About Us
The Program for Value-Added and Alternative Agriculture brings together multidisciplinary teams to address the needs, challenges and opportunities of North Carolina farmers. We develop and deliver educational programs and information resources that help farmers be successful. Our programs are designed to enhance and integrate farmers’entrepreneurial, business, production, marketing and risk management skills. We work closely with North Carolina Cooperative Extension field faculty who work directly with farmers across the state. We are part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at NC State University.
In January 2008, our Program faculty relocated to the new North Carolina Research Campus at Kannapolis. Our Program will work closely with NC State University’s new Plants for Human Health Institute, bridging life science research to real-world agricultural applications.
Our Work
Helping North Carolina Farmers Produce a Safe, Quality Product
As the public interface for NC State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute, a major focus of our efforts will be to offer educational programming and integrated resources designed to help growers improve their business enterprises and produce safe, fresh, quality produce for North Carolina markets and beyond.
We are pleased to announce that two recent grants – one from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension (SARE) and the other from the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission – will help our team facilitate the development of curricula on fresh produce safety in terms of good agricultural practices (GAPs). We will educate Extension agents, growers and farm workers on GAPs, food safety plans and risk management issues related to growing and selling fresh produce. N.C. Cooperative Extension faculty will offer educational programs to address the needs of produce growers selling to wholesale markets across North Carolina and the east coast, and directly to consumers at local farmers markets and roadside stands.
North Carolina Fresh Produce Safety Task Force
This Task Force is a subcommittee of the Governor’s NC Food Safety and Defense Task Force. Formed in April 2007, the task force consists of five working groups: Executive Oversight, Education, Regulation/Communication, Research and Industry/Policy Relations. It brings together representatives from education, public policy, government and the fresh produce industry.
Team member Diane Ducharme, Extension Associate, horticulture and food safety, shares leadership of the task force with Chris Gunter and Trevor Phister, specialists from NC State University’s Department of Horticultural Science and Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutritional Sciences, respectively.
Team member Rod Gurganus, Extension Associate, entrepreneurial horticulture, is part of the executive oversight working group. He integrates food safety management and entrepreneurial horticulture resources.
Team member Gary Bullen, Extension Associate, new enterprise evaluation and business management, works to develop business skills, direct marketing and cost-benefit analysis for implementing risk management techniques associated with fresh produce.
Team member Leah Chester-Davis, Coordinator of Communications and Community Outreach, and Extension Communication Specialist, works with the task force on a wide range of communications efforts, including crisis communications curricula, a communications plan and a fresh produce safety Website.
All team members work together to facilitate working relationships with government entities, industry and other partners.
New and Profitable Agricultural Enterprises
In 1983, 27 percent of cash farm receipts in North Carolina came from tobacco. In 2006, that number dropped to 6 percent. During that same period, the value of production from poultry and hogs grew from 34 percent to 60 percent. Cash receipts from the sale of Christmas trees, greenhouse and nursery products grew from 3 percent to over 12 percent of the total. A major factor in the changing face of agriculture is the growth in North Carolina’s population. An increasingly health conscious and affluent population is increasing the demand for specialty and locally grown produce and meats.
“The greatest threat to North Carolina agriculture is urban growth; the greatest opportunity for North Carolina agriculture is urban growth.”
Dr. Blake Brown, Director, Program for Value-Added and Alternative Agriculture
Our Program Team helps tobacco-farm families and others add new, profitable enterprises to capitalize on the increased interest in locally produced foods. Our work is through Cooperative Extension Centers across the state. It includes:
- providing business management resources to help farm families evaluate and implement new value-added enterprises,
- working with cooperatives to develop business management plans and
- helping farmers to market more effectively through both local and international markets.
A major tool to reach both Cooperative Extension faculty and farmers is this Website that features the information needed to evaluate and start a particular enterprise.
These projects are supported by the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission.
