APB agenda 061902 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Programs and Services Provided • Fund pesticide recycling centers • Respond to fires, spills and disasters involving pesticides • Increase consumer awareness and demand for NC agricultural products through programs such as Goodness Grows . • Provide domestic and international marketing.for North Carolina crops and livestock • Operate 5 statewide Farmer's Markets, 2 agribusiness facilities,* state fairgrounds, Mountain State Fair and NC State Fair • Help farmers sell food and fiber in statewide locations including retail food service, wholesale, military, institutional, school systems and local and regional farmer's markets • Collect, compile, analyze and disseminate up -to -date prices, trends,'information and movements in NC agriculture products for farmers, consumers, media and agribusiness • Create jobs and encourage economic growth by expanding and recruiting agribusiness in the state • Weights & measures calibration service offered to industries to help meet regulatory and contract requirements • Assist homeowners, landowners and municipalities to meet permit requirements by soil and waste analysis • Operate 6 statewide animal disease diagnostic labs • Consumer protection against fraud from unlicensed structural pest applicators • Train industry personnel to identify and grade agricultural products according to USDA standards and consumer preference Work with FFA, 4 =H and other youth programs to increase awareness and understanding of agriculture • Alert consumers to emergency recalls and services provided by the NCDA &CS • Develop and maintain policies and plans that support the agricultural community's efforts to prepare for and respond to emergency events • Distribute USDA foods to school systems and hunger relief agencies and solicit the use of locally grown produce • Provide and maintain 18 research facilities to increase food and fiber production and quality while sustaining the environment • Protect agricultural and horticultural crops by preventing and minimizing the invasion and spread of plant and animal pest and diseases • Protect native plants by restoring their natural habitats and seeking biological controls of pest species • Promote new crops and livestock through ongoing diversification of farming • Provide county governments, soil and water conservation districts and rural communities a consistent approach to all regulations and policies developed by federal and state agencies which impact rural areas of the state, socially, economically and structurally