Press Release AgVentures Grant

February 24, 2026

LOCAL GROWERS AWARDED NC AGVENTURES GRANT

Sara Drake: sadrake@ncsu.edu

Two Orange County farmers have received a NC AgVentures Grant, a grant program aimed at supporting family farms. Patrick Purcell and David Henderson are among 68 recipients earning grants between $2,000 and $10,000 from the NC AgVentures Farm Grant Program.

The funding for the competitive grant is provided through the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and is administered by NC Cooperative Extension. The grants are awarded for agricultural project ideas aimed at helping family farms increase their capacity. 

Patrick Purcell, with BelleVue Dairy, transitioned his dairy farm into a beef operation four years ago. They manage their pastures through rotational grazing and stockpiling forages when possible. Funding from the grant will allow the farm to enhance their cattle working facilities.

David Henderson, with Red’s Quality Acre, produces naturally grown, sustainable vegetables year round. Crops include salad greens, root crops, herbs, and summer fruits. David plans to replace an old propagation house with a new purpose-built, energy-efficient structure.

In addition, Transplanting Traditions Community Farm (TTCF) and the Triangle Prescribed Burn Association (TPBA) have received a community grant. Transplanting Traditions Community Farm is a collective of refugee farmers working together to increase access to land, healthy and culturally significant food, and agricultural entrepreneurship. With funding support, TTCF will update facilities, including their wash/pack station and greenhouse. The Triangle Prescribed Burn Association covers six counties that come together to use fire as a tool for best land management practices to restore the land, reduce fuel loads in the forests, enhance plant diversity, increase animal habitat, and ultimately reduce wildfires in the region. The TPBA will utilize funds to purchase equipment needed to help clear underbrush in forests when conducting a prescribed burn.

The North Carolina General Assembly created the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission (TTFC) in 2000 to lessen the financial impact on farmers and tobacco-related businesses caused by the sharp decline of tobacco in the agricultural economy. Through their programs, the TTFC supports local markets, funds training for new jobs, promotes North Carolina products, and makes farms safer.

Cooperative Extension is an educational partnership of the state’s two land-grant universities, North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University, county governments and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA). Its mission is to extend research-based knowledge to all North Carolinians, helping them transform science into everyday solutions that improve their lives and grow our state.

Read more at: https://agventures.ces.ncsu.edu/grant-program/