How Hickory Nut Gap became a staple on Asheville farm-to-table restaurant menus
ASHEVILLE - For more than a century, a multi-generational family farm has changed the landscape for agriculture and agrotourism in the valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Jamie Ager and his wife, Amy, are the fourth generation to lead Hickory Nut Gap Farm at 57 Sugar Hollow Road in Fairview. The husband and wife also own the Hickory Nut Gap Meats brand, a wholesaler and retailer of premium meats raised using regenerative agriculture and holistic management practices by promoting livestock grazing to naturally improve soil health.
“How do we build a more resilient agriculture system that changes agriculture, and take care of the customer consistently and connect the dots of animal health and human health?” Jamie Ager said.
Hickory Nut Gap Meats’ 100% grassfed beef and pasture-raised pork and chicken ― produced without antibiotics or added hormones ― are distributed by wholesale across the Southeast and available for retail sale in area markets and online shipping.
Jamie Ager said the family’s steadfast approach to farming can be attributed to what has made Hickory Nut Gap Meats a reputable ingredient source featured on restaurant menus and in home cooks’ kitchens.
“We love our restaurant partners and that was kind of our roots here in Asheville ― chefs and friends that we worked with over the years,” Jamie Ager said. “It’s been a real journey to see how that industry has grown and flourished around here. When they choose to buy Hickory Nut Gap and feature it, we feel honored because they can buy the meat for cheaper but it’s their way of telling the world they value the things that we value, which is welfare for livestock and good environmental impact … and flavor.”
Hickory Nut Gap Farm’s adoption of agrotourism welcomes the public to experience farm life and adds to the farm business’s longevity.
Hickory Nut Gap Farm and Meats
Jamie and Amy Ager, who’ve been married for 23 years, met as students at Warren Wilson College where Jamie Ager said they were introduced to methods like grass-based agriculture, pasture-based livestock and sustainable farming.
Jamie Ager, who grew up on the Fairview farm established in 1916 by his great grandfather Jim and Elizabeth McClure, said Hickory Nut Gap Farm and Meats have grown to educate and support other regional farms using sustainable farming practices at the core of its business model.
“If we could work with other farmers, have them doing good, sustainable pasture-based production methods, that’s a win. We’re changing agriculture and changing the paradigm in which farmers operate,” he said.
The Ager’s children will be the fifth generation to uphold the family’s agricultural legacy, which includes an estimated 450 acres of land put into a conservation easement with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in 2008 to ensure the farmland will remain dedicated to agricultural production.
Jamie Ager said another estimated 400 acres of leased land across the area makes up the operational and production side of the businesses.
HNG on menus
Nearly 60% of the wholesale clients are restaurant partners, according to HNG’s sales team.
Ager said Tupelo Honey is a longtime buyer of HNG pork breakfast sausage and as the Asheville-founded restaurant developed into a chain, its demand grew.
Other local restaurant clients include Copper Crown, Farm Burger, Hillman Beer, Wicked Weed Brewing and Zambra.
High demand motivated the business to collaborate with rural family farms in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Kentucky.
Virginia Hamilton, Director of Operations, who’s also a Warren Wilson College alum said her responsibilities include managing and leading the production agriculture team.
“It’s helping these smaller farms and helping them access scale and all selling under the Hickory Nut Gap label,” Hamilton said. “The farm here is the home and birthplace of Hickory Nut Gap Meats brand and the meat that you buy in the store might be from the farm but we’re also a pretty small; or it might be from one of our other partner producers.”
Hamilton said the more than 90 farm partners undergo an extensive vetting process and verification.
“It’s pretty cool that we’re able to build this larger agricultural community in the Southeast,” Hamilton said.
Hickory Nut Gap Farm events and experiences
Ager said the company’s goal is to build community through agriculture, which is support through offering community supported agriculture (CSA) subscription boxes to Asheville-area residents.
Customers may purchase items directly from the source from Hickory Nut Gap's Farm Store, which offers coolers stocked full of various cuts of meats and animal byproducts, like chicken stock. The inventory also includes the company's packaged meat stick snacks and a host of other food, beverages and merchandise from other local and regional businesses.
HNG’s Farm Store hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, which is when the farm is open to the public.
Guests are welcome to drop-in to shop the store, picnic, tour the farm and meet some of its animal residents, and relax while taking in the mountain views. Culvert slides and other activities and areas like creeks are offered for younger guests to play and explore.
Guests are encouraged to traverse the many trails throughout Hickory Nut Gorge ― the geographical inspiration for the farm's name ― like the nearby Strawberry Gap Trail.
HNG Farms hosts community-building events in the warmer seasons, such as stargazing and quarterly guided tours. A butchery class, yoga sessions and dances are on the calendar that will be in the Big Barn, a former dairy barn that’s been converted into a rustic event venue that's available for private booking.
On April 7, the farm will partner with Locals Seafood, a Raleigh-based seafood company, to host a Low Country Boil from 3-7 p.m. at the farm. The cost is $85 per person.
The menu will feature HNG Meats’ pasture-raised pork sausages and N.C. shrimp and a raw oyster bar courtesy of Locals Seafood. Purchase tickets at hickorynutgap.com.
Hickory Nut Gap Farm and Farm Store
Where: 57 Sugar Hollow Road, Fairview.
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday.
Info: For more, visit hickorynutgap.com.
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Hickory Nut Gap Farm welcomes public to tour, shop, dance, play
