Source: NCDA&CS, 2/9/16


Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss

“Today’s Topic.”
The 11th annual Ag Development Forum on Feb. 4 drew more than 300 people to learn about challenges and opportunities in North Carolina agriculture.

Topics included life on family farms, innovative approaches to feeding the hungry in North Carolina, and the economic boost the state could experience from increased food manufacturing.

A panel of family farmers representing the foothills, sandhills and eastern North Carolina discussed challenges and opportunities in their respective regions of the state, and how they balance farm and family life. Troxler tells Rhonda it’s important for people to understand what these families are going through.

Another group of presenters featured representatives of food banks, supermarkets and hunger-relief groups, who focused on ways that North Carolina is addressing hunger and food insecurity.

Commissioner Troxler wrapped up the forum with his annual State of Agriculture address, which highlighted how the state’s agriculture and agribusiness industry can grow to $100 billion in economic impact by 2020. The keys, he says, are food manufacturing, international markets, agricultural research and partnerships, and policy.