NC AgVentures, an NC State Extension program that provides grants to NC family farms to implement agricultural projects that will increase farm profits, has announced it will be accepting applications starting October 15, 2024. This program is sponsored by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission.

Producers in the following counties are eligible to apply: Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Cabarrus, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Forsyth,, Gaston, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, Martin, Mecklenburg, Nash, Northampton, Orange, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Union, Vance, Wake, Wayne, Wilson, Wilkes, Warren, and Yadkin.

NC AgVentures offers two funding options:

• Individual Farmer grants for independent family farms
• Community Grants for local non-profit community organizations such as NC State Extension, farming associations, farmer co-ops, farmers markets

For this program, producers must work with their extension agent, found by clicking here.

The application will open October 15th. The deadline is December 15th. The application workshop slides provide information on the grant program including eligibility requirements, deadlines, and match requirements. 

Contact program coordinator [email protected] for any inquiries or visit https://agventures.ces.ncsu.edu/grant-program/ for more information.

North Carolina is home to a number of funding institutions supporting strategies necessary for economic growth. As a result of Golden LEAF’s strategic plan, one of the five strategic priorities is to have, and be recognized for, excellence in organizational collaboration, innovation, and impact. To help address this goal, Golden LEAF will help spotlight North Carolina funding opportunities related to its funding priorities of Job Creation and Economic Investment, Workforce Preparedness, or Agriculture through its newsletter in spotlights, articles, rural resources section or Critical Conversations episodes.

 

By Emma Godwin, Golden LEAF External Affairs Intern

Golden LEAF Scholar and Wayne County native, Macy Parkhurst was born and raised in Pikeville with a deep rooted love of her community.

After applying to several colleges her senior year of high school, Parkhurst was not sure where she wanted to go. On a campus tour of the University of Mount Olive (UMO), Parkhurst got an overwhelming sense that this was where she needed to be.

“The Lord told me this is where I needed to be,” said Parkhurst. “So I listened and I am so glad that I did.”

Parkhurst was raised on her grandfather’s farm where she learned the value of what it means to be in a rural, tobacco-dependent community. Parkhurst originally had no idea about Golden LEAF until her grandfather informed her about the foundation and suggested she go apply. She knew the Golden LEAF Scholarship was something she wanted to apply for since she has a passion for her community and giving back to her hometown.

“That was a big reason why I applied, but I really love how Golden LEAF’s main goal is encouraging people to go back to their rural hometown,” said Parkhurst. “That is something I am really passionate about, is my hometown little ol’ Pikeville. I love it.”

Ever since she was little, Parkhurst has wanted to go to law school and become an attorney. Her inspiration sparked from her grandmother, who told her when she was younger that she can do anything she puts her mind to and she would be a great attorney one day.

“Little 10-year-old Macy said I am not doing that,” said Parkhurst, “but it really stuck with me for the rest of my life.”

Parkhurst entered the UMO as a Business Administration major, since the university did not offer a Pre-Law program. Parkhurst loves a challenge and to her the major did not give her that challenge. It was until she took her first accounting class where she found her challenge.

“After going to my accounting professor for help just one time, it clicked for me,” said Parkhurst. “This is where I found my love for accounting. I got my challenge, and I loved it!”

After a conversation with her accounting professor she had a push to switch her major to accounting. Parkhurst was hesitant at first because she had a year left until she graduated and it was a risk to take out of fear she would fail.

“After the switch, it opened many doors to internship opportunities,” said Parkhurst. “I gained experience doing what I loved.”

She had five internships in the span of three years at UMO, but the one that really stuck out was Atlantic Casualty working in their accounting department. Atlantic Casualty is an insurance company based in Goldsboro underwriting insurance in all 50 states. While interning there she still felt the concern that it was not challenging enough for her. But, on her last day there she was offered the part-time position of litigation assistant.

“I’m currently in my third week and learning a lot,” said Parkhurst. “If I did not change my degree to accounting, I would be stuck in this bubble of what is my next step.”

Parkhurst’s position entails her being an assistant to the Claims Counsel, who is an attorney for Atlantic Casualty. Parkhurst assists the Claims Counsel in administering things such as writing up responses to outside counsel or suits. She also writes responses and works with the insurance side of things when it comes to policies.

“I’m excited that I got the best of both worlds, with a job combining law and accounting,” said Parkhurst.

Parkhurst said the Golden LEAF Scholarship’s mission is to encourage students to return to their hometowns and give back to their communities that gave so much to them.

“Without Golden LEAF I do not think that I would have the education and the opportunities that I have today,” said Parkhurst. “Don’t ever give up, even if things look like they may not happen, just do it anyway it doesn’t matter what people say or think.”

Learn more about Parkhurst’s employer, Atlantic Casualty. 

 

Recently, Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer Scott T. Hamilton sat down with Laura Kilian, NC Ag Leads staff and Associate State Legislative Director at NC Farm Bureau via Zoom and filmed an episode of Critical Conversations. In this series, Scott talks with professionals about economic development issues affecting the state.

NC Ag Leads is a strategic planning initiative for the North Carolina agriculture industry that will position the state’s number one economic driver for continued success. In January 2023, the Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors met at the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension in Kinston for the annual strategic planning retreat to discuss ways to broaden our impact in rural and economically distressed areas. Golden LEAF Chairman at the time, Don Flow, raised the idea of developing a strategic plan for agriculture in North Carolina. Asking the question, what can Golden LEAF do to help best prepare North Carolina to continue as a leader in agriculture into the future? Golden LEAF began the conversation with members of Commissioner Troxler’s team, the Farm Bureau, and the Chamber later in the spring, and a few weeks later NC Ag Leads was born.

Golden LEAF is proud to be a key funder in the NC Ag Leads Initiative, which was officially announced November 9th of 2023. Kilian, along with Ray Starling, General Counsel of the NC Chamber and President of the NC Chamber Legal Institute, accepted the roles and responsibilities to drive the NC Ag Leads process, along with support from Sarah Grace Stone and members of the NC Chamber team.

NC Ag Leads is a phased approach to making a tangible difference in the ag economy. Kilian shared that the NC Ag Leads team has traveled across the state to facilitate 23 focus groups, reaching 68 counties and over 340 members of North Carolina’s agriculture industry to date. NC Ag Leads hosted Imagine Ag Day with thought leaders to think outside the box. The team also held an “Agricultural Industry Wargame” designed to further explore the challenges uncovered during Phase 1 of the project. Additionally, the team met one-on-one or in groups with legislators, congressmen, farmers, commodity leaders, community college presidents, and other higher education institutions. The focus has been on farmers and agribusiness growth on micro and macro levels.

The Golden LEAF Board recognized the importance of a Steering Committee that includes agriculture leaders in North Carolina who would be dedicated to putting in the work. The NC Ag Leads consists of Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer Scott T. Hamilton, along with Golden LEAF Board Members Lawrence Davenport, Laurence Lilley, and Don Flow, as well as Commissioner Troxler, Shawn Harding, and Gary Salamido. Kilian said the Steering Committee challenged the NC Ag Leads team to come up with a to-do list of aspirational and attainable results from the strategic planning process. The Steering Committee meets with NC Ag Leads on a regular basis and hears weekly updates.

Kilian said the NC Ag Leads team distilled Phase 1 into five recurring themes. These themes included the need for a talent pipeline, the competition for land in a fast-growing state, the access of farmers to their target markets, generational concerns with an aging farming population and the next generation of consumers, and farm support systems that do not always support farming.

Phase 2 began over the summer, Kilian said. She said there are six focus groups that are working on issues that were identified in Phase 1. The working groups are collectively titled HARVEST:

H – Harmonize land and resource use in a growing state, which focuses on addressing land and resource use pressure within the state of North Carolina. Farmland competition and water storage and diversion fit here, along with a coordinated and renewed discussion regarding continued strategic management of our animal agriculture footprint.

A – Align technology supply and demand, which focuses on achieving alignment between the burgeoning agri- and animal-tech industries within North Carolina and the state’s diverse and adaptive farming community.

R – Reinforce farmer support systems, which focuses on equipping farmers and agribusinesses with tools sufficient to guard against disruption, inclusive of shocks and challenges that may arise on legal and policy fronts.

V – Value a business mindset across the industry, particularly on the farm, which focuses on ensuring the entire sector embraces an “ag as a business” mindset that enhances our growers’ business planning, transition planning, and credit management expertise.

E – Empower and equip the agriculture workforce, which focuses on pursuing alignment among agricultural education efforts so that we have the best trained and most plentiful labor supply our system can produce. Pursue a “Talent Pipeline Management” strategy that results in aligning talent demand with supply.

S – Streamline market access efforts, which focuses on removing barriers to key markets, increasing market access (in some instances, establishing greater aggregation), capturing as much of the food dollar as possible on the farm (value added efforts), and exploring vulnerabilities that could cause mass economic casualties if disruption were to happen quickly (e.g., addressing one buyer issues and vertical ag dependence).

T – Teamwork and leadership are the key to moving from key issues to key outcomes, which focuses on the engagement and support from North Carolina’s agriculture community, which has been instrumental in the success of NC Ag Leads’ progress so far.

Next steps, according to Kilian, is that the six working group leaders will work to achieve actionable steps for issues identified to move North Carolina’s agriculture economy forward.

To learn more about NC Ag Leads, visit ncagricultureleads.com.

 

In August 2024, the Golden LEAF Foundation welcomed new Program Officer, Elizabeth Byrant.

“We are excited for Elizabeth to join the team to help carry out the mission of Golden LEAF,” said Scott T. Hamilton, Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer. “Elizabeth’s skills and expertise in grant and program development, program monitoring, and evaluation will be an asset to the Foundation’s work.”

Prior to joining Golden LEAF, Bryant worked in Planning and Community Development administration for municipal and county governments for fifteen years. Most recently, she served as Executive Director of a regional natural resources nonprofit, overseeing grant and program development, program monitoring, and evaluation. 

As a program officer, Bryant will evaluate funding proposals, support the implementation of Golden LEAF priorities, and provide oversight for the project monitoring and compliance activities.

A native North Carolinian, Bryant holds a Master of Public Administration from North Carolina State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies and Economics from Meredith College. Bryant resides in Edenton with her husband and their three children. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing yoga, teaching junior high Sunday school, and cheering on the Wolfpack.

 

In February 2020, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded $300,000 through the Economic Catalyst Program to Wayne County for the construction of an access road into the publicly-owned ParkEast Industrial Park. The road creates a loop in the park and a secondary access to serve several sites within the park including the office of Atlantic Casualty Insurance Company.

“In April 2018, there was a fire at a plant adjacent to the park which resulted in the only road that serves the park being closed by emergency vehicles for several hours, blocking access to Atlantic Casualty’s building and others,” said Foucht. “Atlantic Casualty required a secondary access road before it would expand in the park.”

Craig Foucht, President of Wayne County Development Alliance, said that the building of the road crucial to the expansion of Atlantic Casualty Insurance Company was possible thanks to a team of funders.

“The completion of Ivey Drive within ParkEast was made possible by $300,000 in critical Golden LEAF Foundation funding,” said Foucht. “In addition to Golden LEAF funding, the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Rural Infrastructure Development Fund contributed $500,000, the North Carolina Department of Transportation provided $400,000, and the County of Wayne supplied the remaining funds necessary for the road’s construction. Duke Energy also contributed $50,000, which was used for the road’s engineering.”

Atlantic Casualty had 97 employees in the park and expanded its facility by 30,000 square feet. The company will add 83 employees by December 31, 2025 to bring the total employment to 180. The new jobs will pay an average wage of $54,398, compared to the county average of $37,063. The expected private capital investment is $11,830,000.

So far, Atlantic Casualty has created 61 full-time jobs and has provided $19 million in privately owned property, plant, and equipment.

Additionally, other businesses have located in the park in buildings that will be served by the new road. Hosokawa, for example, has purchased a shell building across from the road on Challen Court. Hosokawa will create an additional 16 jobs and create a capital investment of $6.3 million.

“We are excited to have Atlantic Casualty expand and to welcome Hosokawa, Allanza Team Foods USA, and Select Genetics to ParkEast,” said Craig Foucht, President of Wayne County Development Alliance. “These companies will not only enhance our local economy but also bring additional jobs to Wayne County. Their presence is a testament to the success of our ongoing development efforts, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact they will have on our community.”

Golden LEAF considers Economic Catalyst Program applications that assist eligible state, regional and local economic development entities with grants to support permissible activities in projects in which a company will commit to create a specific number of full-time jobs in a tobacco-dependent or economically distressed area. Economic Catalyst Program projects are under Golden LEAF’s Job Creation and Economic Investment priority area. These projects gather data to support the following:

• Investment in publicly owned infrastructure
• Investment in privately owned property, plant, and equipment
• New full-time jobs created
• Average annual wage of new full-time jobs
• Business start-ups

Read about a Golden LEAF Scholar who is working at Atlantic Casualty. Learn more about the Golden LEAF Economic Catalyst Program and the Job Creation and Economic Advancement priority.