Davon Goodwin never planned to become a farmer.
In 2009, while Goodwin was studying biology and botany at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, his U.S. Army Reserve unit was deployed. While serving in Afghanistan, a roadside bomb blew apart the vehicle Goodwin was traveling in, leaving him with two broken vertebrae and a traumatic brain injury. While he recuperated in Germany, Goodwin knew he needed to figure out his next move.
Growing and Giving
“My aspirations changed,” he says. “But I had to fight for something.”
Goodwin returned to North Carolina and finished his degree at UNC Pembroke in 2013. During his studies, he learned that Robeson County was one of the top agricultural counties in the state but also has one of the highest rates of hunger. He wanted to be part of the solution.
“Just because this is considered a low wealth area doesn’t mean there’s not an economic focus on food,” Goodwin says. “But the access isn’t there and that’s part of my farming goal: to give my community the access they deserve.”
See more: Growing Sweet Onions on North Carolina’s Inner Banks
Goodwin volunteered with Growing Change, a nonprofit that pairs mentors with at-risk youth, and the director, Noran Sanford, introduced him to a friend who had a 500-acre farm in Raeford and needed a farm manager.
During the interview, Goodwin was honest about his lack of experience, admitting that he’d never even been on a working farm before. He got the job and fell in love with agriculture.
“If you aspired to be a farmer and dreamed about the perfect farm, it was the farm I managed,” Goodwin says. “I was enjoying being a first-generation farm manager. At the same time, something still wasn’t clicking.”
Cultivating New Opportunities
One day, Goodwin left the farm gate open and an older woman pulled up and asked if she could pick grapes. Goodwin welcomed her into the vineyard and helped her clip grapes from the vine.
As the two worked side by side, Goodwin shared his story, telling her about his military service and traumatic brain injury. It was the first time he’d talked about the experience, and it was transformative.
“She said, ‘You’ve got to tell your story because it matters and every time you tell your story, there will be a healing element to it,’” he recalls. “It was so emotional.”
See more: N.C. Farmers Use Muscadine Grapes for More Than Wine
The experience also taught Goodwin about the importance of providing a place where people could connect with their food. He launched a U-pick grape operation that was an immediate hit and looked for new ways to engage the community in farming.
Off the Land Farms
“From that day, I started thinking, ‘I can grow crops, feed my community and get a sense of purpose back,’ and I started thinking about how I could feed low-income communities and communities of color and make a profit doing it,” Goodwin says. “Being a soldier, you’re mission-driven. Farming is the same thing. It became my focus and I knew what I had to do.”
After six years, Goodwin’s role as a farm manager ended. He spent a short period working at Sandhills AGInnovation Center, a project that offers farmers access to shared farm and food processing equipment to expand into new markets, before purchasing a 42-acre piece of land in Laurinburg to start Off the Land Farms in 2018.
Seeds for the Future
Goodwin started small, planting a few acres of grapes, blackberries and mixed vegetables while scaling up each season.
There are no farmers markets in Scotland County, so Goodwin sells produce wholesale and operates the only U-pick farm in the region. In an area with countless acres of row crops and a disconnect between farm and table, bringing people to the farm is one of his major motivations.
Goodwin is also involved with organizations like the National Young Farmers Coalition and hopes to serve as an inspiration for other beginning farmers, especially young Black farmers who wonder if there is a place for them in agriculture.
“I want people to know that Black farmers are still here and thriving and for other people of color to see me on the land and know they can do the same thing,” Goodwin says.
See more: Plan a Visit to a Local Farm Using the Visit NC Farms App
Goodwin has a mission to expand the crops, plant peaches and build a farm store. He also endeavors to begin providing jobs to local residents while improving food access and supporting the local community.
“Farming gave me a new lease on life,” he says. “This community took a chance on me, a young, Black kid from the North who knew nothing about farming – and farming here is my way of paying back that debt. I may be the deed-holder to this land, but the farm is for everybody.”
– Jodi Helmer
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