On the Horizon
January and February
are busy months with
commodity and agricultural
group meetings.
Below is a partial list of
upcoming meetings:
• Jan. 5: Plant Food
Association of N.C.
Annual Meeting, Pine-
hurst
• Jan. 10: N.C. Soil and
Water Conservation
Districts Annual Meet¬
ing, Grove Park Inn,
Asheville
• Jan. 11-12: N.C. Cotton
Growers Meeting,
New Bern Conference
Center
• Jan. 11-15: 2011 Green
and Growin’ Show,
Greensboro Coliseum
• Jan. 13: N.C. Grain
Commodity Joint Con¬
ference, New Bern Con¬
vention Center
• Jan. 13: 45th Annual
Open House of the N.C.
Blueberry Council,
Sampson Agri-Expo¬
sition Center, Clinton
• Feb. 2-4: Southern
Farm Show, State
Fairgrounds, Raleigh
• Feb. 3: NCDA&CS
Agricultural Forum,
State Fairgrounds,
Raleigh
State Fair shatters record
More than 1 million people attend
When the 2010 N.C. State
Fair ended, a record 1,091,887
people had helped make it a
Fair for the history books. It
was the first time the State
Fair had ever broken the 1
million visitor mark.
“We were blessed with near
perfect weather for the 1 1-day
run, eight record-setting days
and three sold-out concerts
in Dorton Arena,” said
Agriculture Commissioner
Steve Troxler. “We are happy
to have broken through the
one-million mark, but more
importantly we are happy
folks had a great time when
they came out to the Fair.
Everywhere you looked, you
saw people having fun with
their friends and family.
That’s what makes the Fair
such a lasting tradition.”
The Fair posted one-day
attendance records on both
Thursdays, both Fridays,
both Sundays, in addition
to Tuesday, Oct. 19, and
Saturday, Oct. 23.
Thursday, Oct. 2 1, was also
the largest Food Lion Hunger
Relief Day, with 246,779
pounds of food collected for
the Food Bank of Central
and Eastern North Carolina.
Christian-acts Casting
Crowns and Chris Tomlin,
and country singer Darius
Rucker performed to sell¬
out crowds in Dorton Arena.
The line-up also featured the
Carolina Chocolate Drops, a
North Carolina band.
Competitive entries to the
Fair remained strong, with a
large number of competitors
in the livestock, horticulture,
hobbies and handicrafts, and
ai'ts and crafts categories.
“I cannot thank all our
fairgoers enough for making
this such a great year,”
Troxler said. “We appreciate
the support people have
shown the State Fair and
look forward to next year’s
event. Go ahead and mark
your calendar for Oct. 13-23,
2011.”
NCDA&CS Seed Lab moving;
samples must go to new address
The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services Seed Laboratory will move to a temporary location
at the Beneficial Insect Laboratory at 950 E. Chatham St.
in Cary beginning Nov. 29. Lab users shipping samples
through FedEx or UPS will need to send them to a new
address.
“The seed laboratory will be closed for the week of Nov. 29
through Dec. 3 to accommodate the movement of equipment,
supplies and staff,” said Gene Cross, director of the Plant
Industry Division. “Testing services will resume Dec. 6 at
the NCDA&CS Beneficial Insects Laboratory. Our goal is to
minimize the interruption of service to our customers.”
Beginning Dec. 6, seed samples will need to be addressed
as follows depending on method of delivery:
■ For U.S. Postal Service: NCDA&CS-NC Seed Labor¬
atory, 1060 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1060;
■ For Fed-Ex or UPS: NCDA&CS-Beneficial Insect
Laboratory, 950 E. Chatham St., Car}', NC 27511.
The move is happening because of the needed replacement
of the heating and air-conditioning system and renovation
of the seed laboratory in downtown Raleigh. The work is
expected to take six to eight months.
Starting Dec. 6, contact numbers for the seed lab will be
(919) 233-7072 or 233-7073.
The N.C. Seed Laboratory provides support for both
the regulatory and service work of the NCDA&CS seed
and fertilizer field specialists, seed dealers, producers,
consumers and university researchers. Testing focuses on
purity and germination rates for seeds, accelerated aging,
Round-Up Ready tolerance, sand and moisture content.
Farmland preservation grants offered; deadline is Dec. 15
County governments and non-profit
groups pursuing farmland preservation
projectscan apply for fundingassistance
fromtheN.C.AgriculturalDevelopment
and Farmland Preservation Trust
Fund, Agriculture Commissioner Steve
Troxler announced.
Applications and guidelines for the
201 1 funding cycle are available online
at www.ncadfp.org or by calling (919)
707-3071. Applications are due by 5
p.m. Dec. 15.
The General Assembly appropriated
$2 million to the trust fund for the 2010-
1 1 fiscal year.
“The trust fund supports projects
that encourage the preservation of
qualifying agricultural, horticultural
and forest lands,” Troxler said. “The goal
is to cultivate the growth, development
and sustainability of family farms.”
Grants can be awarded to secure
agricultural conservation easements on
lands used for agricultural production;
to support public and private enterprise
programs that promote profitable and
sustainable agricultural, horticultural
and forestland activities; and for the
development of agricultural plans.
From the tractor
by Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler
Like many people, the
holidays and the end of the
year serve as reminders to
pause and take stock of the
year coming to a close.
This year has included
a number of highlights for
agriculture.
Despite the economy
struggling to regain mo¬
mentum, the state’s agri¬
culture and agribusiness
sector experienced 6 percent
growth. It remains North
Carolina’s leading industry,
generating more than $74
billion to the economy and
employing nearly a fifth of
the workforce.
The trickle-down effect
of these farm dollars is
especially significant in
rural areas of the state,
where farm income supports
local businesses, service-
related jobs, schools and
local governments. I hope
to continue to see this kind
of growth in the future.
We remain committed to
promoting North Carolina
farm products and helping
consumers learn more about
all the great food and food
products produced here in
this state.
This year also saw the
state’s buy-local movement
really gain traction. More
and more restaurants are
promoting the fact that they
are featuring local meats,
vegetables, fruits, cheeses
and more on them menus.
A good many of our grocery
chains are now stocking and
highlighting local products
because of customer demand.
Both of these venues have
helped farmers sell their
products.
The department’s Farm
to School program is another
bright spot. This program
posted a record 2009-2010
year with $800,000 worth of
North Carolina commodities
being served in school
cafeterias across the state.
This program continues
to gain in popularity with
school kids, school nutrition
directors and farmers.
Commodity sales for the
2009-2010 school year were
$100,000 above the previous
Commissioner Troxler
year’s totals.
In addition, agricultural
exports increased by more
than a billion dollars,
thanks in part to focused
international marketing
efforts. For the first time
ever, our agricultural
(See Bright spots, pg. 2)