2017 State Meeting
2017 NCACAA Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference
June 20-22, 2017
The 2017 North Carolina Association of County Agricultural Agents state meeting will be hosted by the West Central District in Hickory, NC. The meeting will be June 20-22. Our headquarters hotel is the Crowne Plaza Hickory. The West Central District has put together what we think is a great meeting starting with pre-conference activities on June 20th. Annual Leave must be taken for early bird activities. The State Board will hold their meeting Tuesday evening. The meeting will officially begin with Wednesday's opening luncheon, followed by professional development sessions and then the Awards Banquet on Wednesday evening. Hotel Rates & Room Types Hotel room rates have been secured for $99 plus tax at the Crowne Plaza Hickory.
Be sure to ask for the "NC Association of County Agricultural Agents" room block and rate.
Early Bird Activities1) Canoeing Trip Time: Trips leave at 9am and 10am and last about 3 hours.
Location: Zaloos Canoes, West Jefferson
Cost: Group Rate will be $36 for canoes which hold 2 adults and $30 for individual kayaks.
2) Captain's Choice Golf Tournament Time: Tee off at 1 pm (Please plan to arrive by 12:30 pm) Location: Catawba Country Club, Newton Cost: $50 per person
Anyone wishing to play with particular individuals should indicate pairings during registration.
Please forward handicap information (or approximate average score) to Fred Miller (nfmiller@ncsu.edu) by June 10.
Longest drive and closest to the pin contests offered if there is sufficient pre-registration.
Event will be held rain or shine unless the Club deems the conditions unplayable.
If registration falls below the minimum for conducting a competitive golf tournament, tee times will still be available for those wishing to play.
3) Skeet Shoot at Catawba Wildlife
Time: 1pm-5pm (Please plan to arrive by 12:30 pm)
Location: Catawba Valley Wildlife Club, Hickory
Cost: $10 per person (CVWC is a 501(c)(3), so donations are welcome)
Please bring your own shotgun.
Shells can be bought individually or as a group (after registration is complete, shells can be purchased and the cost split among shooters).
We will spend 2 hours on the Skeet Shoot and 2 hours on the Wobble trap. (Unless the majority want to stay on one or the other).
Assistance will be provided to operate equipment.
Professional Development Tours
Tour 1 – Thompson Cattle, Wilson Farms, & Defiant Distillery
Thompson Cattle Company is a cow calf operation using top bloodlines to produce exceptional feeder cattle and replacement heifers. They market cattle on tractor trailer loads each summer. They are also breeders of registered horned Hereford cattle.
Wilson Farms is a large grain farm growing rye, corn and soybeans on over two thousand acres. They also have a state of the art straw baling business, selling small square bales of straw to big box stores. Defiant Distillery are distillers of American single malt whiskey. They are located in Bostic in the foothills of Western NC. This is a premium whiskey that you will love! https://www.visitnc.com/listing/defiant-whisky-distillery
Tour 2 – Agritourism, Dairy, Field Crops, and Rapeseed Processing
Hunting Creek Farms is located on the banks of Hunting Creek in the rolling hills of the North Carolina's Piedmont region. For centuries the red clay soil has provided for the inhabitants who called this home. First inhabited by Native Americans who hunted the abundance of deer, turkey and other wild game. Then by the early Scotch-Irish and Germans, who migrated down the Great Wagon Road in the early 1700's. Original settlers planted tobacco, corn and grains in the rich soil that still provides today. Current crops include corn, soybeans and a small vineyard.
On premises is a 150 year old farm house for wedding ceremonies and a 9,000 square feet refined lodge-styled barn can accommodate up to 300 guests. Hunting Creek Farms keeps a team of eight black Clydesdale horses. It is their desire to give back to the community as they enjoy showing them in the local parades. Also they are exhibited in the Scottish tradition of line and harness events at county and state fairs, and at national exhibitions. http://huntingcreekfarms.com/ Rocky Creek Dairy is situated among the rolling hills of North Carolina in beautiful northern Iredell County, about 10 miles north of Statesville. Established in 1992 as a 400 cow, double-six parlor dairy, has since expanded the facility to a double-16 parallel parlor and are milking an average of 1250 cows, with an additional 1350 heifers. They are a high input-high output dairy continually ranking as one of the three top herds in the state with a rolling herd average of 30,800 pounds. Superior management and attention to details will be found in every aspect of the farm. The focus at Rocky Creek Dairy is to develop cows with longevity that produce an abundance of milk, produce high quality milk and provide an enjoyable and healthy working environment for our employees.
McLain Farms began as a family operation in 1975. Since then the farm has expanded year after year to now include thousands of acres of corn, wheat, soybeans, and rapeseed as well as custom planting and harvesting for other local producers. In 2008 they opened a plant to process their rapeseed to further expand their business. They are a family operation located in Statesville, North Carolina. Tour 3 – Turfgrass Production and Management – Piedmont Turf Farm, Crawdad’s Stadium, and a Golf Course Piedmont Turf Farm, Inc. closely monitors current research in turfgrass production and development of new cultivars, in order to bring its customers a high quality turf and superior varieties for sports or residential use that excel in the climatic conditions in North and South Carolina. A high priority is given to preserving, and even improving on, the quality of the environment through water conservation and the protection of water quality and land issues as they relate to turfgrass production. http://piedmontturf.com/
L.P. Frans Stadium is home to the Hickory Crawdads, the Single A Affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Get a behind the scene tour and discussion of the sports turf management at the minor league baseball stadium.
The other stop on the tour will be a visit to a local golf course to observe the greens management and the daily production and management practices on the course.
Tour 4 – Daddy Pete’s, Deal Orchards, and Atlantic Caviar/Sturgeon
First, we head to Daddy Pete’s composting and bagging facility. Since 1907, the Smith family has been farming 250 acres of land in Stony Point, North Carolina. In 1988, Alan Smith, the fourth generation of the Smith family farmers, began exploring the possibilities of composting the cow manure produced by his dairy cows. As the composting method was developed, he needed a name for the product. His great-grandfather, who originally started the family farm, was nick-named “Daddy Pete”. It was in his honor that the farm named their professional, organic products “Daddy Pete’s Plant Pleaser”. Today there are 16 different Daddy Pete Plant Pleaser Products. http://www.daddypetes.com/ Afterwards we will head to Rocky Face Mountain Recreation Area for lunch. Next on to Deal Orchards, a fruit farm and roadside market tucked in the foothills of the Brushy Mountains. This is an area well known for producing delicious tasting apples. Family owned and operated for three generations, they sell their fruit wholesale and retail. Tree fruits grown include: apples (many varieties), peaches, nectarines and Asian pears. http://dealorchards.com Finally we’re off to Atlantic Caviar and Sturgeon Farm. The LaPaz Group, LLC sturgeon farm is the first sturgeon aquaculture facility constructed in North Carolina, and one of two now in operation. The farm is a recirculating aquaculture facility for the production of caviar and sturgeon meat, with all production taking place in indoor tank systems with a water exchange rate from 7% to 10% per day. The water treatment systems consist of particulate capture and removal with settling and drum screens, biological filtration using moving bed bioreactors, aeration and oxygenation. Now home to over 20,000 sturgeon, the farm is designed to eventually reach caviar production of approximately 1.5 tons annually.
Youth Activities (Open to youth of all ages and adult chaperones)
Wednesday Afternoon Activity (Registration required, bring money if you desire to shop at their souvenir shop)
1:45 pm Meet at front entrance of Crowne Plaza (bring your own car/booster seats if required)
2:00 pm Depart for Catawba Science Center
5:00 pm Return to front entrance of Crowne Plaza (parent pickup)
Wednesday Evening Pool/Pizza Party (Registration required)
5:30 pm Drop off begins for Pool/Pizza party (Lifeguard provided)
8:30 pm Pool/Pizza party ends (or at close of awards banquet)
Thursday Activities (Registration required, bring money if desire to shop at their souvenir shops)
8:00 am Meet at front entrance of Crowne Plaza (bring your own car/booster seats if required)
8:15 am Depart for Emerald Hollow Mine
9:00 am Arrive and enjoy the mining experience
11:45 am Depart for Hickory Dickory Dock
12:30 pm Arrive at Hickory Dickory Dock and have lunch first, then fun
4:45 pm Depart for Crowne Plaza
5:00 pm Return to front entrance of Crowne Plaza (parent pickup)
Spouses and Retired Agents Activities
Wednesday Afternoon Activity
1:45 pm Meet in front entrance of Crowne Plaza
2:00 pm Depart for Harper/Lyerly House
2:10 pm Tour Harper/Lyerly House
3:30 pm Tour Murray’s Mill
4:30 pm Depart for Crowne Plaza
5:00 pm Return to front entrance of Crowne Plaza
Cornhole Tournament (To be held after eating at Hart Square Village on June 22)
Open to all registered meeting attendees
Single elimination team (2 players per team) tournament with cancellation scoring of bag in hole (3) and bag on board (1).
Each game decided by first to 21 points or over.
You must register for the tournament and specify pairings during meeting registration.
Winning team will each be awarded a set of cornhole boards.