HARNETT COUNTY, N.C. — The North Carolina State Fair is an opportunity every year to show the value of agriculture to people from across North Carolina, and recognizing farmers for their contributions is a key part of that.
The fair honors a particular family in agriculture each day through the Farm Family of the Day program. It recognizes and celebrates our state’s rich agricultural heritage and the farm families that are behind the more than $100 billion agriculture and agribusiness industry.
“I remember as a child coming to the fair, I grew up in Richmond County, so we would take the whole field trip to come to the fair the whole day and going through all the exhibits,” said Beth Rhyne, a farmer in Harnett County.
She and her husband, Rex Rhyne, operate R&B Farm LLC and were selected as one of this year’s honorees for their work in regenerative farming.
“So part of our operation is that we're trying to do things without chemicals,” Rhyne said. “We let the animals do all the work, as in keeping our soil healthy and clean. We're all about respecting the land and doing what we can to make it better than it was.”
The Rhynes aren’t generational farmers. In fact they didn’t pursue farming until after they retired. They started with their first pigs seven years ago and have since grown into the operation they have today — Angus beef, Berkshire pork, pasture-raised chickens and eggs.
“We started out just growing food for us and then realized after feeding ourselves for two years that we could do this,” Rhyne said.
Providing a farm experience for their three young grandsons has always been a dream of theirs.
“It’s teaching them how to take care of animals and adding responsibility,” Rhyne said. “Not everybody gets to do this ... and these boys, I hope they look back and see this as a privilege, not a chore.”
Nobody tells the story of N.C. agriculture better than the farmers themselves, but this recognition was something the Rhynes never saw coming.
“We're not exactly sure how or why, and we're quite surprised when we got the notification that we were selected, but what an honor!” Rhyne said.
There are 11 farm families that will be represented at this year’s fair. They were nominated by family or community members for their dedication to the state’s No. 1 industry. Winners were chosen at random and will be featured throughout the fair.
