Joseph H. Gillis was recently inducted into the Cumberland County Agricultural Hall of Fame in a ceremony held at the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse. The event also recognized Jessica Gillis Lee as the 2023 Cumberland County Farm Bureau Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year.

Gillis was recognized during the annual Farm City event hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville. Gillis’ official portrait was unveiled during the ceremony and will hang on the wall with those of past inductees in the I.B. Julian Auditorium of the Cooperative Extension office at the Charlie Rose Agri-Expo Center, located at 301 E. Mountain Dr.

Gillis, a ninth-generation farmer, grew up on his family farm in the Seventy-First Community of Cumberland County with his parents, Mary Stewart Gillis and J. McNatt Gillis. Gillis graduated from N.C. State University in 1967 and returned to the family farm. He started with 300 acres of tobacco, corn, cotton, soybeans, wheat, hay and straw. In addition, he had a 200-head cattle operation and a 1,000-head hog operation.

Gillis maintained his cattle on Fort Bragg, which is now Fort Liberty, at the military installation’s ammunition storage site as part of an effort to camouflage the site from aerial photographs during the Cold War.

By the mid-1990s, Gillis had expanded his farming operation to 2,500 acres and continued to grow tobacco until the tobacco allotment buyout program. Gillis leased his property to other local farmers who continued to grow row crops.

Today, Gillis’ main farming products are Coastal Bermuda hay and wheat straw. During the past four years, Gillis has produced and shipped wheat straw to over 25 states and is a distributor to many local stores as well as large chain stores.

“Joe is a man of great patriotism for his country, and he believes to be successful in agriculture, you must be willing to adapt to change and you must be a good steward of the land,” said Cumberland County Cooperative Extension Director Lisa Childers in a press release. “Joe has embodied the kind of resilience, the wisdom, the foresight and the innovation required to maintain a successful family farm.”

Young Farmer of the Year

Continuing a long family tradition of agriculture, Jessica Gillis Lee operates Gillis Hill Produce in the Seventy-First area of western Cumberland County. From humble beginnings of selling produce at home to operating a successful produce stand, Lee has become a cornerstone of her community.

Lee was recognized and honored during the annual Farm City Week Luncheon, sponsored by Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville, Cumberland County Cooperative Extension, Cumberland County Farm Bureau and AgCarolina Farm Credit.