County: Rockingham
Years in Firsthand Foods Network: 2012-2017
Joe French
Bold Run Creek Farm • Reidsville, NC
OUR FARMERS
COUNTY
Rockingham
Rockingham
YEAR FOUNDED
1920
1920
FARM SIZE
100 acres
100 acres
FARM OUTPUT
Beef Cattle, Eggs
Beef Cattle, Eggs
Joe French grew up working cattle but left it behind to pursue a PhD in Reproductive Physiology. After a few years in a laboratory setting, Joe realized it was a poor fit. In 1994, Joe was thrilled to become the Superintendent of NC State University’s Upper Piedmont Research Station, where he has been ever since.
Coordinating research at the Station allows Joe to have the best of both worlds – an outdoor lifestyle working around animals and the ability to use his expertise and skills. On his own farm, Joe is passionate about continuously improving his genetics for meat quality, optimizing his use of forages, and stabilizing and building his soils – a key given the hilly terrain at Bold Run Creek. His secret for strip grazing 11 months out of the year is an 8-acre stand of native Eastern gamma grass. No matter how bad the heat gets in August, his cattle are happy in head-high nutritious forages.
