Issue Position: Family Farms

Issue Position

Family farms are the backbone of North Carolina Agriculture. According to data from NC State University, Agriculture and Agribusiness is the leading industry in North Carolina generating $70 billion in value added income and accounting for 660,000 jobs.. We need to do everything possible to protect our farms. According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, between 1999 and 2006, the state lost 10,000 farms and close to 500,000 acres of farmland. The losses are even greater among African-American farmers. The average age of farmers in North Carolina is around 58. We will use every resource available to help keep these farms in business and to encourage younger people to farm. We will partner with the private industry, NC State University, and NC A&T (our land grant universities) to find more crops that can be grown on smaller acreages. We will work with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service to help smaller farmers become more profitable. I will have the Department place special emphasis on encouraging and helping to find young new farmers. We will work closely with our Land Grant Universities to identify potential new farmers and inform them of educational programs, loans, and grants that are available for beginning farmers.

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