Opening

We Live Here

Eats

Words to Live By

Just My Type

Writers in Hillsborough keep their friendships close — and their adored, clickety-clackety story machines even closer.

Three Lines, One Life

The tobacco fields and church pews of an eastern North Carolina childhood taught an acclaimed haiku poet how to see, feel, and hear the landscape — one syllable at a time.

Farm Sweet Farm

Hog Wild in Rockingham County

On this Rockingham County farm — past the barn and beyond the pasture — a herd of pigs roots and runs in the forest. Far from feral, these animals are being raised for restaurants and grills. But until then, they — and the couple who runs the sustainable farm — are living their best lives.

The Chicken Champs

Each year, nearly 600 chickens (and their proud owners) flock to the Rowan County Fairgrounds to compete for the heady title of Old English Game Bantam Champion of the World. When global poultry dominance is at stake, it’s hard not to ruffle a few feathers.

Gathering Wool & Wisdom

On a typical sheep, one year of fleece growth will yield three sweaters. But there are precious few shearers to tend all of the flocks in North Carolina. For the last traveling shearers, an age-old trade has become a kind of modern artistry.

The Kids Are All Right

The most popular club at some North Carolina high schools is nearly a century old, but it’s as relevant as ever. Energized and optimistic, members of the Future Farmers of America are shaping the state’s agricultural path forward — not just in fields, but in labs and offices, too.

The Transplants

A community farm in Chapel Hill grows more than okra, bitter melons, and Thai chilies. New lives spring from these red-clay rows.

Features

Closing