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image1Tuesday, October 20th was a big day for Henderson County. USDA Undersecretary Bill Northey visited our part of North Carolina. Southern Mountain Fresh member Turf Mountain Sod hosted the round table discussion with local growers. Of the many things on farmers' minds, were issues related to how the pandemic has caused problems they’ve had to navigate.

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COVID-19 prompted many changes for the N.C. Apple Festival this year, including the cancellation of the street festival and King Apple Parade.
But it didn’t stop the merchants and businesses in the community from participating in an annual tradition to share facts, products and support our local apple growers.

When President Trump's Motorcade stopped at Henderson County's Flavor 1st on Monday afternoon, he marked the second sitting President to visit Henderson County in more than 30 years.  Interestingly, agriculture brought that President  as well.  In 1992 President George H.W. Bush came to Hendersonville to make an appearance at the Apple Festival.  On this visit, President Trump used Flavor 1st and other Henderson County farmers as examples to the country for how government can partner with companies to work at "business speed" in order to match an opportunity with a need.   Since April, the Farmers to Families Food Box program has placed over 1 billion pounds of food with over 100 million needy families across the US.  In many cases, much of this food could have lay rotting in fields as the COVID-19 virus resulted in the shut down of many food service industries nationwide.   Read more about the visit here.

Recognizing the hard work that area farmers like AgHC Members Kirby Johnson and Kenny Barnwell have done, President Trump came to Mills River on Monday to personally tour Flavor 1st and praise farmers participating in the Farmers to Families Food Box Program.  The program was launched by the Trump administration to help use the surplus of produce that was created when restaurants and other food related business were forced to close due to the Pandemic.     Kirby Johnson summed up his participation in the program by saying  “This is one of the highlights of my life, but I couldn’t have done it by myself, I just happened to be the one to get the call. It helps my farmers, my farm and people in need.
You don’t realize how much some people are hurting,” he said. “This has to do with taking care of America. It’s what I grew up in and what I hope never changes.”  Read more about the visit here.

North Bay Produce (Michigan-based) is a long-time AgHC member.  They buy blackberries from Henderson County, which are sold in local grocery stores such as Aldi.  They just announced the rollout of their new packaging this week!  Learn more here. 

BrightFarms, a leading grower of locally grown salads for supermarkets, broke ground on a new 280,000 sq. foot hydroponic greenhouse in Henderson County, North Carolina. Once complete, the facility will produce more than 2 million pounds of locally grown produce for supermarkets in the region.

By growing produce close to its consumers, BrightFarms delivers its local, pesticide-free baby greens to supermarkets in as little as 24 hours of harvest, about a week faster than leafy greens grown on the West Coast. The Henderson County greenhouse will ship more than 2 million pounds of fresh leafy greens to North Carolina supermarkets each year. As consumer demand for local produced has increased, BrightFarms has played a key role for national retailers that are looking to source from farms closer to their stores.

Henderson County-based AgHC member Flavor 1st Growers & Packers is providing produce boxes across North Carolina for families in need of food due to the COVID crisis.   Flavor 1st is partnering with Baptist on Mission through the USDA's Farmers to Families Food Box Program.  The group will distribute 12,000 food boxes per week to families throughout North Carolina.   

The video explains more about the program. Also notice all of the folks wearing the AgHC masks that were provided by Manual Woodworkers through a grant from Carolina Farm Credit.  Its really great to see so many AgHC members stepping up to help those in need across the state!

Congratulations to Burntshirt Vineyards, North Carolina's Winery of the Year, for winning a Gold medal for their Meritage and Reserve Chardonnay in the "East Meets West" wine competition!

"(This is) more great news of a well-deserved recognition.  Thanks to (Burntshirt) for putting Henderson County on the map as a producer of quality wine," said Mark Williams, Executive Director of Agribusiness Henderson County.

Read the complete press release from Burntshirt: 

soil 386749 1920Are agricultural businesses allowed to remain open during the pandemic? What can agricultural businesses do to protect their employees and clients? Is our food supply safe?

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recognizes agriculture as a critical industry, and the NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) encourages agricultural businesses, especially those in food production and distribution, to remain open for business.

Visit the NCDA&CS COVID-19 page for helpful information on how the Ag industry is being impacted by the pandemic, how you can respond to the challenges and demands on your business, get COVID-19 Farming Resources, and more.