With goals to build “Stronger Farms” and “Stronger Communities,” state leaders are encouraging the public to attend the 2019 NC Ag Awareness Day in Raleigh.

The event is scheduled to begin Wednesday, March 20, at the State Fairgrounds’ Kerr Scott Building, 1025 Blue Ridge Road. Its purpose is to bring awareness to the legislature about the importance of farming in the state. North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler will be joined by organizations such as the N.C. Farm Bureau, N.C. Grange, Agribusiness Council and other commodity groups.

Ag Awareness Day is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. at the Kerr Scott Building, with program handouts and refreshments being served. Shuttle service to other nearby locations will begin at 8:30 a.m. Visits with legislators will occur between 8:30 and 11 a.m. Legislative visits should be scheduled in advance. Organizers are asking visitors to plan and prepare for enhanced security measures such as bag scans and metal detectors.

The Ag Awareness at the Bicentennial Plaza will is set for 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be available at 12:30 p.m. at the Kerr Scott Building. If inclement weather strikes, the rally will be moved to the N.C. Museum of History Auditorium.

Agriculture is the state’s biggest industry, bringing in $87 billion yearly. That total makes up 17 percent of the state’s $522 billion gross state product. It also makes up 17 percent of the state’s workforce, providing 730,000 jobs. Committee members also stressed the importance preserving farmland, protecting natural resources, research, technology and education — all of which will help feed the world for generations to come.

Just last week, the Sampson County Friends of Agriculture held its annual rally for ag, specifically discussing “attacks” on the livelihoods of farmers in Sampson and surrounding counties in the form of nuisance lawsuits that have pitted pork producers against their neighbors.

Just as state leaders call for a unified effort toward building stronger farms, N.C. Pork Council CEO Andy Curliss told the Sampson crowd at the rally to “stay united.”

Last year, the Sampson Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution supporting agriculture, attesting that “farmers provide the food, fuel and fiber for our state and our country.”

“Agriculture is what we do here,” Friends of Ag president Ronnie Jackson has stated. “Sampson County is one of the biggest agriculture counties in the Southeast, and really the whole United States.”

State leaders said citizens’ participation in Ag Awareness Day would serve to convey their appreciation to N.C. legislators for their prior support, and their want for “sensible and fact-based legislation” when supporting the state’s top industry — agriculture and agribusiness.

For additional information regarding the event, finding legislatures and the shuttle schedule, visit www.ncagr.gov/ncagday.

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Aim to build stronger farms, communities

Staff Reports