Transfarmation’s First Demonstration Hub Is Officially Open!
The Transfarmation Project® celebrated the launch of our first-ever demonstration hub on September 6, 2024. Located in Wadesboro, North Carolina, the hub is a farm that once raised an estimated 540,000 chickens per year.
In collaboration with the Transfarmation™ team, contractors, and consultants, farmers Tom and Sokchea Lim successfully converted one of the farm’s poultry barns into a 15,000-square-foot greenhouse capable of growing a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables year-round.
What is a demonstration hub?
The demonstration hub is a former factory farm that now grows specialty crops for human consumption and provides a space for conducting research, hosting visitors interested in alternatives to factory farming, and showcasing the potential of farm transitions to create viable opportunities for former industrial animal farmers.
The hub launch has long been a goal of the Transfarmation team—at least three years in the making. The hub aims to demonstrate how transitioning out of factory farming is not only possible but profitable and sustainable.
About the Farmers
Tom Lim raised chickens for nearly 20 years before the company he contracted with terminated him without warning in 2018. Since then, he and his wife, Sokchea, have been working multiple jobs to try to pay off the debt they are left with from raising chickens. In 2022, he started working with Transfarmation to pursue other options for his farm. He began by constructing a specialty-mushroom fruiting room in a repurposed refrigerated tractor-trailer.
In August 2023, Tom began selling oyster mushrooms to a local food hub for inclusion in their produce subscription boxes. Tom and Sokchea have always cultivated a small vegetable garden on their farm, and Tom has expressed a strong desire to grow food for people while living in and caring for nature. The new greenhouse will enable them to pursue their dream and grow more food in a sustainable way.
“Tom and Sokchea’s transition from raising an estimated 540,000 chickens annually to operating a vibrant vegetable farm full of tomatoes, lettuce, berries, and mushrooms is a powerful testament to what can be achieved. Through their collaboration with Transfarmation, the Lims prove that farmers can not only break free from the exploitative factory-farming system but thrive and enjoy a better quality of life. We hope their farm becomes a beacon of inspiration, encouraging farmers, policymakers, and the public to visit, witness the transformation, and rally for the sustainable overhaul of our food system.”
—Tyler Whitley, Director of Transfarmation
The Lims are now at the forefront of specialty-crop farming. After transitioning with the support of Transfarmation, they have successfully begun growing and selling specialty mushrooms and vegetables. Their story provides an opportunity to explore how a shift from factory farming can lead to both economic stability and environmental sustainability.