So often, farming is more than a profession. It becomes an identity, a way of life. It is a flame passed on through the generations. It isn’t always this way, but often it is. For Jeb and Steve Smith, it is.
In 1994 Steve Smith began building hog barns in Albertson. In January of 1995, he sold his first pigs. Like many in eastern North Carolina, pigs were a chance to get out of the tobacco business. By 2000, Steve had completely gotten out of tobacco and put all his efforts into caring for and managing his pig farms.
Steve’s father would come to the farm most mornings until he couldn’t at the age of 90. For Steve, his dad provided a lot of support.
“He was a lot of support and a lot of help,” Steve said with emotion. “Really, he helped me get in the pig business.”
The support and lessons Steve received from his father, were passed down to Steve’s son, Jeb who grew up on the farm helping his dad.
“Jeb’s built a good work ethic. He grew up knowing how to work,” Steve said.
While Steve raised his son on the farm, he never expected Jeb to make farming his life. It was never something he pressured him to do. For Steve, if Jeb is happy with what he’s doing, that’s all Steve wants.
But for Jeb, farming is all he’s wanted to do. He loves being close to home and enjoys working with his dad.
“We work well together. We have our moments like everybody, but not a whole lot,” Jeb shared. “If something does come up, in 30 minutes, we’ve forgotten about it. We’ve moved on.”
Steve said that he and his dad also worked well together—yet another trait being carried on to the next generation.
In addition to working on the farm, Jeb also works with the county’s Soil and Water as a Soil Conservationist. He checks pigs at 5:30 or 6 every morning before heading to work. For Jeb, working with Soil and Water has reinforced his desire to be a good steward of the land.
“Be good to the earth, and it will be good back to you. I’ve always tried to live that way, even before I went to work there,” Jeb said.
Caring for the land is important to the Smith family. Some of their land has been in their family since the 1750’s. Not only do they live on the land that they farm, but they are keenly aware of how the farm is woven into the community.
“It’s nice to have hogs and farm in the same community where we live. We’re the closest hog farm to where we go to church. We can hear the church bells at 12 o’clock at the farm every day,” Steve said.
Additionally, Jeb serves on the local fire department. His wife, Jaiden, is a social worker in Duplin County. Community for the Smiths is something they care about.
When the lawsuits came to their community, it was a hard time. The lawyers came to town, and tensions and divisiveness arose in a normally peaceful, friendly community. Perhaps the best description for the situation was heart-breaking. Friends the Smiths grew up with were sitting in court rooms, facing the loss of their farms.
“It was hard hearing about it as a hog farmer, but it was just as tough listening to it as a person and friend hearing about what they went through,” Jeb said.
Hitting so close to home (one sued farm was 15 minutes away), seeing the toll on farmers and the community first-hand, and even experiencing being sued themselves (the farm was dropped from the suit), the Smiths feel fortunate.
Like many farms, they’ve never received a complaint. Their goal is to not inconvenience others, but with more people moving to the country and farmland disappearing, as Steve said, “we’re running out of room. We’re running out of everything except hungry people to feed.”
Since the farm was built almost 30 years ago, there have been changes, many for the better. While change can be hard for Steve, he says that “we’ve got to accept change.”
Some things, though, don’t change. Community remains important and farming is still what the Smith men want to do, and to do it well.
“It gives you a sense of satisfaction. You try to do a good job,” Steve stated.
And for this farming life that the Smiths have chosen to carry on, they continue to be supported by their family, friends, and the generations that came before.
Jeb and Jaiden got married in 2020.
Steve and wife Kim. Steve said: Kim has always been supportive of what I do. When you have someone who does that, who supports you. It’s really nice.
