Source: John Hart, FARM PROGRESS, 3/26/21


Brothers Jim and Donald Sparks started farming the fertile soil in the Blacklands near the coast in eastern North Carolina in 1993, relocating from their farm in the western part of the state that had been in the family for three generations. The North Carolina Blacklands and western North Carolina are different. The Blacklands are known for both the rich and fertile soil and for the weather challenges to successfully grow crops. Western North Carolina, farther from the coast, is known for its rolling hills and drier weather patterns.

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