Agricultural Hall of Fame - FRED N. COLVARD

FRED N. COLVARD
March 19, 1896 - December 3, 1984

Fred Colvard was a progressive and entrepreneurial farmer who helped develop crops suited to the North Carolina mountain areas. He was one of the first to commit 40 to 50 acres of land to growing Christmas trees in the area, ushering in a new crop on a commercial scale. He also was among the first to use irrigation in the area to ensure high quality crops.

Colvard was better known for developing the blight-resistant Sequoia potato, which is credited with ending a potato famine in Peru. In a 1981 interview for an Ashe County Oral History project, Colvard talked about working with the state for 20 years on new potato varieties.

In nominating Colvard, Sam Shumate wrote, “when I decided to write an article on Colvard Farms for a monthly series, my research revealed a progressive farmer far ahead of his time.”

In his potato development research, Colvard leased an island off the coast of Florida where he planted the potatoes. The sub-tropical climate there allowed him to plant two crops of potatoes in a season, cutting his experiment time in half.

When potato blight threatened a variety that was a significant part of Peruvian diets, an agricultural delegation from the country went to the Colvard Farm to see more about his work with a blight-resistant potato. The delegation returned to Peru with some of the newly developed seed potatoes, leading to the end of the famine.

Elected to the North Carolina
AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME
2020