Over the past six years, nearly 250 family farms have gotten a kick-start from NC AgVentures for their efforts to increase profits through new and innovative agricultural projects.
NC AgVentures is an NC State Extension grant program designed to strengthen families and communities that depend on agriculture. It awards grants to help farm operators and groups working with farmers carry out projects aimed at diversifying, expanding or implementing new production, marketing or distribution strategies.
Extension agents in participating counties are available to help farmers get their projects off the ground and running. With agricultural expertise and ties through NC State University to the nation’s land-grant university system, these agents have helped grant winners explore new opportunities, access local and university resources and enhance project success.
The program is supported by funding from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission. William Upchurch, the commission’s executive director, says that NC AgVentures has been a successful partner and investment for the commission.
“One of our key missions is to help move North Carolina agriculture forward by supporting our farmers,” Upchurch says, “NC AgVentures, in conjunction with one of the strongest land-grant institutions in the United States, supports that mission by putting financial resources in the farmer’s hands so creativity and ingenuity can keep their operations viable.”
Jackie Miller, who coordinates AgVentures, says the grants have been “a shot in the arm” to family farmers with ideas and the need for a little capital to get started. Amid the stress of recent hurricanes and COVID, the program has been a positive community-building experience for participants.
“When our new grant recipients come together for their orientation, they want to meet the other farmers and hear about their projects,” Miller adds. “We even have past recipient reviewers who come back year after year just to hear farmers’ ideas and trends. It has been a way to tell the story of what is happening on family farms.”
Many grant winners represent a new generation of farmers, she says. “Some are young, and some are simply young at heart, leaving or retiring from other careers. Both are experimenting with new ways of farming, incorporating scientific and technical innovations to build a more efficient and sustainable farm operation.”
Farmers and community groups from 46 counties are eligible for the grant. The counties are Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Cabarrus, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Forsyth, Gaston, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Iredell, Johnson, Lincoln, Martin, Mecklenburg, Nash, Northampton, Orange, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Union, Vance, Wake, Wayne, Wilson, Wilkes, Warren and Yadkin.
For information about NC AgVentures and the impact it has on farms and communities, see agventures.ces.ncsu.edu/grant-program/. Another round of grants will be offered Oct. 15, 2021.
This year’s winners, listed below, are working on 62 projects, including turning tobacco greenhouses into eucalyptus greenhouses, setting up a website for beef orders and turning waste from Fraser firs and white pine foliage into oils for candles, soaps, cleaning and aromatherapy.
Grain, Hemp, Seeds, and Row Crops
Landscaping Plants and Tree Farms
Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts and Flowers
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