Every Friday on social media, we post a Farm Feature Friday showcasing one of our dedicated North Carolina farmers. Kendrick Ransome, owner of Golden Organics, is one of those farmers. The #FarmFeatureFriday campaign will run through December 2021 on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Be sure to tune in each Friday afternoon on social and help show your support for our local farmers!
Sometimes passion fuels us to explore a new career or hobby that we end up falling in love with. Although he did not grow up farming, Kendrick Ransome, owner of Golden Organic Farm LLC in Pinetops, loves agriculture and the impact he has on the world through it.
Kendrick has been farming since 2018, but his families history with farming and agriculture reaches far beyond that. “This current farmland has been in my family for about 100 years,” he said, “my great grandfather raised hogs and various vegetables here and I originally took it over because I wanted to have more control over my family’s food source and ended up really enjoying it.” Today, Golden Organic Farm grows a variety of fruits and vegetables, including onions, peppers, tomatoes, collards, watermelon, cantaloupe and kale. “Kale has been a pretty recent crop for us,” Kendrick said, “I really like the way that it grows as well as its easy marketability.” Although he enjoys growing kale, his favorite crops to grow are watermelons and collards.
Kendrick starts each day before the sun rises by feeding his livestock and working the garden until lunchtime. After lunch, he makes deliveries to his customers and Vidant Hospital before heading back home to continue working the garden until bedtime. “It’s an all day job for sure and it is constantly a juggle,” he said, “the whole package of farming is pretty intense because you don’t just plant and harvest the crops, but you also have to market the products and promote your brand at the same time.” Despite the hard work, he says that promoting health and seeing people inspired by his work is enough motivation to keep him going day after day.
Products from Golden Organic Farm can be found on their online portal as well as through their community-supported agriculture, or CSA, program. “We have worked with farmers markets in the past, but lately we have been marketing directly to consumers to establish and build those relationships,” he said.
In addition to marketing directly to consumers, Kendrick works with Down East Partnership for Children to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to school-aged kids. “The program means a lot to me because my kids are included in it,” he says, “and it means a lot to be a part of a movement that is providing healthy foods for kids in school on a regular basis.” As stated above, Kendrick also provides his fruit and vegetable products to Vidant Hospital to promote healthy eating among patients and staff. “Nothing comes easy in this life, especially not farming,” he said, “it requires a lot of hard work and patience but brings a lot of joy at the end of the day.” Kendrick takes a lot of pride in the way that he connects with the community because he not only promotes eating local products and supporting local farms, but also encourages a healthy lifestyle for all ages.
In the future, Golden Organics hopes to become an incubator for young farmers, especially Black farmers, and create a market for them to work in. “Finding your platform and voice as a young person can be difficult, especially in the agriculture industry,” Kendrick said, “I hope to make that process easier by not only helping kids gain experience and reach their dreams in farming, but by also giving them a platform where they can do that.” In his spare time, Kendrick enjoys breaking down to Lil Baby‘s new album, especially his new song “Sum to Prove.”
Golden Organics Farm