On March 20, the agriculture community will celebrate Ag Awareness Day with visits with legislators and a program to thank legislators for their support in 2018. Attendees can meet and park at the State Fairgrounds to ride buses downtown for the day’s activities.
A summary of the comments are below.
- It is not too late to join us tomorrow for Ag Awareness Day in downtown Raleigh. Buses depart from the State Fairgrounds to downtown Raleigh at 8:30 a.m. and the program wraps up at 2:30 p.m.
- From 9 to 11 a.m., attendees are encouraged to visit with their legislators. They will likely want to call ahead to make an appointment to ensure senators and representatives are available.
- At 11:30, the program
will begin on Bicentennial Mall located between the Museum of History and the
Agriculture Building. We expect to be joined by a number state leaders,
(Governor Roy Cooper, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, N.C. Farm Bureau President Larry
Wooten, President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, Speaker Tim Moore, Senator Brent
Jackson, Representative Jimmy Dixon, Senator Dan Blue (pending), Representative
John Bell, Senator Don Davis (pending), Representative Brian Turner and NCSU
Dean Richard Linton.)
- More than anything, we
want to thank our legislators for their continued support in 2018, particularly
with the passage of the $240 million Hurricane Florence Disaster Relief Fund
and the Farm Act, which included legislation involving nuisance lawsuits.
- Even with the challenges
of 2018, we have a lot to be proud of when it comes to North Carolina
agriculture. We want our legislative representatives to know the impact
agriculture has on the state’s economy. It is an $87 billion industry that
supports around 730,000 jobs or a fifth of our workforce.
- We are a leading producer
nationally of many crops including tobacco, pork, poultry and sweet potatoes,
and this industry supports jobs across rural North Carolina.
- In many cases,
agriculture and agribusiness are the leading industries in some of our rural
communities.
- Ag Awareness Day is meant
to celebrate these contributions and remind legislators that we can grow this
industry even more by;
- strengthening markets for North Carolina ag products,
- increasing research efforts,
- protecting and maintaining the world’s safest food supply,
- adding value to our commodities,
- protecting the right of farmers to practice their profession
- and preserving farmland for the next generation.
I hope we’ll have a great crowd tomorrow, so come on out and lend your voice to support North Carolina agriculture and agribusiness.