A Decade of AgWRAP

Henderson: Cattle Farm

The original pond on this beef cattle operation had been overtopped multiple times during heavy rainfall events. The soil had started to erode around the outlet pipe and the pond was filling with sediment limiting the cattle's drinking water. A stream was being used to provide water the additional watering needs. Through AgWRAP's Agricultural Pond Repair/Retrofit BMP, the pond was able to be redesigned to increase capacity, fence the cattle out of the stream and pond to protect water quality, and add an emergency spillway, which would be able to handle future extreme rainfall events as well as help prevent erosion. The pond now supplies clean water for the 30 cow/calf operation and has a capacity to store 195,510 gallons of water.

Burke: Apple and Blueberry Farm

This operation in the middle of South Mountain State Park grows certified organic apples and blueberries. Prior to the Agricultural Water Supply/Reuse Pond, the cooperator had to manually collect water out of small stream and water the 1,200 apple trees and 2,200 blueberry bushes out of their pickup truck. Now, the cooperator is able to water all the crops through a micro-irrigation system with ease. One of the great successes of this project has been the design of the dam; even with the extreme rainfall events in recent years, the dam and the emergency spillway have functioned properly, which the cooperator credits to the expertise of the Division and District staff.

Cleveland: Fruit and Berry Farm

This was one of the first farms in Cleveland County to build a Agricultural Water Supply/Reuse Pond through AgWRAP. This cooperator grows a variety of fruit and berry crops, including blackberries, strawberries, peaches, and apples, which all require large amounts of water during the summer. The 1.5 acre pond built through AgWRAP provides over 3 million gallons of irrigation water for over 40 acres of fruit.

Gaston: Berry Farm

In 2017, the Gaston District was approached by a cooperator that needed water for their diverse fruit trees and shrubs production. Gaston Natural Resources designed an Agricultural Water Supply/Reuse Pond with help from the Division of Soil & Water Conservation and the USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service to help meet the cooperator's water needs.  Since the construction of the pond, the cooperator has noticed improvements on the farm in regards to water availability (over 1 million gallons of water stored) for their 11 acres of elderberries, strawberries and raspberries and production has increased over 10 fold. The aesthetics and ecosystem has also improved significantly with great blue heron, whitetail deer, American bullfrogs, bass, and weeder geese inhabiting the pond and its surroundings.

Guilford: Conservation Irrigation Conversion

This family farm has been in operation since 1983 and grows tobacco, soybeans, corn and small grains on over 600 acres. The operation had used three diesel pumps and reels for irrigation, until AgWRAP provided assistance to convert the irrigation system to a center pivot. This new irrigation system uses over a third less water than the previous system. In addition to the water savings, the system has prevented erosion, lead to an increase in crop yields, and is easier to maintain and use than the previous system.

Durham: Agricultural Water Supply and Reuse System

This 17-acre small minority-owned farm focuses on growing fruits and vegetables to support local restaurants, farmers markets and their CSA. The operation, however, lacked a reliable water source; the intermittent stream ran dry many months of the year and the small well only supported less than 1gpm. By having the Agricultural Water Storage and/or Collection System collect and store rainwater from the greenhouses in six 1500-gallon cisterns, their production was able to increase. To learn more about this farm and how AgWRAP helped support their goals, view this  video .

Moore: Row Crop Farm

Prior to the Agricultural Pond Repair/Retrofit, the farm had soybeans, wheat, and corn grown on 15 acres. Once the repair was complete, the capacity of the pond was increased to 1.5 acres and the irrigation water supplied by the pond was able to support the addition of tobacco, kenaf, and sweet potatoes into the rotation as well as increase the yield of the original crops.  

Sampson: Row Crop Farm

This cooperator was interested in improving the yield on their 18 acre row crop farm.  Their current pond was not able to supply the row crops and vegetables with adequate amounts of water to reach their desired yield. With the Agricultural Pond Repair/Retrofit, the pond size was expanded and now supplies over 3 million gallons of water. 

Duplin: Blueberry Farm

The Agricultural Water Supply/Reuse Pond allowed a large scale blueberry farm to maintain and expand their operation to 158 acres. The cooperator called this farm pond a huge blessing and helped increase the yield of their blueberry production. The pond insures the operation has over 115,000 gallons of water for irrigation. 

Gates: Row Crop Farm

This family-owned and operated row-crop farm grows corn, wheat, cotton, and soybeans on over 2,500 acres. The Agricultural Pond Repair/Retrofit was installed to increase yields and run the center pivot irrigation system. The pond is almost an acre in size and stores an estimated 2 million gallons of water.