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Congresswoman Alma Adams to speak March 28 at Small Farms Week
Story Date: 3/9/2018
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Source: NC A&T UNIVERSITY, 2/16/18
U.S. Rep. Alma S. Adams, Ph.D., will deliver the keynote speech at the Small Farmers’ Appreciation Luncheon on March 28, the capstone of the 32nd-annual Small Farms Week at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The luncheon will be held noon-2 p.m. in the Alumni-Foundation Event Center at North Carolina A&T.
Sponsored by Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T, Small Farms Week recognizes the crucial role small farms play in the state’s $84-billion agriculture industry and offers workshops, farm tours, demonstrations and more each year during the last week of March.
“I’m proud to visit my alma mater to celebrate Small Farms Week and raise awareness about the unique challenges impacting small farmers,” said Rep. Adams. “As the Agriculture Committee considers the Farm Bill this spring, I will continue to be a vocal advocate for small farms and the resources they need to thrive.”
In addition to Adams, speakers at the luncheon will include Rosalind Dale, Ph.D., associate dean and administrator of Cooperative Extension at A&T; Shirley Hymon-Parker, Ph.D., interim dean of A&T’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences; and North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. The event also will feature the presentation of the 2018 Small-Farmer-of-the-Year Award.
Serving her second term representing the 12th Congressional District of North Carolina, Adams is a member of the Agriculture Committee, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Small Business Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee. She is also a founding member of the bipartisan HBCU Caucus, which now boasts nearly 70 members in the U.S. House and Senate.
In 1994, she was appointed to serve in the N.C. House of Representatives. She went on to serve 10 terms, rising to become the chair of the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus. She served nine years on the Greensboro City Council after beginning her political career in the 1980s as the first African American woman elected to the Greensboro City Board of Education.
Adams earned her bachelor’s in 1968 and her master’s in art education in 1972, both from A&T. She received her doctorate in art education and multicultural education from The Ohio State University in 1981. For 40 years, she taught art history at Bennett College.
Small Farms Week will kick off with a discussion and farm tours March 26 in Robeson County, home of the 2017 N.C. Small Farmer of the Year. Events will continue March 27-28 at A&T, culminating in the Small Farmers’ Appreciation Luncheon.
Cooperative Extension at A&T supports small-scale farmers with educational programs designed to promote sustainability and profitability. Last year alone, it made almost 50,000 contacts with farmers.
Tickets to the luncheon are $30 for the general public and free for farmers who register in advance. To register or to learn more about the schedule of events, please visit the Small Farms Week webpage: http://www.ncat.edu/caes/sfw/.
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