Program News
Ossie and Mary Betty Kearney, along with son Andrew, all farmers in Snow Hill, N.C., were recipients of an N.C. Value-Added Cost Share (NCVACS) award. The Kearneys own and operate Nooherooka Natural, a farm that specializes in Black Angus beef raised without added hormones or antibiotics. Their beef is distributed to retail locations, restaurants and individual families throughout eastern North Carolina. The business is at a pivotal stage of growth where demand for their product could outpace supply without careful inventory management.
Henry and Tracy Moore of Bobcat Farms in Clinton, N.C., recently received an N.C. Value-Added Cost Share (NCVACS) award. The Moore’s began their farming operation as pork production, but have been adding Black Angus cattle to their livestock mix. They plan to expand their beef business through branding and marketing to provide further financial diversity and security for the farm.
Wilson and Debbie Daughtry, owners of Alligator River Growers in Engelhard, N.C., on behalf of three Hyde county farms and Parker Farms, in southeastern Virginia, were recipients of an N.C. Value-Added Cost Share (NCVACS) award. These vegetable growers are looking to establish a packaging business for fresh produce, including snap beans, sweet corn and broccoli florets, creating a ready to cook product.
Gov. Beverly Perdue announced a package of programs, the Family Farm Innovation Fund, to help North Carolina farmers rebound from the recession. The N.C. Value-Added Cost Share program (NCVACS), administered by N.C. MarketReady, will receive $150,000 from the Family Farm Innovation Fund, as well as an additional $150,000 from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to expand its equipment cost share program for value-added producers and processors of N.C. agricultural commodities.
The Produce Lady, aka Brenda Sutton, will be interviewed about U-pick farms on the Morning Living show on Martha Stewart Living Radio. Tune in Monday, August 2, 2010 at 7:30 AM.
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) recently recognized Dr. Blake Brown and Diane Ducharme of the N.C. MarketReady program for achievements in their respective areas. Dr. Brown received the Faculty Resource Development Award and Ducharme accepted an Award for Excellence.
The Produce Lady is encouraging North Carolinians to invest more of their holiday food budgets in local foods and healthy eating this Easter. Find recipes and tips to share a community’s fresh produce to family and friends while supporting the local economy.
The North Carolina Value-Added Cost Share (NCVACS) program, administered by N.C. MarketReady, is now accepting applications for the spring funding cycle, Equipment Cost Share. This program is funded by the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to support the development of value-added agricultural operations, an emerging sector of North Carolina agriculture. Applicants can seek to purchase new or used equipment with cost share funding. Equipment cost share awards will vary from 25 to 50 percent of the total cost of the equipment, up to a maximum of $25,000.
N.C. State University's Program for Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture will become N.C. MarketReady, effective Oct. 20. "We are excited about this new name," said Dr. Blake Brown, the director of the program. "The new name, N.C. MarketReady, more accurately communicates the scope of our program's work."
N.C. Cooperative Extension, in cooperation with the N.C. Fresh Produce Safety Task Force, is leading an initiative to educate fruit and vegetable growers and consumers about measures that can minimize food safety risks. The organization has received more than $250,000 in grant funding to support the statewide Extension and research effort.
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