Source:  NCSU College of Ag & Life Sciences, 3/8/11

Dear Commodity Leaders,

Many of you have asked how you can help with educating our general assembly members of the importance of agricultural programs to NC agriculture.

I am asking you to contact your legislator by letter, email or in person to let them know the importance of agricultural programs to your industry.

I am including a sample letter that you may use.  Feel free to make it personal or to make it specific to your commodity.

Thank you for your assistance.

Johnny C. Wynne

Dean and Executive Director for Agricultural Programs

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

North Carolina State University
 

TALKING POINTS:

Our state’s $74 billion agricultural industry supports 19 percent of our total economy and 17 percent of our workforce, yet North Carolina invests only one-half of one percent of the current state budget in funding for agricultural programs. From agricultural research conducted by the N.C. Agricultural Research Service, we gain information that makes our state’s agricultural producers more productive, profitable and competitive. N.C. Cooperative Extension teaches agricultural producers how to use this research information. Together, these agricultural research and extension programs spark economic activity and create jobs.

Agricultural research and extension are part of the solution to the state’s continued economic recovery, and the modest funding provided to these effective organizations is not part of the budget problem. North Carolina’s investment in agricultural programs in recent years has been conservative. Since 2000, agricultural programs funding has grown by only 18 percent as compared to 43 percent growth in overall state spending. Agricultural programs funding reductions in the 15 percent range would bring research and extension programs back to 2000 levels and result in the loss of 250 jobs directly supporting agriculture. A budget cut of this magnitude would diminish research and extension services to the state. The success of North Carolina agriculture and of our young people are directly related to these programs.

Examples of accomplishments include:

• Plant breeders at N.C. State have developed more than 700 new crop varieties and breeding lines during the past 60 years. Currently, 68 percent of N.C. blueberry acreage, 80 percent of the sweet potato acreage, 86 percent of the peanut acreage, 60 percent of the tomato acreage, 75 percent of pickle cucumber acreage and 99 percent of oat acreage are planted in these N.C. State varieties. The total value of these crops to North Carolina is more than $260 million.

• Income from growing sweet potatoes has doubled since 2005. The bulk of this $90 million increase is a result of greater demand, primarily from increased exports led by the introduction of a sweet potato variety called Covington, which was developed by an N.C. State sweet potato breeder. A high percentage of Covington sweet potatoes are the highest quality sweet potato grade, while Covington sweet potatoes also store and ship well. Curing and controlled storage technology, developed by N.C. State agricultural engineers, allow year round sweet potato sales by North Carolina growers.

• The apple industry in Western North Carolina, previously in decline, is now worth $17 million annually. The major reason for this resurgence is the development of improved storage technology by agricultural engineers and the invention by two plant physiologists of the active ingredient in a product called Smart Fresh that improves apple storage life.

• A microwave food processing technology invented by N.C. State food scientists led to the development of a company called Yamco that processes sweet potatoes to produce sweet potato puree. Yamco, in Snow Hill, employs 75 people.

• N.C. Cooperative Extension’s 4-H program is the state’s largest youth development effort and teaches leadership and citizenship skills to 219,000 youth ages 5 to 19. 4-H members are 50 percent less likely than non-4-H members to smoke cigarettes, shoplift or use illegal drugs and 20 percent more likely to hold a leadership position in their school or community. Moreover, 40 percent of 4-H alumni have completed a university degree, compared to 28 percent of people nationwide.

• Extension’s Family and Consumer Sciences program provides community-based educational programs that reduce the burden on the health care system, increase graduation rates, reduce food safety risks for consumers, increase energy efficiency for homeowners and reduce personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures.

State appropriations for the N.C. Agricultural Research Service and the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service are included in the state’s higher education budget, which is developed through the Education Committee in the North Carolina House and the Education/Higher Education Committee in the Senate.Agricultural appropriations are separate from UNC System academic appropriations. Individual universities within the UNC System will raise tuition to soften the impact of budget cuts; however, student tuition will not be used to reduce the damaging effect of cuts to the agricultural programs budget. 

Drastic cuts to agricultural programs funding will hurt North Carolina agriculture, which is a bright spot in our economy. We are not asking that agricultural programs be spared.  However, we are asking that the budget reductions to research and extension programs be minimized since the Ag Programs budget does not receive the benefits of tuition or enrollment increases.