guaranteed they'll remember it.

Marisa

Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

Marisa

I know you talked a little bit about uh you know the the people that came before in this award, but what does this mean to be known for excellence and innovation? Like what does that mean to you?

SPEAKER_00

It's really humbling. Um it's humbling because of what those words mean, but not only that, but by the people who chose me for uh to be recognized, right? And that's the hog farmers in North Carolina. So um that that that means more than to me than anything.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Oh well, that's that's good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. And uh we're gonna get to see Casey and Wald and Will at port conference next week, I guess.

SPEAKER_00

That's exactly right. They're looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

They're getting to skip a day of school, so they're all in.

Debbie Craig And A Family Farm

SPEAKER_03

I'll bring my fishing pole. I know there's a lake nearby. There you go. Uh they'll find it. Well, Christina, this has been a great interview. I I've uh I've known you for a while, but it's just always good to uh learn a little bit more about you and what an amazing story you have and a lot of work you've done um promoting pork here and and innovating in in North Carolina. We appreciate you so much. Okay, well, Ms. Debbie Craig, welcome to Raise on the Farm Podcast. Uh, you have been awarded by North Carolina Pork Council the Outstanding Pork Producer of the Year Award. Um this is an award that is given to a uh our to recognize or honor our pork producer or family who has made significant contributions to the pork industry in North Carolina. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's awesome. I actually have won this award before and it was quite an honor. I was really um it means a lot to to me to win the award. Um so Miss Debbie, I don't know you, so let's let's learn about each other. What what tell me a little bit about Miss Debbie Craig and maybe your family and and oh Miss Debbie Craig is a mother of four, a grandmother of nine, and a great-grandmother of two, with two more on the way. Miss Debbie is extremely busy.

SPEAKER_05

I'm also the owner, operator, along with my family, of Hollygrove Farms, okay, which consists of three sow farms, totaling 4,600 sows.

SPEAKER_03

Each sow farm is 4,600. Sounds total. Total, okay.

SPEAKER_05

And um 200 beef cows and a goat dairy. Milking about a thousand goats.

SPEAKER_03

Good gracious, that is a lot of that sounds like a lot of work.

SPEAKER_05

It is a lot of work. We we stay very busy.

SPEAKER_03

Okay, now your children, you got sons or daughters or both?

SPEAKER_05

Two sons, two daughters.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_05

One of my daughters has passed away.

SPEAKER_03

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_05

So I have three living. Um one of my sons is full-time with the farm, okay, helping me. Um I have a daughter that helps on a part-time basis. She teaches school.

SPEAKER_04

Okay.

SPEAKER_05

And during kidding season at the goat farm, she pitches in and helps. And during the summers. Yeah. And anytime I slip off and take a break. She fills she helps fill in for me.

SPEAKER_03

That's right. We all need a break sometimes from the farm, don't we?

SPEAKER_05

Oh, definitely. It's on my schedule every year. Yeah. I I get a getaway every year.

SPEAKER_03

What do you do what do you do in your getaways?

SPEAKER_05

I travel.

SPEAKER_03

Do you like uh you take a week or two weeks?

SPEAKER_05

Usually a week, occasionally two weeks. I I reward myself with little things. Um, I had a bucket list when I turned 60. Uh I took myself to Australia and New Zealand.

SPEAKER_03

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_05

And that was just awesome.

SPEAKER_03

So this isn't in uh this is international travel to the case.

SPEAKER_05

Sometimes it depends, you know. Some years it's it's little things, yeah. Other years I plan something big. Yeah. Um trying to check some things off my bucket list.

SPEAKER_03

What's what's on your bucket list for this year?

SPEAKER_05

Um, this year's gonna be low-key. Low key. Um last year I went to uh Italy in Greece and toured all the historical sites, went to Acropolis and Pompeii and all that. So so that that was a big one. So this year is probably not gonna be too much. I think I'll take a week at the beach.

From Missouri To North Carolina

SPEAKER_03

And actually relax instead of be on the go. That's awesome. That's awesome. So you and your husband Ron had a dream of starting your own farm. Tell me a little bit about that dream. I mean, how long ago was that, and how did it come about?

SPEAKER_05

Well, this goes way back. So um when my husband and I met, he was he was growing hogs. Okay, um, along with His brother and he also had a job in town, so it was a part-time, you know, he wasn't full-time farming, and that grew. This was in southern Missouri. Um, that grew, and then early 80s was a very hard economic time in the agriculture industry. The farm wasn't producing enough for two families, right? We had three children, and he had an opportunity to come to North Carolina and work in the hog industry. So he took it.

SPEAKER_03

Wow. So you guys were married then?

SPEAKER_05

We were married then, we had three children.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_05

And we moved to North Carolina basically without a dime in our pocket. That is amazing. And he went to work with Newhof Farms initially in Richlands.

SPEAKER_04

Yep.

SPEAKER_05

We were there, and that it progressed. It worked for different people over the years. Um both of us were at Goldsboro Milling at one time on different farms, managing different farms. And then the opportunity came up for a um a small south farm in our community that came up for sale, and we bought that.

SPEAKER_04

Okay.

SPEAKER_05

And he quit um his job and he took that farm on basically by himself with no help because there was no money to hire and the kids, our kids have always helped on the farm. Um prior to that, we worked for a fellow that um we actually had hogs on the ground in conjunction with him. They were his hogs, but we were taking care of them. And we always had the kids helping. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And um how old were your kids at that time? Were they old enough to help or yeah?

SPEAKER_05

They were old enough to help. Um 18, 15, when we bought the South farm.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

Goat Dairy Vision And Cheese Sales

SPEAKER_05

Um, my daughters were younger. They had to ride the school bus and get off at the farm, and yeah, and they learned how to, you know, drop those kids off at the farm so we can uh labor. He would be there by himself until the kids could come and help him as far as any movement or anything like that. And then um he got that farm production going good. I was still at Goldsmore Milling, and then an opportunity came up to lease another farm. So he took that, I quit my job at Goldsmore Milling, and I started running this the small farm that we had, and we just kept kind of leapfrogging and and you know, adding, and um, as we got one going, then we can get another one. Um he didn't like working for someone else, he liked being his own boss. Yeah, so um then progressed and he came up with the idea to start a goat dairy. And uh it came from the lagoons in our hay fields, and we had all this hay. We still we had some beef cows, but there wasn't return on them, wasn't anything like it is right now. And uh so we're looking at something and and he always wanted a dairy. He did. Um, we had talked about having a dairy back in Missouri, and and it just didn't financially pan out. So that was his idea, and it was gonna be his baby. Um he had some health issues and had had a toe amputated from his diabetes, and um working in the hog houses was getting hard for him on his feet. So the plan was I was gonna continue taking care of the hogs, and he was gonna start this new venture with the goats.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_05

And we all kind of went. Goats.

SPEAKER_03

What are you talking about? What are you talking about?

SPEAKER_05

But um he all he he was a visionary. He he always, you know, he would come up with and all this happened in the Grantham area.

SPEAKER_03

Y'all when y'all moved back from Missouri, we initially lived in Richlands. Okay, so you started then you moved to Grantham.

SPEAKER_05

Then we moved to Grantham. We were in ri Richlands for two years.

SPEAKER_03

Okay. And then um so a visionary, huh? Your husband was a visionary, and you kind of just uh we we rode along for the ride. Just joys in the journey, right? That is interesting. So the goats, I mean, I guess that's where the artists and cheese come from, right?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. I yes. Um that was the plan. We'd melt the goats and make cheese. And it's really funny talking about him being a visionary at the time, because this was 2004, yeah, that we started that project. Um, goat cheese wasn't in eastern North Carolina, especially, yeah, people turned their nose up and ooh. And this we actually went to a few little festivals and tried to sample cheeses in 05, and and people wouldn't even sample it. They would turn up their nose.

SPEAKER_03

When they found out it was goat.

SPEAKER_05

But you know, when he came up with the idea, he says, No, I think this goat cheese thing is gonna go, you know. And uh it's funny because if I were to go to that same venue today and offer samples for cheeses, people would come running, you know. Oh yes. But then they wouldn't even try it.

SPEAKER_03

That is interesting. So that was and how long ago was that?

SPEAKER_05

That's been over 20 years ago. 20 years ago.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Things change, don't they?

SPEAKER_05

They do change, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. So you are you the one that kind of learned how to make the cheese or not initially, because initially I was going to be staying with the hogs. Right.

SPEAKER_05

And um, we hired a consultant.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_05

And the consultant came in. And what we make is the simplest form of cheese you can make. And um, there's been talk, you know, when we started about making different cheeses, but with the manpower and the labor and the animals, the animals have to be taken care of for us. And it's just I'll leave that to somebody else.

SPEAKER_03

You can't do it all.

SPEAKER_05

You can't do it all. And um there's a lot of places that are just creameries where they, you know, just process it and you know, make the specialty cheeses. So we're just keeping it very simple. Um, it's a simple product to make, it stores well, yeah, so I can ride the the wave of the sales if I you know get backed up. Um so it works real well for us. And then we can concentrate on taking care of the animals.

Farm Tours And Food Education

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's good. Um, I understand you do a lot of educational tours with the University of Mount Olive. Tell me about your your passion there. What's how did that start and and and how many do you do a year? Just tell me a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_05

It varies. Um, I do UMO and I also do NC State, the vet students, um, because it is a place they can come with a large number of small roomnets. Oh, yeah, yeah. The groups are usually small. I prefer the smaller 10 to 12. We have had some big groups, but yeah, it's it's hard to imagine.

SPEAKER_04

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_05

Um I think about I wasn't born on a farm. My husband was not born on a farm. Um, doing some of these educational tours and some of the with some of the young people, you never know who you're gonna spark. Um you know, the the kids that that may get that that bug bite. Yeah, yeah. And that agriculture just hits them when they think that's what they would like to do.

SPEAKER_03

So I guess is Dr. Farmer bringing them out to your farm typically?

SPEAKER_05

No, not usually, usually it's just the instructors. Dr.

SPEAKER_03

Farmer, like uh William Farmer with UMO, he doesn't bring not typically home. Okay, okay. Uh he he brings groups to my the animal science class to my farm each year, and and there's about 14 kids typically on a tour. I got four of them coming up in about two weeks. And um, you're right, just you don't know which one as you look at them, you know, there's 14 kids standing in front of you, maybe two or three of them have been on a farm before, and you just never know where you might influence somebody to and the other part of it is to educate where their food comes from.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, even for those who are not really interested in agriculture, yeah, for them to understand what goes behind you know, getting the food onto their table.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's right. That's a great thing to share with them too, for sure. I like asking them about how they eat, you know, trying to learn a little bit about them. Uh-huh. So, but that's great. Those tours are fun. Uh, I enjoy doing that's kind of my I really enjoy that. That's one of my favorite things.

SPEAKER_05

Some groups I really enjoy, and some groups not so much. I love it when they come and they're interactive and they ask a lot of questions.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

And when you do a tour and they just kind of stand there and look at you, it's not much fun.

SPEAKER_03

Well, there's usually like one or two that kind of stick out and they're interested. You can tell they're locked in. Uh, but then I know there's uh several that are they're shy and they won't ask. Now, after your husband passed away, I guess you as a family, you guys come together and say, we're gonna continue this thing on. Tell me about that time.

SPEAKER_05

Um, it was a very sudden thing. His passing was totally unexpected. But I will say, however, um, right before that, he had called a family meeting and had said, Okay, kids, we're getting older, and your mom and I would like to do some traveling. Yep. And who's gonna step up and who's gonna do this? It was just a conversation, and we didn't really come up with any answers. And it wasn't long after that that he passed away.

SPEAKER_03

Wow.

SPEAKER_05

And so the thoughts were already, you know, kind of swirling.

SPEAKER_03

He planted a seed.

SPEAKER_05

He planted a seed, and there was really no question about continuing, the question was how. Wow.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. So um we're gonna make this work no matter what.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I mean the farm, we were all partners in it. Um, so that wasn't a question of it of if it was just how. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So everybody stepped up to the plate and made it happen. That's awesome. That is awesome. So everybody's doing good. All obviously a lot of grandbabies and great-grandchildren too. So it sounds like it's been successful. Yeah. That is awesome. Really good. So, what does the future hold for Holly Grove Farms? I mean, what where are we at in five years?

SPEAKER_05

Or what's gonna in five years? I foresee myself stepping back and turning it over to the next generation. Actually, I'm hoping in three years.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. A little quicker.

SPEAKER_05

I'll be 70 in three years.

SPEAKER_03

Oh wow, okay.

SPEAKER_05

So I think it it's time to start turning it over to the next generation. I can't foresee myself not being a part of the business as far as helping and but scale back on my workload.

SPEAKER_03

Some consulting, maybe.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. Do some bookkeeping and some consulting. And I said I may semi-retire and um run Jack's farm.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Well, it sounds like your family's prepared and they're ready to to take on the task of the city.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, we're yeah, they're ready.

SPEAKER_03

That's great. I mean, you've done a good job, and your husband's done a good job preparing and your children for for that journey. So that's uh that's rewarding. Um, I guess a final question here, and and you're welcome to share anything else you think, but what does it mean to you to be recognized as outstanding port producer of the year?

SPEAKER_05

Well, when I got the call, I was shocked, surprised. The call just came out of the blue one afternoon and I answered the phone.

SPEAKER_04

Who called you?

SPEAKER_05

Roy Lee. Roy Lee, okay, and told me, and I I was speechless. I really didn't know what to say. Yeah. Um I'm honored.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

And I know Ron would be proud.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah. Amen to that. Yeah, yeah. Um, it's been great hearing about uh you and Ron's journey and his visions, and it's it's really special.

SPEAKER_05

We're coming up on uh 17 years since he passed.

SPEAKER_03

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_05

So it's it's been but it's it does I don't time flies.

SPEAKER_03

And you've worked hard. I know you have to do all what you uh described, uh the the operations you guys have going on, it's a lot of work. I know it is.

SPEAKER_05

Well that's one thing I felt my parents instilled in me to work. Yeah, and um I feel that's missing in our younger generation. Yeah. Um people children don't know how to work. And it it's a concern for the future um of our country.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, for sure. Um my kids have worked on the farm uh some and but not like I did. I mean, I lived and breathed, you know, with my dad as a as a youngster, and uh it's just different these days. I don't know. And you're right, that is a concern.

SPEAKER_05

Um so it's the one thing I know how to do. I know how to work. Yeah, and so that's what I do. I get up every morning and go feed the pigs.

SPEAKER_03

Go feed the pigs, and yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Go feed goats or you know, just it's great being on a family farm, isn't it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I love it. I love it, I really do. Well, Miss Debbie Craig, thank you again for joining us on Raise on the Farm. Um, just so proud of you and and and good to get to know you today. Thank you so much.

Marisa

We want to invite you to port forward. This is the state's premier swine and agronomy event. It's happening April 15th at the Sampson County Exposition Center in Clinton. Join more than a thousand producers, industry partners, and experts for a full day of learning, innovation, and hands-on demonstrations. You can also stop by our food at based on the farm and take high. You'll be able to explore the latest in animal health, equipment, and production technology all in one place. Oh, and there's a free barbecue for lunch. Don't miss this chance to connect, learn, and move the industry forward. For more information, you can visit SmithfieldFoods.com backslash pork forward for more details.

SPEAKER_03

Well, Curtis, I appreciate you being on the Raise on the Forum podcast today. Um uh and the Lois Britt Award uh for service, uh I think that's a very fitting award for you. Um as long as I've been in the pork industry, if I go to a meeting that's uh associated with pork, you're there. I see your face. So uh tell us a little bit about Curtis Barwick and um and your family.

Environmental Work That Helps Growers

SPEAKER_02

Well, um I grew up around Seven Springs, my auto area. We'd run up. Um I got a couple feeder pig, guilt feeder pigs when I was probably 13 or 14 and raised them up and farred them. And yeah, while I was in junior high and high school, I had about 10 sows, and my granddad and I, he had a few sows, and we raised watermelon cantaloupes and pedaled them around and always enjoyed messing around farming, worked a lot in tobacco with my cousins and friends, and we never grew tobacco but worked in it a lot, and then went to state and majored in ag ed and graduated and went to work at ag extension down in Bladen County, worked there for seven years. And while I was at state, I was in the RJ Reynolds Apprenticeship Program working with tobacco farmers at Ag Extension, and the first year between my sophomore and junior year, I worked in Ducam County, and Miss Lois Britt was the director of Extension there, and the next year I worked in Lenore, but I thought you know how ironic is that that I worked for Miss Lois. She was a fine lady, uh, and her family knew Mr. Dick, and of course, I've known Ralph a long time. We do a little work for him with his farms, and uh I'm just I'm humbled to be uh awarded this uh because I'm kind of old and capital to Miss Lois Bright and a lot of other people in the industry as well. There's so many more uh deserving people than I to receive this award, but I'm I'm very appreciative. Yeah. How old were you when you when you worked with Miss Lois Bright? Well, I was trained my sophomore and junior year at state. Okay, so you're fat 20. Yeah. Yeah. 19 or 20. That is kind of full circle that uh received this award. It was kind of ironic. But tell them about your family. You all right. I moved to Clinton and uh in 93, after working with Dag Extension, went to work at Harry Farms with Senator Faircloss and Episode Waters operation, got married, uh, moved here to Clinton, and in 96 I had a daughter born who's now 30. She's a nurse in Ethics down in the Atlanta area, and just got married this past summer. I have a son, 26, Grayland, graduated state four years ago, and he works with me, and I'm tickled to have him here. He helped me a lot during the summers uh growing up and calibrating reels and doing things of that nature. He enjoyed doing slug surveys with the remote control boat because you know, you know, you're about 14, you like to see that thing, you make it go make it go around in circles like one of your uh uh remote control cars, so he enjoyed that. Um but he uh decided that he wanted to come back and work with me, and I was so happy about that, and so we continued to try to grow our business, and it's been good having him to help me. And of course, I didn't mention my wife, Lori, who've been married to 33 years this year. She worked at uh Chandler Escalator for many years and she retired a few years ago. She does a lot of my paperwork things for me, building, you know, the bill inside of the truck wash. We've done a truck wash across the street, and uh, she does a lot of that type of stuff. So did did Bark Act Services was that kind of born out of the working in extension and seeing that need for well, you know, working at Kahari, I was in charge of environmental and land management and all do, you know, the pumping and we helped design new farms, designed lagoons and irrigation systems for new farms and technical specialists, and uh we did we felt that we should do a lot of the things that our contract growers needed. We did the calibrations and the slug surveys and did the inspections for them. They kept their own records, but it worked out well that I had those relationships because when the company went out of business in 2010, those folks needed somebody to continue doing those things and to help them. And uh I'd actually planned to go back to work with Aggie Extension and realized that I could probably work for myself and make a living, and uh the good Lord's been mighty fortunate on me uh to allow me to be able to do that since 2010. Wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

That's really good. So you've been an advocate for North Knight Port for many years. Um there have been a plenty of challenges along the way. We've been together for some of them, uh, but there's been many successes too. As you look back across your career, Curtis, is there a particular moment or experience that kind of stands out in your career?

SPEAKER_02

Well, I was uh Jimmy Pollock asked me back in probably '93 or four when I started working at Kahari. I was put on the environmental task force and got me involved with the poor council and uh served many years on committees and as a board member, and then in 2003 as president, and have been on some committees ever since then. So I've I hope that have made some difference in producers' uh dealings with with the state agencies over the years, you know, helping with the permit uh stakeholder groups and trying to help shape some of that along with a lot of other good folks in the industry. Um hopefully that has been there's been some success with that over the years. So I've been I've enjoyed that because I know it's just been very important for the growers. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And it has been.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, being at those uh permit hearing meetings and and and making public comment and just having the knowledge you do about our our general waste permit and how these systems work has been beneficial out there.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, hopefully so. I mean, knowing, as I said earlier, how to design lagoons and then watching them, you know, pumping them and keeping up with the paperwork and then you know continuing to do that even though I don't do any pumping, but I've got that experience and writing waste plans and sludge plans, and yeah, and I've always I try to be uh to the nth degree on whatever all the paperwork we do because I don't want to you know run into any problems with the with the state doing these things.

SPEAKER_03

That's right.

Community Service And Future Plans

SPEAKER_02

What other community organizations uh outside of agriculture are you involved in, Curtis? Well, with agriculture itself, I'm on the board of the Friends of Ag here in Sampson County that's been a tremendous organization over the years, Mr. George Upton put together along with some other folks, and I've been really happy to have been a part of that over the years. Um here in the community, I was on the Samson Regional Medical Center board for 18 years. I just went off uh the end of 24 and I was chairman for nine years of that board. So uh know knew very little about health care, but was asked to serve and was was glad to do that, and uh learned they have a lot of acronyms just like we do in the hot business. But uh it's it was a rewarding experience, and we were one at Samson. regional is one of probably eight independent hospitals left in the state of North Carolina. I think it's because we've had good people there and uh good board that's trying to keep it going the right direction and some good leadership there that uh direct uh directors there at the hospital. Yeah. Um been active in our church First Methodist I'm on the board of trustees there. Um served as chairman before. I'm a Rotarian but I'm not a very good Rotarian. I don't I don't attend as much as I should. Right. And uh well you got a lot of community service it sounds like that's that's pretty much it I'll I and you may cut this out you may want to I was chairman of the Sampson County Republican Party for a few years as well. Yeah yeah um I've always been interested in politics.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah well he kind of got to be a little bit these days yeah you do because it affects it. Well now you got your son involved in the business obviously he's been hanging around in summertime and uh helping you out. Tell us about um his involvement and what the future looks like for Barcag services.

SPEAKER_02

Well you know he's been here almost four years and he's he's learned a lot he's been tremendous help and I he said well you the only thing he's told me is I couldn't retire anytime soon. Which I don't want to I mean I feel like I can still do a lot in the business. But yes we're always looking to to grow a little we've got a lot of good farmers that we work for and we enjoy doing that. You know we do the record keeping sludge surveys sampling waste plans and sludge plans and we certainly like to you know grow that business. Yeah for sure for sure as long as we're helping other people I mean obviously we do it to make a living but yeah we want to be doing things to help help the farmers. Yeah well I'll tell you what you joined some good company I mean other past recipients of the Lewis British award um think about Deborah Johnson and George Pettis or and even Jan Archer last year I mean um yeah good folks in front of I mean a lot of other good folks that are certainly uh more deserving of this well I don't know about that Curtis I wouldn't cut yourself short here I mean I forget that Jan but yeah is there anything else uh before we start uh that you'd like to share about um about Curtis Barrett that maybe people don't know well um I enjoy working in agriculture I'm uh I'm a junk collector I like old antique advertising and things farm related stuff yeah license plates and things of that nature so yeah if anybody's listening they got a box or anything box old license plates let me know I'd be glad to kind of pick them up but no I I enjoy working with my farmers I I think of and Lady Bench out they said your farmers I said well yeah they are my farmers I've been dealing with a lot of these people since my Koherry days so you're talking about 33 years I've dealt with some of these people. That's right slowly and uh I still look at you know a lot of these farms the farmers as my farmers and treat them you know they're my friends so many of them are close friends and then uh look at a lot of the farms kind of like they're mine in a way that obviously they're not because I know them so well and uh yeah it it I think that's a plus is having a good long-term relationship with you farmers and being able to they pick up the phone and call you about anything and everything because you know they know you can try to help them through it. I'm certainly not always right. Don't don't think that I am but if I there's a lot of things I don't know but we'll try to find out.

SPEAKER_03

Well I certainly feel that way if I ever have a question uh on the environmental side of the farm I I don't hesitate to call you. I appreciate that really and I appreciate you being on our raise on the farm podcast uh today and um just appreciate all you do for our industry.

SPEAKER_02

Well I appreciate what you Farm Families does for our industry as well. Y'all got a great great organization there and I like to support that and uh you you do a lot of good for us.

Marisa

Thank you Kurt well that wraps up another episode of Raise on the Farm Podcast where everything is on the table. Do us a favor and make sure you follow us on social media and hit subscribe wherever you're listening so you don't miss an episode. Market calendar is for April 15th for the fourth forward event it's gonna be awesome if you don't want to miss it and until next time it'll be a video later.