Leaders Tour Eastern North Carolina July 31-Aug. 1

N.C. A&T leaders and Cooperative Extension officials are given a tour of the Small Farm Unit at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro.

University leaders, including Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. and Dean Mohamed Ahmedna, toured Eastern North Carolina July 31-Aug. 1 to see Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T’s outreach in action. The trip covered more than 500 miles in two days and visited farms, a community development organization, Innovation Station, a community garden and more.

Coordinated by Cooperative Extension, the tour highlighted Extension’s work to provide research-based information to people with social, cultural and economic barriers to upward mobility. It provided leaders with an opportunity to meet residents of the region and learn more about ways to strengthen existing partnerships and create new ones.

The tour left campus at 6 a.m. and made its first stop in Vance County at the ReBuilding Communities NC Cultural Center in Henderson. The group was given a tour of the facility by local community activist Edythe Thompson, who became more engaged in local affairs after taking part in Community Voices, a leadership development program created by Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T.

While in Henderson, the group also visited the urban farm of Henry and Ardis Crews, who have been actively involved with Cooperative Extension since 2014. The Crewses have become certified beekeepers, put in a worm farm and aquaponics tank, and built three hoop houses for season extension. The tour continued to the Vance County Regional Farms Market, which opened in 2014 and supports direct sales by area farmers.

The tour visits Greene Community Garden, which was created with a grant from Cooperative Extension and land provided by the town of Snow Hill.

The group had lunch at the Warren County Armory and Civic Center. County Manager Vincent Jones, Warren County Extension Director Crystal Smith, Dean Ahmedna, Chancellor Martin and County Commissioner Victor Hunt, who is a member of Extension’s Strategic Planning Council, made remarks during the lunch program. Additional speakers, including former U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton, who served five terms in Congress, addressed partnerships and potential partnerships with Extension.

“The opportunity to get out with this team and interact with the incredibly engaged citizens of North Carolina warms our hearts,” Martin said during the lunch. “We can talk a lot about the things we do as a land-grant institution – the teaching, the research and the engagement. But talk is cheap; actions always speak louder than words.

“This is an opportunity for us to come and engage with exceptionally talented people, and to see whether we’re delivering on our promise as a land-grant institution to provide the kind of assistance that communities need.”

During the afternoon, the tour visited Porter Farms in Lenoir County and a community garden in Greene County. In Lenoir County, husband-and-wife team Stephen and Jamie Porter explained how their farm has gradually shifted emphasis from wholesale to retail. Selling directly to consumers at their farm and nearby farm stands offers a higher return.

In Greene County, the group was given a tour of Greene Community Garden, a growing space created in 2011 with an $11,000 Innovation Grant from Cooperative Extension and land provided by the town of Snow Hill. Extension staff worked with 4-H youth and their families to start the garden. With major contributions from volunteers, it provides a place for limited-resource families and individuals to grow healthy produce and learn gardening skills.

The tour continued to Wayne County, where the group had dinner at the Maxwell Regional Agricultural & Convention Center. Speakers included County Manager Craig Honeycutt, Wayne County Extension Director Kevin Johnson, Dean Ahmedna, Chancellor Martin and W. K. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Agriculture Kathleen Liang, who is co-director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) in Goldsboro.

“We are proud of where we are, but we are not satisfied,” Ahmedna said at the dinner. “We want to reach new heights, and we can’t do that alone. We count on you to voice what needs to be done and to combine resources and effort with us to better meet the needs of our communities.”

After spending the night in Pittsboro, the tour visited the Small Farm Unit at CEFS. The Small Farm Unit brings together the resources of A&T, NC State, the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and other community partners to deliver research and demonstration of sustainable production and marketing practices to diverse audiences.

The tour continued to Duplin County to visit Master Blend Family Farms, a pastured pork operation owned by 2018 Small Farmer of the Year Ronald W. Simmons Jr. and his wife, Laurita. The farm near Kenansville includes a general store that sells a variety of locally grown products in addition to pork.

Simmons started raising pigs in 2012 after consulting with James Hartsfield, an area farm management agent with N.C. Cooperative Extension in Duplin and Sampson counties. Simmons credits Extension with helping his operation thrive.

The group then traveled to Tabernacle Holiness Church in Bladen County to see Innovation Station in the field. N.C. A&T’s Innovation Station, a 41-foot-long mobile makerspace, brings technological resources and STEM education to schools and community-based organizations.

Through making, tinkering and engineering, children and youths learn 21^st-century skills and the value of “design thinking.” Since it was unveiled in October, Innovation Station has traveled to 18 counties throughout North Carolina, providing introductory and advanced STEM lessons for more than 2,000 children and youth in grades K-12.

The final stop before the tour returned to Greensboro was New Ground Farm in Robeson County. Millard and Connie Locklear established the farm in 2011 and grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables along with culinary and medicinal herbs. They’re the fifth generation of Locklears to farm and maintain the cultural traditions of the Lumbee Tribe.

University leaders, including Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. and Dean Mohamed Ahmedna, toured Eastern North Carolina July 31-Aug. 1 to see Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T’s outreach in action. The trip covered more than 500 miles in two days and visited farms, a community development organization, Innovation Station, a community garden and more.

Coordinated by Cooperative Extension, the tour highlighted Extension’s work to provide research-based information to people with social, cultural and economic barriers to upward mobility. It provided leaders with an opportunity to meet residents of the region and learn more about ways to strengthen existing partnerships and create new ones.

The tour left campus at 6 a.m. and made its first stop in Vance County at the ReBuilding Communities NC Cultural Center in Henderson. The group was given a tour of the facility by local community activist Edythe Thompson, who became more engaged in local affairs after taking part in Community Voices, a leadership development program created by Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T.

While in Henderson, the group also visited the urban farm of Henry and Ardis Crews, who have been actively involved with Cooperative Extension since 2014. The Crewses have become certified beekeepers, put in a worm farm and aquaponics tank, and built three hoop houses for season extension. The tour continued to the Vance County Regional Farms Market, which opened in 2014 and supports direct sales by area farmers.

The group had lunch at the Warren County Armory and Civic Center. County Manager Vincent Jones, Warren County Extension Director Crystal Smith, Dean Ahmedna, Chancellor Martin and County Commissioner Victor Hunt, who is a member of Extension’s Strategic Planning Council, made remarks during the lunch program. Additional speakers, including former U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton, who served five terms in Congress, addressed partnerships and potential partnerships with Extension.

“The opportunity to get out with this team and interact with the incredibly engaged citizens of North Carolina warms our hearts,” Martin said during the lunch. “We can talk a lot about the things we do as a land-grant institution – the teaching, the research and the engagement. But talk is cheap; actions always speak louder than words.

“This is an opportunity for us to come and engage with exceptionally talented people, and to see whether we’re delivering on our promise as a land-grant institution to provide the kind of assistance that communities need.”

During the afternoon, the tour visited Porter Farms in Lenoir County and a community garden in Greene County. In Lenoir County, husband-and-wife team Stephen and Jamie Porter explained how their farm has gradually shifted emphasis from wholesale to retail. Selling directly to consumers at their farm and nearby farm stands offers a higher return.

In Greene County, the group was given a tour of Greene Community Garden, a growing space created in 2011 with an $11,000 Innovation Grant from Cooperative Extension and land provided by the town of Snow Hill. Extension staff worked with 4-H youth and their families to start the garden. With major contributions from volunteers, it provides a place for limited-resource families and individuals to grow healthy produce and learn gardening skills.

The tour continued to Wayne County, where the group had dinner at the Maxwell Regional Agricultural & Convention Center. Speakers included County Manager Craig Honeycutt, Wayne County Extension Director Kevin Johnson, Dean Ahmedna, Chancellor Martin and W. K. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Agriculture Kathleen Liang, who is co-director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) in Goldsboro.

“We are proud of where we are, but we are not satisfied,” Ahmedna said at the dinner. “We want to reach new heights, and we can’t do that alone. We count on you to voice what needs to be done and to combine resources and effort with us to better meet the needs of our communities.”

After spending the night in Pittsboro, the tour visited the Small Farm Unit at CEFS. The Small Farm Unit brings together the resources of A&T, NC State, the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and other community partners to deliver research and demonstration of sustainable production and marketing practices to diverse audiences.

The tour continued to Duplin County to visit Master Blend Family Farms, a pastured pork operation owned by 2018 Small Farmer of the Year Ronald W. Simmons Jr. and his wife, Laurita. The farm near Kenansville includes a general store that sells a variety of locally grown products in addition to pork.

Simmons started raising pigs in 2012 after consulting with James Hartsfield, an area farm management agent with N.C. Cooperative Extension in Duplin and Sampson counties. Simmons credits Extension with helping his operation thrive.

The group then traveled to Tabernacle Holiness Church in Bladen County to see Innovation Station in the field. N.C. A&T’s Innovation Station, a 41-foot-long mobile makerspace, brings technological resources and STEM education to schools and community-based organizations.

Through making, tinkering and engineering, children and youths learn 21^st-century skills and the value of “design thinking.” Since it was unveiled in October, Innovation Station has traveled to 18 counties throughout North Carolina, providing introductory and advanced STEM lessons for more than 2,000 children and youth in grades K-12.

The final stop before the tour returned to Greensboro was New Ground Farm in Robeson County. Millard and Connie Locklear established the farm in 2011 and grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables along with culinary and medicinal herbs. They’re the fifth generation of Locklears to farm and maintain the cultural traditions of the Lumbee Tribe.