Making a rural connection
Public sees everything from cows to bees on farm tour

BY GEOFFREY GRAYBEAL ggraybeal@heraldsun.com; 918-1033
Chapel Hill Herald
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Final Edition
Front Section
Page 1

HILLSBOROUGH -- A long line formed inside maple view farm's ice cream store Saturday, but it was the item at the end of a different line outside that caught 3-year-old Jenna Lyman's attention.

"A baby cow!" exclaimed Jenna before gently petting the bovine on the head with one hand, while eating a cone of chocolate ice cream in the other.

Mr. Redcoat, a docile three-week old Holstein calf, was popular among children participating in this weekend's Piedmont farm Tour, which opens 29 local farms to the public for visits and educational tours.

The event, which is co-sponsored by the Carolina farm Stewardship Association and Weaver Street Market, continues today from 1 to 5 p.m. For $5 per car, per farm, or $25 per car to access all farms, visitors can tour farms in a total of six counties.

Apex residents Mitch and Wendy Lyman brought Jenna, 5-year-old Caleb and 6-year-old Joshua on their first farm tour to make connections with the rural landscape.

"They all love animals and we're a Christian family," Mitch Lyman said. "A lot of the Bible is based on agriculture. It was an agrarian society back then, so this is an excellent opportunity to teach them. Living in downtown Apex, it's hard to connect, so this sort of bridges the gap. It makes it more of a reality and less of a story."

Not even an almost-constant drizzle and at times heavy rain could keep Chapel Hill resident Katie Rankin and her pals Walter and Diana away from the farm tour.

"We're going to try to see as many as we can fit into the time period," said Rankin, who also planned to participate in the tour today. "It's so important to show our support for local farms."

Rankin said local farms saved money on shipping costs, helped the environment and produced a better product.

Many of the farms offered free samples, which was appreciated by Mary Sumner.

"It looks so good," exclaimed the 22-year-old UNC senior before tasting several types of honey at Busy Bee Apiaries. "I just love sugar. I came to the right farm."

Busy Bee is a must-stop destination for Chapel Hill residents Peter Leone and Stacey Richardson, who brought along 4-year-old Mireille and 1-year-old Gavin on their third farm tour.

"This is going to sound cliché, but it's really important for the kids to know where their food comes from," Richardson said. "It's not about the supermarket, it's about the people."

Mireille demonstrated that the trip had served a purpose.

"Where does honey come from?" Richardson asked.

"Bees make honey," Mireille responded.

Prior to the visit, Gavin had only heard "honey" used as a term of endearment.

He merrily chanted "honey, honey" on the car ride over to the farm.

As owner Jack Tapp explained that he collected honey twice a year -- about 54,000 pounds during a good year -- Gavin stood at the screen door, watching a few tiny creatures swarm about.

"Hi bees!" Gavin said.

Tapp pointed out the queen bee of the hive and explained how she laid 2,000 eggs per day and how each worker bee made only 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in a lifetime.

Tapp showed tour-goers a machine that sliced caps off the frames of honey and the large metal basin where the honey was extracted.

"If you're allergic to work, hard work, nasty work and getting stung, it's not for you," Tapp said.

Tapp also rents out some of his 700 hives to farmers for pollination purposes.

Peter Leone continued to be impressed by the tour.

"There's some cool stuff," he said. "It's amazing. It's an opportunity to see what's here in the community."