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Let the Good Times Grow!
The 2013 North Carolina Association of County Agricultural Agents state meeting will be hosted by the South Central District in Fayetteville. The meeting will be June 18-20. Our headquarters hotel is the Holiday Inn I-95.
The regular rooms are $70 a night by May 17th. Agents need to call 910-323-1600 and give the group name of 2013 NC Agricultural to get the reduced rate. The hotel has 5 double suites and 5 king suites available for a discounted price of $119 by giving the group name 2013 NC Agricultural by May 17th. The suites include a pull out sofa.
The District has put together what we think is a great meeting starting on June 18th with the annual Golf Tournament. The State Board meeting will be held that evening. Pre-Conference Activities will begin early Wednesday morning with a tour to the Smithfield Foods Plant in Tar Heel, one of the largest pork processing plants in the world. Other agents will have the opportunity to attend educational sessions on Parliamentary Procedure, Tobacco Trust Fund Grant Opportunities and Agriability. Agents will also have an opportunity to visit the sponsors’ booths.
The meeting will officially begin on Wednesday, June 19th at 12:30 pm with the Opening Luncheon. Following lunch, we will have the annual business meeting. We will have the Awards Banquet on Wednesday evening.
The Awards Breakfast will kick off bright and early Thursday morning followed by professional development sessions. From there, we will start our educational tours. We have three great tours for you to choose from.
Harnett County – Alternative Energy Focus:
Little River Trails Aquaculture
Owned and operated by Larry Lanier, this aquaculture operation specializes in the production of hybrid striped bass and flounder. The fish barns are converted poultry houses that utilize geothermal energy.
Patterson Greenhouses
Ryan Patterson uses a sawdust fired heating system to heat his greenhouses in order to produce tomatoes and cucumbers from January through July.
Black Farms
Swine producer, L.D. Black turns the methane captured by his covered hog lagoons into electricity that offsets energy usage on the farm. The excess energy is sold back to an electric membership corporation.
Cumberland County:
Gillis Hill Farms
The Gillis family has been farming in NC for over 200 years. Their farm has diversified into many aspects of agriculture including row crops, beef production and agri-tourism.
Cape Fear Botanical Gardens
Founded in 1989, the gardens are located on seventy-eight acres and boast more than 2,000 varieties of ornamental plants. Visitors may view several specialty gardens, including Camellia, Daylily and Hosta gardens.
Green Biz Nursery
In business for more than 30 years, Green Biz operates the largest growing nursery in Cumberland County. They also offer a garden and gift center as well as landscaping services.
Cedar Creek Fish Farm
Family owned and operated, Cedar Creek provides fresh, local catfish and tilapia. Call in an order or fish for them yourself, the folks at Cedar Creek will clean and dress the fish for the individual customer. They also supply restaurants with fresh seafood such as live crabs, shrimp, oysters, clams, fresh crab legs, and scallops.
Robeson County:
Double CA Farms
A diversified farm in the Saddletree Community of Robeson County, Double CA Farms produces row crops, cattle, poultry, and bison. Owner, R.G. Hammonds will discuss his operation and show attendees the bison.
James Locklear Horse Farm
James Locklear’s Horse Farm is an interesting training farm for local racehorses. Horses train and develop at the farm, including using a pond for conditioning.
Lunch will be at Fuller’s Buffet is a locally owned BBQ and seafood restaurant. Fuller’s has been recognized in many magazines (including Our State Magazine) and newspapers as one of the best places in the south to dine.
U.S. Cold Storage
USCS Lumberton is ideally situated to serve a wide range of distribution needs. Located halfway between New York and Florida and with convenient access to CSX rail services the entire eastern seaboard and ports are within easy reach. The efficiently designed facility was constructed to handle high volume blast freezing, ultra low temperature storage and is USDA certified to handle inspections and documentation. Can blast freeze 1.1 million pounds of food a day. Attendees will be able to tour the Cold Storage facility.
Floyd Prawn Farms
Floyd Farm Owner, Jeff Floyd, will discuss with the group the process of beginning a freshwater shrimp farm. Jeff is in his second year of production and will discuss the trials and tribulations of starting the first aquaculture farm in the county.
On Thursday evening, we will have the first ever cornhole tournament and cookout at Arnette Park. We hope you will make plans to attend and look forward to seeing you June 18-20 in Fayetteville!
Youth Activities
On Wednesday afternoon, the youth will visit Noah’s Landing. Come and explore a menagerie of rare and exotic animals and experience them nose-to-nose. Children will gain knowledge by exploring these animals through touch, sight and sound and learn how to preserve these creatures for future generations. On Wednesday evening there will be a pizza and pool party at the hotel. Thursday activities will consist of bowling at B&B Bowling Lanes. Come and learn to bowl in a safe and fun place for children of all ages. The group will go to Seabrook Park and enjoy the afternoon making fun filled memories at Seabrook Park’s swimming pool.
Spouse and Life Member Activities
On Wednesday afternoon, spouses and life members will have the opportunity to learn about local history by touring area history museums. Plans are to visit the Poe House and the Area Transportation and Local History Museum.
On Thursday morning, there are two workshops:
Fun Whimsical Wreath Workshop
Come have fun making a summer mesh wreath for your home. Wreath will be made from wide and narrow mesh, plus coordinating regular ribbon. Once done, you can take home and add any of your own embellishments. Cost for this workshop is $10 and the class is limited to 10 participants.
Photography Workshop
This class will be on learning the basic techniques of photography such as using proper lighting, different lens and proper camera settings etc. You are encouraged to bring your own camera but it is not a requirement.
Cornhole TournamentTo participate in the cornhole tournament, you must register your partner at the time of the State Meeting on-line registration. Please ask partners in advance of registering on-line. Spouses and children are invited to participate in the cornhole tournament, but must be registered on-line. Brackets and placements will be made closer to the date of the tournament. Both partners of the winning team will receive a set of cornhole boards! Any other questions, please contact Michelle Shooter (910) 671-3276 or Randy Wood (910) 277-2422.
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