NC

Several agriculture advocates and association came together some time ago to form the NC Animal Ag Coalition. Charles Hall, CEO of NC Soybean Producers Association explains the goal of the Coalition:

“The Coalition is a diverse group that represents North Carolina’s farming community. The principle stake holders include the NC Pork Council, NC Poultry Federation, the State’s Cattleman Beef Association, the Farm Bureau Federation and the State Soybean Association. The reason we are coming together to do this project is that we know our farms look different than they have in the past, but our commitment to safe, high quality food produced hasn’t changed.”
 

One of the goals of the Coalition is to meet face-to-face with consumers and help them understand where their food comes from:

“We will be engaging some of the stakeholders in the state over the next few months and also help the consumers at the grass roots level understand why farms have changed and what it means for our food and our future. Hopefully opinion leaders, policy leaders and consumers will see us out there doing events and learn more about the state’s animal industry.”
 

And over the weekend at the Got to Be NC Festival, meat producers in the state, as well as the Soybean Association were at the Food Expo educating consumers about where their food comes from. Milo Lewis and Ashley Herring were visiting with festival attendees:

“It’s important for producers in NC and across the country to understand where their food comes from. In 2050 the US will have to produce twice the amount of food that we currently produce. In order to do this we must promote our industry and make consumers aware of how important the agriculture industry is. It’s time that we promote what we do because we essentially put the food and fiber on your table every single night.
We have had lots of folks come by our booth today. A lot are seeking beef recipes, particularly to help them follow a healthy and lean lifestyle. 

I think the Got to Be NC event has helped people learn a lot. While the focus in on food, food is based on agriculture so it’s important that our consumers can see the work that we do.” 
 

The North Carolina Animal Ag Coalition is just over a year old.

You can learn more about the Coalition by visiting their website.