Lumberton native wins Miss America’s United States pageant

LUMBERTON 一 Lumberton native Nicole Hall won the 2024 Miss America’s United States pageant on Aug. 10.

“I was a daughter of tobacco farmers,” Hall said, “so farming is near and dear to my heart. I was raised on farm life.”During her time at Campbell University, she transitioned into farming alpacas. She worked with 22 alpacas on 20 acres of land, bringing them to grand openings, agro-tourism events and occasional bridal parties coming to visit the farm.

“My show alpacas, nibbles and Saybean,” Hall said, “walked better on a leash than some people’s dogs. If I stopped walking, they would heel.”

After working with the alpacas, Hall began working on a chicken farm, where she was responsible for eight chicken houses. She said 1.1 million chickens passed through her hands each year.

Hall’s platform for the pageant was “Crowns for Crops,” and her overall goal during her reign is to promote local farms and produce. “I feel like people love to learn,” Hall said. “A lot of people don’t know what they don’t know, so I want to bust misconceptions, and explain the processes we use to grow your food.”

One of the biggest misconceptions that Hall hopes to clear up is the treatment of the animals in farms that use chicken houses. “North Carolina has predators,” Hall said, “we have hawks and coyotes. If we were to put a whole bunch of birds outside, the predators would get a buffet.”

With local predators getting a more accessible food source, Hall said the population of those species would shoot up. Having more coyotes in the area can put small dogs, outdoor cats, and other small animals in danger as they begin to hunt elsewhere to get enough food for the large population.

“The chicken houses keep the birds alive,” Hall said. “More of them can go to market, and it has its other benefits. Now, does it have its downsides? Yes, and that’s the thing that the conversation needs to be about. How can we find a middle ground between ethical husbandry and mass food production?”

Hall said that finding that middle ground is a complicated topic. “There’s no farmer out there that wouldn’t want our chickens and all of our animals to be out there and enjoying the green grass,” Hall said, “but even with the 80 million chickens that North Carolina produced every year, we don’t have enough food.”

In her efforts to promote North Carolina farms, Hall is hosting a farm-to-table dinner at Jireh Family Farm in Durham. “They’re a more meat-based farm,” Hall said. “We’re going to do a four-course dinner featuring chicken and goat, with a dessert. The whole thing will be raised and prepared on the farm.” Reservations are available on the Jireh Family Farm Website.

Hall is also starting a community garden on Martin Luther King Drive in 2025. She says it will be an excellent opportunity to bring local produce to the community.

Hall said that the Visit NC Farms app is a tool for connecting with local farms. The app, sponsored by the Department of Agriculture, connects users with local farms for shopping.

“If you’re looking for a way to support your local farms, Lumberton FFA is very much looking for sponsorships,” Hall said. “They’re having an interest meeting on Aug. 29. If anything else, visit your county fair. It’s a great way to support your agriculture every year.”