Golden LEAF works with partners on growing the agricultural economy

Golden LEAF works with partners on growing the agricultural economy

November 17, 2022

Agriculture is a top industry in North Carolina. The mission of Golden LEAF is to increase economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural, economically distressed, and tobacco-dependent communities. Golden LEAF views agriculture projects as an economic development engine. Golden LEAF supports agriculture by funding projects that support the development of new crops, expanded markets for agriculture products, scientific research, training for farmers, cost-effective techniques, and value-added agricultural enterprises.

Some of the ways Golden LEAF measures the success of an agriculture project is through tracking the number of participants at agricultural trainings, new publications directed towards farmers, and the monthly use of agricultural facilities that benefit farmers. Other outcomes of agriculture projects include jobs, revenue growth, new agricultural business formations, economic output, changes in agricultural practices; acres in production; and new crops/ products grown or produced.

Learn more about some of Golden LEAF’s agriculture partners and projects funded below:

North Carolina Food Innovation Lab growing food business in North Carolina
To capture more of the business involved in processing agricultural products and to further grow the state’s agricultural economy, a new pilot plant facility focused on food manufacturing opened in 2019 at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis. 

Working Landscapes expansion connects small farmers to new markets
Small, local farmers are connecting to new markets thanks to an expansion of the Working Landscapes Food Hub in Warren County.

Critical Conversations with President of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Shawn Harding
Harding, a farmer for over 30 years, discusses the role of the North Carolina Farm Bureau and the roles technology and the youth play in the future of agriculture.

Funder Spotlight: N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission
The N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission’s mission is to assist tobacco farmers, former tobacco quota holders, persons engaged in tobacco-related businesses, individuals displaced from tobacco-related employment, and tobacco product component businesses in the State affected by the adverse effects of the Master Settlement Agreement.

Critical Conversations with NC Chamber President & CEO Gary Salamido
Salamido discusses the labor shortage and ways to overcome it, the NC Chamber’s Ag Allies conference, the Golden LEAF SITE Program, and the NC Chamber’s Coolest Thing Made in NC contest.

Plant Sciences Initiative growing team to build state’s agriculture economy
The N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative (PSI) building dedication was held April 12, 2022. Since then, the PSI has added key personnel to help build the state’s agriculture economy.

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