Agricultural Advancement Consortium
Demonstration Grants
July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009
N.C. Peanut Growers Association, $50,000, to market peanut products to drug stores, which are carrying increasing numbers of grocery items. The demonstration project targets Kerr Drug's 164 stores, with the potential to sell nearly 1 million pounds of peanuts a year.
Center for Environmental Farming Systems, $25,000, to develop a blueprint for moving North Carolina toward a more local, sustainable food system and economy. The blueprint will include policies, programs and funding needs. The Center for Environmental Farming Systems is a collaboration of N.C. State University, N.C. A&T State University and the N.C. Department of Agriculture.
N.C. State University, $24,000, to design and develop prototypes for portable hand-washing facilities that farm workers can use in the field. One large and one small unit will be built for testing. The project seeks to remedy a potential cause of the spread of food-borne illnesses.
Western N.C. Mushroom Growers Cooperative, $12,500, to establish a shared-used facility for growing, processing and storing mushrooms. The facility will be located in the Madison County Multi-Purpose Agricultural Complex.
Blue Ridge Food Ventures, $10,000 to test a winter version of community-supported agriculture. In community-supported agriculture, members pay a fixed fee up front to receive a share in a farm's produce for a growing season. Under this model, Blue Ridge Food Ventures will preserve and hold produce for delivery over the winter months.
July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2008
N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, $30,000 to support a public information campaign on the importance of the wise use of the state's water resources. This effort, also funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation and other sponsors, responded to widespread drought and water shortages.
UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health, $25,000 to study copper ionization as a method for eliminating pathogens in surface waters used to irrigate or wash produce on eastern North Carolina farms.
July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2006
Dole Foods Projects. As Dole Foods builds a bagged salad packaging plant in Gaston County, it has indicated that it also will consider a berry processing facility in eastern North Carolina if growers can supply an adequate stream of produce. Two research projects are investigating the feasibility of increasing the state’s berry production and whether this would be a profitable option for farmers.
- N.C. State University, $149,995, for applied research to develop and enhance production systems and breeding programs for strawberries and blueberries.
- N.C. A&T State University, $37,396, to examine the potential for small-scale and limited-resource growers to supply small fruit for a processing facility in North Carolina.
N.C. Sweet Potato Growers Association, $20,000, to increase sales of fresh market sweet potatoes by developing and implementing a comprehensive marketing strategy.
Rural Advancement Foundation International USA, $20,000, to assist independent poultry and rabbit producers by aiding conversion of a processing facility in Siler City to a cooperative business structure.
N.C. State University, $12,000, to help establish a value-added center in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The center’s goal will be to support projects that maximize the value of N.C. agricultural products through manufacturing or further processing.
July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2004
N.C. Christmas Tree Association, $20,000, to market and promote North Carolina-grown Fraser fir trees for sale across the United States.
N.C. Coalition of Farm and Rural Families, $14,500, to demonstrate plasticulture to North Carolina farmers as an effective horticulture technology. In plasticulture, black plastic is used as a weed barrier and for moisture control. This project also involved the use of a new potting technique to sell decorative potted plants.
Operation Spring Plant, $20,000 to provide outreach and training for minority farmers. Training was focused on production management, farm finances and record keeping.
New River Community Partners, $20,000, to assist local agricultural producers in the New River basin with marketing their value-added products in Ashe, Alleghany and the surrounding northwest mountain region.
Rural Advancement Foundation International, $20,000, to benchmark and evaluate the foundation’s farm financial counseling program.
N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, $20,000, to demonstrate a farmstead cheese program. The grant paid for two dairy pasteurizers that were each leased for one year to small dairy farmers trying to develop a marketable cheese product.
N.C. Agricultural Foundation, $7,500, to research and conduct market tests on a soybean-based cooking oil that shows promise as an alternative to traditional vegetable oils.
AdvantageWest Economic Development Group, $20,000, to purchase a juice pasteurizer to enable several apple growers in western North Carolina to safely produce apple juice and cider for sale in the region’s booming tourist market.
N.C. Agricultural Foundation, $10,000, to promote organic pork meat to the natural foods market and to market the product to buyers on the East Coast.
N.C. Farm Bureau Legal Foundation, $10,000, to help farmers and farm families transfer their assets from one generation to the next.
Carolina Producers Recycling Cooperative, $20,000, to fund an engineering and analysis report for a cooperative of poultry producers to study the use of composted poultry litter. The project involved composting the Sara Lee Co.’s waste stream, or effluent, with the litter to produce a marketable compost product.
North Carolina State University, $6,000, to provide farm families with the training to deal with and recover from the damaging effects of natural disasters, such as hurricanes and flooding.