March 28, 2024
At the February meeting, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded $8,510,465 to support 13 projects through the Community-Based Grants Initiative in the Piedmont-Triad Prosperity Zone, including four projects focused on agriculture.
Golden LEAF supports agriculture projects as an economic development engine. Our awards for agriculture projects have supported the development of new crops, expanded markets for agriculture products, scientific research, training for farmers, cost-effective techniques and value-added agricultural enterprises.
Projects awarded in this priority area will gather data to support outcomes including the number of participants at agricultural training sessions, the number of new publications directed towards farmers, and the monthly use of agricultural facilities that benefit farmers.
Golden LEAF also reviews narrative outcomes including jobs, revenue growth, new agricultural business formations, economic output, changes in agricultural practices; acres in production; new crops/products grown or produced; and other measures of agriculture projects.
Each project listed below focuses on an area where there is a need for equipment and/or infrastructure to support the local agriculture industry.
Alamance County was awarded $300,000 for farm equipment and to construct an equipment shed needed to develop a demonstration farm to conduct small plot research and help farmers make decisions about which crops to produce, and learn how to produce crops more profitably.
The North Carolina Cooperative Extension – Caswell County Center was awarded $120,000 for equipment to train and to rent to primarily small to medium agricultural producers in the area to improve their local food production enterprises and provide drone technology for data-informed crop management decisions that can reduce production costs, and some outreach and marketing costs.
Randolph County was awarded $1,000,000 for equipment to support training for farmers and to be leased to farmers from the new Agricultural Center that is under construction. The center will provide technical assistance, training, and resources on best practices in agriculture, including crop cultivation, livestock management, and sustainable farming techniques.
Rockingham County was awarded $700,000 for a 60 foot by 120-foot building and to purchase equipment for holding and loading cattle that farmers can use to aggregate and load out truckload groups of calves, improving their profits. The complex will also be used to provide hands-on training for cattle producers on recommended practices.