Davon Goodwin
Davon Goodwin has been involved with CEFS for many years. This year, in addition to his full time roles managing the Sandhills AGInnovation Center and as a farmer, Mr. Goodwin added a new CEFS role to his plate – member of the CEFS Board of Advisors.
Mr. Goodwin first met Dr. Nancy Creamer and heard about CEFS when he was in college at UNC Pembroke and became involved with the Food Youth Initiative. After serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, he returned to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and connected with Growing Change, a Food Youth Initiative-affiliated organization in Scotland County.
In 2019, Mr. Goodwin was a CEFS Farm to Fork Picnic Local Food Hero. Through the years, he has worked with the Local Food Ambassador Program as a farmer advisor for the Fayetteville State University and UNC Pembroke teams, currently serves as an advisor to the NC Food System Resiliency Project, and is also involved with CEFS’ new Farm to Senior Services project.
After being injured in Afghanistan and earning a Purple Heart, Mr. Goodwin shifted to farming and now runs Off the Land (OTL) Farms in Laurinburg, NC. Mr. Goodwin was a 2017 Stone Barns Exchange Fellow, is involved with the Farmer Veteran Coalition, Board President of the National Young Farmers Coalition, and also is on the Board of the USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program.
Mr. Goodwin says, “the same commitment it takes to be a soldier, it takes to be a farmer. Stewardship to the land and people. Making sure my community has access to food is the same as national security. Working to sustain the land for ourselves and for the next generation.” Putting his hands in the dirt brings him a sense of calm after his service in the military. “Without farming, my story would be totally different. It wouldn’t be a success story. There have been some dark days but when I’m on a farm, it’s about access and resiliency.” Watch this video to learn more about his story.
In each of his roles, Mr. Goodwin advocates for young farmers, farmers of color, first generation farmers, and those farming in rural communities. “It takes a community to raise a farmer. I have been able to do as well as I have because my community has supported me from day one. Being young, not from the area, and a farmer of color, people need to know that it will take all of us to make the food system that we want resilient. When you see a young farmer, support them financially and talk to them. Farming can be very isolating. NC is changing and we need to commit to young farmers – policy, money, land access, access to capital and land is what people need to focus on.”
Specifically, Mr. Goodwin shares that lack of capital leads to lack of infrastructure and both of these make it very difficult for farmers to enter wholesale markets. He observes that this impacts farmers of color and first generation farmers particularly as they must compete for access to wholesale markets with farmers that may have inherited multi-generational farms and infrastructure.
Farmers also need funds to make their farms climate resilient. Mr. Goodwin advocates for student loan forgiveness as a critical need to get more young people on to the land and once they are on the land, to be able to grow and sustain their business.
CEFS is thrilled to have Mr. Goodwin’s expertise and perspective as a farmer, Manager of the Sandhills AGInnovation Center, youth mentor, and farm advocate as part of the CEFS Board of Advisors.