Crop Insurance Today September 2017 - 6

Morning Glory Homestead is a true community asset. Visitors are encouraged.
The Joneses see their mission as sustainable
agriculture that protects the environment and
engages the community.
Youth are invited to camp on the farm property as often as possible. The tents go up and the
camp tables come out, transforming the lawn in
front of the farmhouse into a campground where
kids experience the outdoors, learn about farm
chores and study Bible devotions under the leadership of trained adult volunteers.
A close connection to the community and to
customers is something Tony Jones enjoys.
"I love to see things you've planted come to
fruition," he says. "I love to see the smiles and the

"If we did not attend the
workshops and conferences
like this we would have to
research that on our own and
might overlook it or skip it or
not think it was important".
- Belinda Jones

Belinda and Tony Jones

accolades you get from people that have eaten
your product and really enjoyed it."

Risky Business

Tony Jones picks up a blue 5-gallon bucket
that alternates as a seat and harvest container as
he heads down the rows of cherry tomatoes.
The rich soil and subtropical climate of
low-country South Carolina make for great
planting conditions.
Water can be a challenge here. Soon, Morning Glory Homestead will be irrigated thanks to
a grant.
The Joneses are also working with a forester
to clear some of the trees and expand the acres
they can farm.
The tomatoes are looking great on this June
evening.
As Tony Jones gets closer to the rows of string
bean, deer tracks are visible.
Many of the tops of the bean stalks are
chewed off.
"They deer really did it to us," he says as he
picks the beans that are left and drops them into
the bucket.
Deer aside, which also decimated a part of the
corn crop, the farm has been successful in its first
full commercial year, he says.

A local chef requested a special crop of merit
corn. The restaurant will pretty much take all the
vegetables they can grow.
They are growing three varieties of Crowder
peas along with new potatoes, sweet potatoes,
watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes,
peppers, eggplant and squash, grapes and fruit
trees. They also have honey bees and chickens.
It's busy on the farm but the Joneses are taking time away from the field to learn as much as
they can about the business of agriculture as the
operation grows.
"In order to survive you have to get the latest techniques such as marketing, how to market
your produce, how to go about doing that. And
looking at the risk management," Tony Jones says.
Belinda Jones says attending workshops is
useful because the critical information is presented in one place.
"If we did not attend the workshops and
conferences like this we would have to research
that on our own and might overlook it or skip
it or not think it was important. But when
you hear it from professionals who have a lot
of knowledge in that field, it really hits home,"
Belinda Jones says.
The day after Tony and Belinda saved what
beans they could from the deer, they headed off
to nearby Orangeburg for a class on marketing
and risk management.
The training is a partnership between USDA's Risk Management Agency, National Crop
Insurance Services, 1890 land-grant universities
and the local agriculture extension educators attached to those universities.
The 1890 land-grant universities are a network
of historically black colleges and universities.
The training program brings risk management and marketing education to economically
disadvantaged communities nationwide.
NCIS, which represents the private insurance
industry that delivers federally supported crop
insurance, is the lead agency. The industry, under
the public-private partnership, offers educational services to small, beginning, and limited-resource farmers.
Dr. Laurence Crane, NCIS Vice President of
Program Outreach and Risk Management Education, developed the training. He came to NCIS
from North Dakota State University.
The goal is to change behavior through continued support instead of offering one-time classes that sometimes don't have a big impact.
The program features three workshops, each
about a month a part. The same farmers attend all
three workshops. County-level extension agents

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today September 2017