THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 6, 1996 TAG: 9603050109
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JODY R. SNIDER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Long : 111 lines
PIECE BY PIECE, an old barn is being dismantled on 225 acres that Jerry and Dean Stallings once rented as farmland off Great Spring Road in Isle of Wight County.
This year, the heavy machinery parked on that land won't be tractors and combines standing ready for the next crop. Bulldozers will be churning the soil for the Cypress Creek subdivision, where 400 homes and a golf course are planned.
And this isn't the first time Jerry Stallings has lost land to development.
In 1995, a 70-acre parcel on Jericho Road where he had farmed since 1957 became 21 three-acre residential lots sold as Jericho Estates.
``I worked that land for a long time. And, yes, it saddens me to see it go to development,'' Stallings says.
``Out of all the land I farm, I like this land the best,'' he adds, standing next to a skeleton of the barn that once housed his equipment on the Great Spring Road land. ``I like it because there's a lot of good farmland here in one place - 225 acres.
``But it's gone now. It's progress.''
In his 40 years of farming, Stallings, 61, had never owned any land until recently. He and his son Dean, who went into business with his father in 1975, bought four acres to replace the site where they housed their equipment.
But that didn't stop the Smithfield Ruritan Club from selecting Stallings Farms Inc. as 1995 Outstanding Farm Family of the Year.
In fact, says Herbert Jones, one of three members on the selection committee, the Stallingses were chosen for the award in part because they haven't owned the land they work.
``Farming is a risky business anyway, but there are few farmers who would be able to afford the equipment to farm without having the land as collateral,'' Jones says. In fact, he says that in the six years the Ruritans have been giving the award, he can't think of any winners who have rented all their farmland.
``They are also good farmers. They have always farmed with the next generation in mind - never abusing chemicals and always looking out for the environment.''
This year, with the 225-acre decrease, the Stallingses will grow 750 acres of peanuts, cotton, corn, wheat and soybeans on eight farms scattered within a six-mile area of Isle of Wight County.
Like most farmers, the Stallingses hope 1996 isn't another drought year, like 1995. But 1996 hasn't gotten off to a good start for farmers who are trying to plan crops around a federal farm bill that has not yet been decided.
``We still don't know how many acres of what crop we're going to plant this year because there's no farm bill,'' Dean says. ``If Congress had to farm, there'd be a farm bill in place now. It's holding everyone in the whole country up.''
``We know what we'd like to plant,'' his father says, ``but because the quota price on peanuts is in question, we're stuck not knowing what to do.''
But even with all the problems, the Stallingses say farming is still want they want to do.
``This is all I've ever known,'' Jerry says. ``Farming has been in my family for years. It gets in your blood. . . .
``I like to see the crops come up in the summer, and I like harvest time when you're getting everything in. It's a feeling of accomplishment.''
``The best part of farming is being your own boss,'' Dean says. ``I love to get on that tractor and ride it for 12 or 14 hours. I love being outside.''
Farming has been in the Stallings family for more than 100 years. Jerry's grandfather and father both farmed 100 acres of their own land on Great Spring Road. Jerry's brother Robert W. Stallings III took over that operation and farms it today.
But the Stallings farming tradition could be ending in this area.
``As time goes on, more land will be lost to development,'' Jerry says. ``And you know, they aren't making any more land these days.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
FARMERS OF DISTINCTION
Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Jerry, Joan and son Dean take a break from dismantling a barn that
will be moved to their land to make way for another housing
development.
THE STALLINGS
JERRY STALLINGS
Age: 61
Wife: Joan, 60
Education: Graduated Smithfield High School in 1952.
Children: Tony, 36, a homemaker in Smithfield; Robin, 31, works
in a restaurant at Nags Head; Dean, who farms with his father.
Community activities: Retired volunteer firefighter with the
Smithfield Volunteer Fire Department; past master, Smithfield
Masonic Lodge; Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year, 1965; past
chairman, Isle of Wight County Wetlands Board; member, American
Legion Post 49; attends Smithfield Baptist Church.
DEAN STALLINGS
Age: 38
Wife: Sharon, 32
Education: Graduated Isle of Wight Academy in 1975.
Children: Jerry, 10 months; Melinda, 5; Eva, 15
Community activities: Member and director, Real Smithfield
Jaycees; served on the Smithfield Planning Commission; attends
Smithfield Baptist Church.
by CNB