Staff

(All photos courtesy of Laurie Paolicelli) More than 100 people turned out for the 2015 Agricultural Summit, held at the Whitted Building in Hillsborough. Featured speakers included: Jeff Manley co-founder and director of The Rock Ranch, a 1,500 acre working-farm located in Upson County, Georgia and Annie Baggett, agri-tourism marketing specialist with the NCDA&CS Marketing Division and owner of Sunshine Lavender Farm located in Schley, in northern Orange County. Since 1992, food sales from farms directly to consumers in Orange County increased from $40,000 to $1,422,000 according to an Orange County, NC Census of Agriculture Data, 1992-2012. Farms selling food directly to consumers increased from 29 farms in 1992 to 120 farms in 2012.
The Orange County Ag Summit has become an example of strong partnerships within the agriculture industry. The success of the summit has always been a byproduct of side-by-side collaboration among Orange County elected officials, agriculture industry leaders, university research, teaching, and extension.