TheFirstFurrow

The following content provided courtesy of the NC Rural Center

If you are one of North Carolina’s many newcomers who moved here over the past decade, it is understandable you might have a somewhat skewed view of our state. It is likely you moved here and settled in one of our state’s thriving metros or surrounding suburbs. And that is not a bad thing. The explosion of our metropolitan areas over the past 25 years has brought an unprecedented level of economic growth to our state.

But starting with the Great Recession and culminating in the 2016 Presidential election, it became apparent that our state’s economic advances had been uneven and with diminishing returns as the economic boom radiated out from our core metro communities.

If you have read the news since November, you are probably aware of the renewed focus on rural communities. We have seen increased public interest in both our rural communities and the views of the people who call those places home. Unfortunately, too much of that coverage has been framed as an “us vs. them” cultural and economic split and too easily reduced to the “rural/urban divide” tag that pits our towns against our cities in a zero-sum game of competitive economic development.

At the Rural Center, we see daily that there is far more that unites us than divides us. We know we can lift up rural communities without pulling down urban areas. Commuter flows from the rural counties surrounding our state’s metros tell the real story: Our economies are regional, an interconnected web of life and work that can happen counties apart.

It’s simple – the best economic development solutions for North Carolina are rural solutions.

With farming in full swing, here’s your annual reminder to please share the road with farm equipment!

We’ve all been there. You’re cruising down one of North Carolina’s many rural highways or secondary roads, perhaps off to vacation at the beach or in the mountains, when all of a sudden you come up on a tractor or some other piece of farm machinery on the road. To many motorists, this is frustrating —a brief slowdown on an otherwise smooth journey. But to farmers, traveling on roads and highways can be a dangerous yet necessary part of the job. And with the arrival of spring and the beginning of the busy season for many of North Carolina’s farmers, you’re a lot more likely to encounter farm equipment on the road.

Now that spring has officially sprung, there’s no better time to support North Carolina agriculture by heading to your local farmers market or roadside stand to do a little grocery shopping. You’ll find fresh, local, and delicious produce without breaking the bank — in fact, you might even find some items are cheaper! Plus, you’ll get the chance to talk with local farmers and find out more about the food you’re buying.

First and foremost, congratulations to Ray Starling on being named Special Assistant to the President for Agriculture, Trade and Food Assistance. NC Farm Bureau President Larry Wooten said it best, “This appointment sends a clear message that the White House is serious about addressing the needs of American farmers and rural communities, and I believe Ray Starling has the knowledge, experience, and vision to be a strong advocate for American agriculture.”

Wooten added, “Having grown up on a farm in Eastern North Carolina, Ray has a deep and personal understanding of what our farmers are experiencing and what they need to grow and succeed. Combined with his extensive knowledge of agriculture policy, Ray has proven to be an invaluable asset in supporting farmers and growing North Carolina agriculture.”

Now that he has been appointed, what will he do?

This week, we thought we’d explore a topic familiar to most people in the agriculture community: land-grant colleges. In the process of researching the history of land-grant institutions, we stumbled upon a fantastic write-up from the folks over at Back Story Radio, and instead of trying to out-do them we figured we’d just share their content with you. We hope you enjoy!

We hear it all the time.  We throw it around with authority – “oh, it’s a land-grant school.”  But what exactly does that mean?  And where did the land-grants come from?

The North Carolina General Assembly gaveled in its 2017-18 long session a couple weeks ago, but so far the action has mainly been getting bills filed and holding a few committee meetings. As state legislators prepare to roll up their proverbial sleeves, let’s take a moment to talk about a few issues we’ll be watching this session.

The “Future of Farming” immediately conjures thoughts of auto-piloted drones, advanced self-driving tractors and maybe even robots working the fields. While that sounds cool and great advances have been made in agricultural technology, the reality is that the future of farming lies in our young farmers.

Farming is vital to our nation’s health and security, and remains an in-demand career. In fact, young farmers have never been more essential to the future success of our nation. That’s primarily because nearly 25 percent of all farmers are over 55 years old. Think about that. Within the next 20 years, we could have a major drop off in active, full-time farmers at the same time that food demand and world population will be higher than ever before.

For those reasons and many more, North Carolina Farm Bureau works tirelessly to discover and prepare agricultural leaders to succeed in the workplace and on the farm, and to become knowledgeable advocates for agriculture. We understand that a greater focus must be given to our future farmers and agriculture leaders, and that resources and creativity are needed to keep the future of agriculture strong and steadfast. That’s why we continue to develop and expand our Young Farmer and Ranchers (YF&R) Program.

Last week, the 2017-18 General Assembly opened this year’s session, and in a few weeks they will dig in on their new legislative agenda. As you probably know, Republicans hold a 74-46 majority in the NC House and a 35-15 majority in the NC Senate. In the NC House, there are 19 new members, seven Democrats and 12 Republicans; in the NC Senate, there are five new members, all of whom are Republicans.Demographic information is important to understanding the composition of the legislature. Instead of looking at the usual race or gender breakdown, we decided to take a look at another bit of demographic information: occupation. Based on NC House and NC Senate Clerk Reports, the leading occupations are attorney, business owner, real estate broker, business executive, and consultant.

So how many farmers are there in the legislature?