ELLERBE — Richmond County’s agricultural heritage will be celebrated Saturday with the annual Farmers Day Parade.
The event, a collaboration between the USDA-Farm Service Agency and town of Ellerbe, will feature a variety of classic and modern tractors rolling down Main Street.
This year’s grand marshal will be Jerry Morgan, “a farmer that is well deserving and hard- working,” according to Kelsey Lovin with the FSA.
“He comes from a strong farm family that passed down the love of agriculture to him,” Lovin added. “He was a very active member of the Farm Service Agency County Committee for many years, several of those he was chairman, all while working two jobs and farming.”
As of Tuesday, there were 45 entrants for the parade, with the deadline set for Thursday. However, Lovin added that “many folks have been participating so long they just show up at the parade and line up.”
Per usual, food and craft vendors will be set up near Town Hall following the parade.
The current forecast for Saturday shows no rain, though it may be a little chilly when the parade starts at 11. Overnight lows are expected to dip below freezing with the high for the day reaching 56, according to the National Weather Service.
This is the 26th year of the Farmers Day Parade. The 25th year would have been in 2020, but the parade was canceled because of restrictions in response to the COVID pandemic.
Click here to see photos from the 2021 parade.
The parade signals the start of Farm-City Week — a time for city folk to thank farmers for their toil of the soil to provide food for the rest of the world.
Festivities continue at noon Nov. 21 for the annual farmers’ luncheon, sponsored by the N.C. Cooperative Extension Richmond County Office. This year, as last, it will be held at Millstone 4-H Camp. In years past, it was at the Cooperative Extension office.
Over the past several years, the Extension and the Richmond County Soil and Water Conservation District have awarded Family Farm of the Year. However, there was no award given in 2021.
Bynum Peach Farm will be this year’s recipient, according to Paige Burns Clark, Extension director.
Earlier this year, Bynum’s was recognized by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and N.C. State Fair as a Century Farm, having been established in 1922 by Charlie Howard and Onis Bynum.
Click here to read more about Bynum Peach Farm.
Click here to see photos from the Bynums’ Open House and Century Farm celebration.
