Press Releases

           North Carolina’s longest tradition is just around the corner – the N.C. State Fair. This weekend will be the last weekend for the flea market before the fairgrounds close to the public to allow for fair preparations.

RALEIGH – North Carolina agriculture’s fall bounty will be on full display at the State Farmers Market’s fall Harvest Festival on Thursday, Sept. 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. From pumpkins to apples and sweet potatoes to peanuts, the garden center area located just behind the State Farmers Market Restaurant will be a hub of activity.The Harvest Festival is free to the public and will incorporate games, information and fun for both the young and the young at heart.

RALEIGH -The N.C. Department of Agriculture plans to award up to $1.5 million in grants for research projects that aim to advance agriculture and the agricultural economy in North Carolina. With that goal in mind, the department is requesting grant proposals that fit into any of the following programs:

FLETCHER – Great weather and strong community support delivered strong attendance numbers for the 2024 N.C. Mountain State Fair sponsored by Ingles Markets. Total attendance was 149,334, besting last year’s attendance by 2,056.

Over $1,600 was awarded and bragging rights settled in the first four special cooking contests at the N.C. Mountain State Fair. Carole Carter of Mountain Home took first-place honors and earned $100 for her Fresh Tomato Pasta with Italian Sausage recipe in the N.C. Tomato Growers Association’s North Carolina’s Fresh Tomatoes Contest. Her recipe used fresh tomatoes from Johnson Farm.  

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler inducted dairy farmers Ralph and Barbara Ross and longtime Western NC advocate L.T. Ward into the N.C. Mountain State Fair Livestock Hall of Fame during the fair’s opening weekend. These individuals were inducted for their longtime support to the fair and the livestock industry in Western North Carolina.

The following are winners in the N.C. Mountain State Fair’s opening weekend poultry, rabbit, sheep, goat and beef cattle categories:Youth Poultry Show

RALEIGH – The N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund recently awarded $18.2 million to protect working farms and forests, support county farmland preservation efforts and promote agricultural enterprises.

RALEIGH – The N.C. State Fair’s Farm Family of the Day, sponsored by Tractor Supply Company, is returning for its fourth year to recognize and celebrate more of our state’s rich agricultural heritage and the farm families that are behind our $111.1 billion agriculture and agribusiness industry.

RALEIGH – Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler today announced $12.4 million in awards that will focus on the expansion of current food manufacturers and processors with the goal of increasing value-added goods and products manufactured in the state. A total of eight projects that include produce, meat and dairy products received initial awards through the N.C. Agricultural Manufacturing and Processing Initiative (NCAMPI).