We asked beef cattle farmer Carl Mitchell why are partnerships important in farming?
Partnerships are necessary for survival and success in agriculture. My childhood memories include neighbors working together to process hogs and share equipment and expertise, and teenagers working for local tobacco farms.
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Although times and production practices have changed since then, the need for partnerships has not. A few years ago, our neighbors became first-time farmers and brought cattle to their property. We helped them develop pastures and shared our equipment and labor with them. Last year, a section of our carcass cooler collapsed and reduced our capacity by two-thirds.
Our farm customers had to scramble to find other processors in an already strained market. Our friends the Shipleys quickly offered support at Watauga Butchery in Boone. They allowed us to use their cooler and processing space until our cooler could be repaired.
In the future, new issues are sure to emerge in agriculture. I look forward to seeing the innovative and creative ways farmers come together to meet those challenges.
About the Farmer: Carl Mitchell grew up working tobacco and beef cattle on his family’s farm. Today, he and his wife run Mitchell’s Meat Processing in Stokes County. Carl is also a member of North Carolina Farm Bureau’s 2022-2023 L.E.A.D. class.
