For two days last week, Army reservists training at Fort Bragg visited a farm on the Cumberland-Bladen county line that is trying to revolutionize the world of agriculture.
The soldiers, who are training at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, learned techniques that could make land more fertile and improve farming conditions.
The hope is that soldiers may eventually take what they have learned and apply it in Iraq, Afghanistan or Africa, said Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Hancock, an instructor who led a group of 10 reservists through the N.C. Farm Center Privateer Farm on Tuesday afternoon.
"In Afghanistan right now, the economy doesn't go much further than sustenance farming," Hancock said. "Agricultural development is economic development."
About 45 reservists visited the farm, along with instructors from Fort Bragg.
They were taught about the use of baked debris known as biochar and organic chemicals to create fertile soil and about new technology that captures rainwater and uses solar power to irrigate fields.
Biochar, which looks like blackened mulch, becomes a sort of reef for beneficial microbes and bacteria, according to Richard Perritt, executive director of the N.C. Farm Center.
Staff Sgt. Gerald Frushon with the Warfare Center and School coordinated the efforts with the N.C. Farm Center as a way to bring the reservists real-world experience before they are deployed across the globe.
Soldiers began their day at the farm learning how to create biochar, which is baked farm waste that, when coupled with chemicals developed by Wilmington-based True Green Organics, turned the white sands of the farm into fertile soil.
Jim Desmond, who works for True Green Organics, said the chemicals, used in conjunction with biochar could help create farmable land almost anywhere in the world.
"Suddenly, we've created fertile soil that will last for decades," he said.
The soldiers also saw a demonstration on rainwater collection by Rick Walker of Kernersville-based Rain Catcher LLC. He also showed them how solar panels can be used to pump water through drip irrigation tubes.
"We're trying to conserve what nature gives us," Walker said.
The soldiers ended their day by seeing how the techniques and technologies worked together to make land more fertile.
Squash, watermelon and tomatoes planted using the techniques learned by the soldiers appeared healthier and had higher yields than crops planted without those techniques.
The N.C. Farm Center for Innovation and Sustainability is a 6,000-acre farm straddling the county line off N.C. 53.
The nonprofit group aims to develop technology that can be used to improve both large-scale and sustenance farming across the world.
Staff writer Drew Brooks can be reached at brooksd@fayobserver.com or 486-3567.
The soldiers, who are training at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, learned techniques that could make land more fertile and improve farming conditions.
The hope is that soldiers may eventually take what they have learned and apply it in Iraq, Afghanistan or Africa, said Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Hancock, an instructor who led a group of 10 reservists through the N.C. Farm Center Privateer Farm on Tuesday afternoon.
"In Afghanistan right now, the economy doesn't go much further than sustenance farming," Hancock said. "Agricultural development is economic development."
About 45 reservists visited the farm, along with instructors from Fort Bragg.
They were taught about the use of baked debris known as biochar and organic chemicals to create fertile soil and about new technology that captures rainwater and uses solar power to irrigate fields.
Biochar, which looks like blackened mulch, becomes a sort of reef for beneficial microbes and bacteria, according to Richard Perritt, executive director of the N.C. Farm Center.
Staff Sgt. Gerald Frushon with the Warfare Center and School coordinated the efforts with the N.C. Farm Center as a way to bring the reservists real-world experience before they are deployed across the globe.
Soldiers began their day at the farm learning how to create biochar, which is baked farm waste that, when coupled with chemicals developed by Wilmington-based True Green Organics, turned the white sands of the farm into fertile soil.
Jim Desmond, who works for True Green Organics, said the chemicals, used in conjunction with biochar could help create farmable land almost anywhere in the world.
"Suddenly, we've created fertile soil that will last for decades," he said.
The soldiers also saw a demonstration on rainwater collection by Rick Walker of Kernersville-based Rain Catcher LLC. He also showed them how solar panels can be used to pump water through drip irrigation tubes.
"We're trying to conserve what nature gives us," Walker said.
The soldiers ended their day by seeing how the techniques and technologies worked together to make land more fertile.
Squash, watermelon and tomatoes planted using the techniques learned by the soldiers appeared healthier and had higher yields than crops planted without those techniques.
The N.C. Farm Center for Innovation and Sustainability is a 6,000-acre farm straddling the county line off N.C. 53.
The nonprofit group aims to develop technology that can be used to improve both large-scale and sustenance farming across the world.
Staff writer Drew Brooks can be reached at brooksd@fayobserver.com or 486-3567.
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