It’s sometimes a stretch for Mike Jones to be a farmer in Franklin County AND manage the farm’s retail outlet at the N.C. State Farmers Market, but it’s a family affair that pays off – for Jones and the customers who buy his pasture-raised meats.

Jones, owner of MAE Farm, was named the 2021 Small Farmer of the Year recently during the 35^th annual Small Farms Week sponsored by N.C. A & T State University’s Cooperative Extension program. He’s always looking for ways to improve, but not necessarily looking to compete with large-scale farm operations. “I don’t have to be the biggest there is to be happy.”

He opened his space at the farmers market in 2007 with a card table, a cash box and one freezer. But the business has grown over the years, and now about half the weekly sales comes from other small farmers like himself. “We are your local supplier,” he told John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk. “I define ‘local’ as the state of North Carolina.”

Being named the Small Farmer of the Year is an honor that Jones shares with his wife, Suzanne, and his children. Working with family has been a blessing, he said. “I have a wife that bought into my goals and my dreams and my visions,” he said, adding that two of the children majored in business in college because the importance of the family business partnership made a “profound impact” on them.

William Landis, agriculture and small farms agent for Franklin and Warren counties, also was on show and said he and Jones were out at the farm just Tuesday checking on grass improvements in the pastures. Landis said Jones uses innovative pasture practices that help his farm stand out.

“When you decide to have a pasture-based system,” Jones said, “you’re at the mercy of the weather – droughts, flood, wind, heat.  And the soil itself is beat up by the impact of the animals being on the land.” It is critical to pay attention to soil health and do restoration work when needed. Plant roots stabilize the soil and also pick back up the nutrients that animals again consume, which creates an efficient recycling loop on the farm, Jones said.

A well-managed system can lower feed costs while directly affecting the bottom line, he said. Consumers notice improved flavor, he said. “They say, ‘Wow, this is different,’“ Jones said, when they compare his products to those that come from a big box store.

His operation may not be as efficient as larger facilities, but “the economic benefit is the end product. People really prefer the taste and texture of the meats I produce,” he said.

Salted fatback is one such item – it’s a MAE Farm specialty item that folks ask for.

Landis said one of the most exciting things about having Jones recognized for his work “sets a high bar and encourages people to get into the industry. He’s done a lot for agriculture in the region.”

Follow MAE Farm on Facebook or visit www.MAEFarmmeats.com.

Enjoy here the TownTalk Broadcast Audio with Mike Jones.