DOBSON — The county extension office is looking for storage near the new farmers market in Dobson, but the new structure is going to be tucked away out of sight.
Bryan Cave, head of the local office of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, said his agency has had an ongoing issue with storage for large equipment for a long time.
The extension office moved from Main Street between the historic courthouse and the judicial center to the newly remodeled Surry County Government Service Center on Atkins Street in the former Just Save/Lowe’s Foods shopping center.
On the far side of that same parking lot is available space after the old Sue’s Restaurant was torn down and the farmers market erected in its place.
However, Cave told the Surry County Board of Commissioners this week that it wouldn’t be pleasing aesthetically to try to store equipment there, and it would reduce parking for market customers.
Cave said he would rather hide a storage building behind the government building similar to the one used by the Surry Soil and Water Conservation District in the same government center.
Cave stated he met Sept. 1 with Jessica Montgomery, the public works director and interim facilities director.
“We are in agreement that a structure 30 feet by 30 feet would not impede deliveries, etc., to the service center,” said Cave.
“I am proposing that we utilize the same building providers that were used by Soil and Water to erect the building. The buildings would match in color, size.”
County Manager Chris Knopf said he had concerns about whether or not a semi could make it around back with the location picked for the new building. He said he received a memo back from Jessica that the proposed site would allow for turning a tractor-trailer.
And being pushed back a bit more from the building ensures the structure doesn’t get in the way of any of the back exits from the center, added Cave.
Commissioner Van Tucker said the county Property Committee discussed the idea of putting more storage at the farmers market a couple of years ago and didn’t think that was a good idea. The committee told Cave at that time it would be willing to look around for a spot for him to use. Tucker commended Cave for finding a location himself that works.
Cave said the content of the building might things such as two trailers, including one with irrigation equipment on it, and a piece of equipment for handling cattle. Therefore it will have a door on both ends so that a truck can pull through for easy pick up and drop off.
He added that it is better to have the equipment centralized where the office can keep it safer and under surveillance.
In response to a question by Commissioner Eddie Harris, Cave said the structure would be built in Surry County.
“Am I hearing that Surry County will have no money in this?” asked Chairman Larry Johnson.
No, said Cave. He said the building project will cost more than $14,000. He has a $12,000 standing commitment, with enough more to possibly cover the difference.
“That’s good to hear,” said Johnson. And, it’s good to know that the Property Committee discussed this a while back.
Ag impact
Before the project went to a vote, Harris asked what the latest numbers were on the impact of agriculture in the county.
Cave said in the most recent annual figures of about $268 million came from agriculture, mostly from poultry. That was down about 2% from the year before. However, with so many things going wrong in 2020, he expects it will be down double digits this year.
“The harvest is underway, corn is looking good,” he said. “We are losing tobacco. That is a given.” Surry is still 10th or 11th in the state in tobacco, but that crop is going away.
Most folks don’t have the storage facilities to make grain operations profitable, Cave said.
Poultry is already so strong he doesn’t see a lot of growth possible there. Siting itself will become an issue with expansion. Not to mention banks may be hesitant to risk lending money for expansions.
Horticultural crops would be the easiest change for tobacco farmers, he said. They can still use some of the same equipment. But, they are all not going to do that.
One silver lining about COVID-19 is that it has raised awareness of where food comes from with some shortages such as fresh beef and produce.
There is a meat processing site in Walnut Cove. It used to have a backlog to fill orders of two or three weeks. Now, so many folks are wanting to get their own meat processed locally that the center is backed up much further, which shows a bigger need for that service around here.
There are no dairy farms left in Surry County, he added.
After further questions about the county’s agriculture, the board approved the construction of a building on the site.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com