Panther Creek Forest Farm: CFSA Tour

November 4, 2024

Farm Tour Stops:

The Party Barn

For our first stop on the tour, participants had the chance to introduce themselves and share a bit about their own farms. Eliza Lawdley and Clay Bordley, our small farm team, introduced the history of the farm and our goals.

Pine Grove

For our second stop on the farm, Eliza Lawdley shared the history of Panther Creek Forest Farm. PCFF was once a 28-acre loblolly pine forest. This “wild stand” was self-seeded and incredibly dense when the land was purchased in 2014. The group discussed the benefits of entering land into the Present Use Value (PUV) tax program for forestry. Forest Management and Forest Stewardship Plans were discussed. For more resources on managing your forest, please visit your state Forest Service website.

North Carolina Forest Service: https://ncforestservice.gov/Managing_your_forest/managing_your_forest.htm

South Carolina Forestry Commission: https://www.scfc.gov/management/

South End

Participants then visited the silvopasture area at Panther Creek. There are about 22-acres of “stands” and “alleys” on our farm. The stands are each 30’ in width and are grown slightly off contour. These stands are a mix of pine and hardwood species. The alleys are each about 50’ in width and are being management for native grasses. The alleys will eventually be home to rotationally grazed poultry and pigs. Eliza shared lessons learned on setting up electric fencing in silvopasture settings. Clay shared lessons learned on planting hardwood trees, building berms and swales, and managing tree species. Other resources that we discussed include:

Keyline Design: https://www.ecofarmingdaily.com/build-soil/keyline-design-transforms-farm-water-management/

Center for Environmental Farming Systems: Amazing Grazing: https://cefs.ncsu.edu/extension-and-outreach/amazing-grazing/

Perennial Garden

During this tour stop, Clay discussed native tree and plant propagation at Panther Creek. Discussions were had around the different ways in which to grow trees, eg. in-ground plantings, potted plantings, and bare root propagation. Visitors were able to see different styles of air-pruning beds, and discuss the benefits of native plants. For more information on growing your own native trees, please contact Clay Bordley directly.

Clay Bordley: clay.bordley@duke.edu

Bee Downtown Apiary

During this tour stop, participants walked up the “out yard” area of the farm. Here visitors discussed working with outside organizations on your land. At Panther Creek farm, we partner with Bee Downtown (were Eliza also works when she is not on the farm). Eliza shared the wonderful benefits of hosting bee hives on the farm and working with such a great local business. For more about Bee Downtown and their work, visit: https://www.bee-downtown.com/

The Goats

For our final tour stop on the farm, visitors got to meet the goats and discuss the pros and cons to different types of livestock in an agroforestry setting. At Panther Creek, we have 3 adult male goats. Leaky, Ron, and Harry were bottle fed goats and are very friendly with people. This has allowed visitors to interact with the goats and learn the benefits they have for the land (such as managing invasive privet and other species). Visitors also had a chance to ask final questions about the farm.

Additional Resources:

Center for Environmental Farm Systems (CEFS): https://cefs.ncsu.edu/

Farm Design: Scale of Permanence: https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2016/04/scale-of-permanence/

Land Digital Map: https://native-land.ca/ 

Tree Equity Score Map: https://www.treeequityscore.org/map#3.36/37.22/-98.75 

Twisted Tree Farm: https://www.twisted-tree.net/