Abstract:
Burgess discusses kenaf, a plant with amazing market potential and versatility that may one day outpace tobacco and cotton in the state's agricultural economy. Farmers in eastern North Carolina hope to become the world's largest single source of processed kenaf. The plant, which is cultivated worldwide, can stand twelve feet high and is very dense. Currently, a group of farmers in Greene, Pitt, and few other counties is growing kenaf. The group, known as Greene Natural Fibers, grows the crop, processes it, and develops markets for their products.