Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
The Cooperative Extension program at N.C. A&T State University is marking its 30th year of celebrating Small Farms Week, an observance of small-scale agriculture and the farmers who make it happen.
The USDA defines small farms as those with gross sales of less than $250,000 a year. Eighty-seven percent of North Carolina’s 49,500 farms fall into that category. And more than 82 percent of N.C. farms are less than 180 acres in size.
Commissioner Troxler says small farms have a significant impact on agriculture in North Carolina. In addition to the money generated from the sale of their crops and animals, small farms contribute to the economic strength of their communities by purchasing feed, supplies, equipment, and other goods and services.
Small Farms Week includes farm tours and workshops on land retention, vegetable production, pasture-raised poultry and ways to extend the growing season. N.C. A&T also hosts a luncheon every year to honor the North Carolina Small Farmer of the Year.
Click on the audio player below to hear Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda discuss Small Farms Week and the many types of commodities produced by small farms in North Carolina.
[Audio:/wp-content/uploads/Troxler_3-22-16.mp3|titles=Today’s Topic for March 22]
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