On the horizon
Late summer and fall
represent the bulk of fair
season across the state, with
county fairs and state fairs
being held.
These annual events
celebrate North Carolina’s
rich agricultural history and
the skills and talents of its
people.
The N.C. Department of
Agriculture and Consumer
Services hosts two annual
fairs — the N.C. Mountain
State Fair in Fletcher and the
N.C. State Fair in Raleigh.
The N.C. Mountain State
Fair runs Sept. 1 1-20 at the
Western N.C. Ag Center in
Fletcher. This year’s theme
is “How the West Was Fun.”
Go to www.mountainfari.
org for more information.
The N.C. State Fair
will be held Oct. 15-25 at
the State Fairgrounds in
Raleigh. This year’s theme
is “A Whole Lotta Happy.”
Go to www.ncstatefair.
org/2009.
In addition to the two
state-run fairs, there are
nearly 50 county fairs held
across North Carolina. To
find a list of county fair
dates, go to www.ncagfairs.
org/upevents.html.
N.C. farmers don’t hog
water, says first statewide
survey of ag water use
North Carolina farmers use but a fraction of the water consumed
in the state each day, according to the first-ever statewide survey of
agricultural water use.
Among water users withdrawing at least 10,000 gallons a day,
farmers accounted for about 1 percent of all withdrawals, the survey
showed.
“Up until now, basic water use information for agriculture was
limited in most areas of the state,” said Agriculture Commissioner
Steve Troxler. "Our survey found that farmers withdrew an extremely
small portion of the water used in North Carolina on a daily basis.
“While farmers might be watering hogs — or cattle or crops — they
aren’t hogging the water.”
The General Assembly last year passed a bill requiring the N.C.
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to do an annual
survey of agricultural water use. The department’s Agricultural
Statistics Division contacted 9,000 Firms and received responses from
86 percent. From those responses, statisticians found 1,500 farms that
used 10,000 gallons or more of water on at least one day during the
year.
The department recently submitted the report to legislators. The
report focused on water from surface sources, such as on-farm irrigation
ponds, and ground sources, such as wells. The data collected by the
(See Water Survey, pg. 2)
5th Commissioner’s Food
Safety Forum to be Aug. 18
at State Fairgounds
Event is free Carolina, Seafood Marketing and
Food Safety.
Keynote speakers include:
Michael Taylor, senior adviser to
the Food and Drug Administration
commissioner; Dr. Donald Zink,
senior scientist for the Center
for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition; David Bergmire-
Sweat, N.C. Division of Public
Health, food-borne disease
epidemiologist; and Dr. Ken Falci
of Kelloggs.
The forum is free, but
participants are asked to register
by contacting Christina Waggett
at (919) 733-7125 or by e-mailing
at christina.waggett@ncagr.gov.
A link to the registration form
can be found at www.ncagr.gov.
Lunch and refreshments will
be provided.
The Fifth Annual Commiss¬
ioner’s Food Safety Forum,
formerly known as AgFirst, will
be held Aug. 18 from 9 a.m. to 3
p.m. in the Scott Building at the
State Fairgrounds.
The forum will focus on
the future of food safety, with
discussions by the nation’s food
safety experts, congresissional
delegation, industry leaders,
regulators, public health officials,
and emergency management and
academic leaders.
Topics to be discussed include
the Changing Science of Peanut
Butter, Building an Integrated
National Food Safety System,
Food Safety from the Consumer
Perspective, Food Safety in North
Two acts for the State Fair concert lineup change
Tickets go on sale online Aug. 3 at 10 a.m.
There have been two changes to the 2009
State Fair concert lineup that was announced
in the July Agricultural Review.
The Zach Brown Band will not perform
on Thursday, Oct. 22, and contemporary
Christian entertainer Natalie Grant will not
perform on Friday, Oct. 23.
"American Idol” finalist and Chapel Hill
native Anoop Desai will perform Oct. 22.
Christian group Tenth Avenue North will
join Dove Award-winning singer Jeremy
Camp for the Oct. 23 show.
Concert tickets and advance admission
and ride tickets go on sale online Aug. 3 at
10 a.m. at www.ncstatefair.org. Any concert
tickets remaining after the start of the State
Fair can be purchased at the Dorton Arena
Box Office. Remaining tickets will likely be
limited.
The following is a lineup of performers
scheduled to appear:
Oct. 15 - Jason Michael Carroll, $5
Oct. 16 -Third Day, $15
Oct. 17 -Kellie Pickier, $10
Oct. 1 8 - Nat and Alex Wolff, $10
Oct. 1 9 - Jamey Johnson, $5
Oct. 20 - The Temptations featuring Dennis
Edwards. $10
Oct. 21 - Julianne Hough, $5
Oct. 22 - Anoop Desai, $5
Oct. 23 - Jeremy Camp and Tenth Avenue
North, $10
Oct. 24 - Blake Shelton, $10
Oct. 25 - Eric Church, $5
All shows begin at 7:30 p.m.. and doors
open at 6:30 p.m.
From the tractor
by Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler
Overseas buyers of
agricultural products represent
a significant market for North
Carolina farmers. According
to the latest statistics. North
Carolina exported $2.1 billion
worth of commodities in 2007.
These sales have helped many
North Carolina farm families
stay on the farm.
Even in today’s economy,
competition for global exports
is strong. We are not the only
state, or even country, that is
focused on increasing exports,
so we have to be proactive.
That is why I am leading a
trade delegation to China Aug.
1-8 in hopes of expanding
business opportunities in the
country.
The state saw more than
$271 million in exports to China
alone in 2008, and there is good
reason to believe there is even
greater untapped potential in this
market.
My goal in going is to lay
the groundwork now to impact
exports for the 2010 growing
season, and I am encouraged by
the potential.
China is our second-largest
trading partner, and exports from
North Carolina to China continue
to grow. The country is a huge
customer for tobacco, wood and
cotton, and we also see strong
growth potential for the sale of
soybeans.
I will be joined by
representatives of the Tobacco
Growers Association of North
Carolina, the N.C. Soybean
Producers Association, the N.C.
Cotton Growers Association,
N.C. Farm Bureau, N.C.
Agribusiness Council, N.C.
Growers Association, U.S.
Tobacco Cooperative, Burley
Stabilization Corp. and PS
International.
We have a full agenda planned,
meeting with government
leaders, farmers and agribusiness
representatives. We will also
tour some farms and agribusiness
companies in the country. I look
forward to talking with leading
Chinese agriculture officials
about future opportunities.
International trade will
continue to be critical to the
long-term success of North
Carolina agriculture, and I
believe we cannot afford to sit
back and miss opportunities for
business.
This is particularly true of
our tobacco crop, which will
need to rely even more on
overseas markets for future
success.
We will be posting updates
and photos from the trade
mission to the department’s In
the Field blog, which you can
find at www.ncagr.gov/blog.