Farmin' in Filbert

Say hello to Dori Sanders. I had the opportunity to meet this York County author, farmer, and cook while working on the "Catawba Outdoors" trail project. It quickly became clear that Dori (and others like her) are at the very heart of our tourism trail development initiative. Giving farmers (and their roadside stands and markets) a voice and a venue for greater awareness is critical in promoting niche-based economic development.

Click here to learn more about Dori!

Kershaw Rocks!

Driving around Lancaster County, I stumbled across the 40-Acre Rock Heritage Preserve. What a find! Standing atop the gigantic granite rock, you feel on top of the world (well, at least on top of Lancaster County!). On a clear day, you can seemingly see forever from the crest of Forty Acre Rock in Lancaster County, where the Sandhills meet the Piedmont. According to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, "the entire Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve encompasses 1,567 acres of the most diverse protected area in the Piedmont region, including granite flatrocks, waterslide, waterfall, beaver pond, cave, hardwood and pine forests, and a variety of wildflowers and wildlife. The Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve is designated as a National Natural Landmark."

"The rock are home to 16 rare plant species. Twelve of the plants are endangered species. A tiny plant, amphiantus or "pool sprite," is the rarest. It is known to exist in only 5 other places in the world. All of the plants have adapted to their environment so well that, even though the pools dry up in the summer, the seeds survive and the plants bloom the following spring."

"The rock is covered with numerous pits or cisterns hollowed out, as is supposed, by the Indians for holding water. At Forty Acre Rock, it is believed that the Indians ground their corn in hollowed pits on the rock's surface. One particularly large pit was known by the early settlers as "King Hagler's Punchbowl," in reference to the popular Catawba king who was slain by Shawnee Indians in 1763."

It was a very neat (and out-of-the-way) place in Lancaster County - one that will be included in our "Catawba Outdoors" trail!

Click here to learn more about 40-Acre Rock!

Greetings from Nebraska!

The economic foundation of rural America has experienced dramatic changes over the past two decades. These changes have made it increasingly important for rural businesses to use e-commerce strategies to strengthen their economic health and stability, improve their market share and catapult the efficiency of their products and services.

In response to these changes, the Southern Rural Development Center, in partnership with CSREES/USDA, administers the National E-Commerce Extension Initiative. This initiative, launched in 2003, is addressing various factors that will dictate the adoption and diffusion of e-commerce innovations in rural areas. These factors include such topics as whether rural areas have the technology in place to embrace e-commerce applications, whether these businesses understand how e-commerce can benefit their operations, and whether Extension educators have the resources to provide adequate educational support to small businesses.

The SRDC conference I am attending now focuses on promoting e-commerce strategies for both communities and individual businesses. I look forward to sharing some of these tools and implementing some new e-commerce initiatives in York, Chester, and Lancaster counties!