Yow Farm – Eddie Yow

subject: Livestock

In this interview, Mr. Eddie Yow discusses his life, reflecting on the many changes to farming and livestock raising in the North Carolina Piedmont region. Mr. Yow was born local to the area in 1952. and has lived in Stanfield, NC for over 30 years. During this interview, Mr. Yow details exactly what work he does raising livestock, why his methods differ from other farmers, and gives anecdotes from his past of examples of the many changes that have taken place since his childhood, including those in selling his product. Mr. Yow also discusses how he envisions farming in the region changing in the future, and the challenges that newcomers to farming will face.

Tape Log

TimeSubject
0:00:07Introductions
0:01:13Explanation of past work
0:02:09How Mr. Yow got into his line of work
0:03:07Row Croppers change Mr. Yow’s work
0:03:31Diffences in types of feed for cows
0:08:27Why Mr. Yow discusses why he grinds his own cow feed
0:10:14Mr. Yow talks about his birthplace and home
0:11:16Mr. Yow explains why farmers work part time
0:12:28Raising hens
0:14:16Mr. Yow talks about his traditional lifestyle
0:16:17Changes in perserving food and personal growing
0:18:10Family lineage and growing up with hogs
0:20:42Importance of self-reliance to Mr. Yow and lessons from his father
0:24:07Transition from gardening to livestock raising and neighborly farming
0:25:55Vanishing orchards and pulling weeds
0:28:07Mr. Yow talks about agribusiness and no till regulations
0:32:32Common processes for Mr. Yow and diseased crops
0:35:17Mr. Yow talks about livestock slaughtering and regulations behind it
0:38:12Mr. Yow discusses changes to the rural country and benefits of regulations
0:42:13Discussion about Farmers Markets and changes over time with them
0:46:47Outside labor for farmwork
0:48:27Why do people shop at Farmers Markets? Trust.
0:52:07How the growth of cities affects new farmers
0:56:02Differences between farming in the north and farming in the south and pooling resources
0:57:35Lessons learned from farming and maintaing traditions
0:59:30The future of Yow Farm and the future of farming in the Piedmont
1:03:32Mr. Yow discusses how trust is the most important aspect of farming

Transcript

Captioned Audio