NASH COUNTY, N.C. — Agriculture may be big in our state, but farmers are still working to grow their operations and find ways to expand the business, even if most people get meat and dairy products from the store today rather than a family farm.
Less and less people are involved in agriculture. According to the USDA, today just 2% of the U.S. population are farmers, but those who are, are finding new ways to grow the business they love.
Over the past 80 years Braswell Family Farms has become one of the largest specialty egg suppliers in the country. Not only do they not intend to slow down, but they’re diversifying their livestock and getting into cattle as well.
“Husbandry is just something that's in the blood of our family and so many people in North Carolina,” Braswell said. "We love our state. We love the people. We love to feed them.”
Cows and chickens may not seem to be a natural pair, but Braswell said the two actually go hand-in-hand.
“We put chicken manure on pasture, it's great for grass, and you know what eats grass? Cows eat grass,” Braswell said. “We love animals, so it's a natural progression.”
His forte is small animals so a cattle operation is completely new to him, but it’s given him a greater appreciation for the industry he’s already a part of.
“Unfortunately, just because people are so disconnected from the farm they don't understand what goes into [it], how hard farmers work and all the people that work with these family farms to keep them fed,” Braswell said.
His family started with a single grist mill and began making animal feed back when everyone had livestock. Each generation of Braswells since has found a way to add their own contributions to the business; this will go down as one of Trey Braswell’s.
“A farmer can be a glutton for punishment, but it's such a heck of a way of life, and so I'm thankful for it,” Braswell said. I want my children to be heavily invested in agriculture in some way. And so I want to give them the opportunity to do that.”
Braswell eggs are sold in stores under the Eggland’s Best label, but the farm's beef won’t be hitting the market for a few years.