Meeting focuses on ag's future
By Steve Herring
Published in News on August 23, 2015 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Dr. Chris Daubert, left, head of the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Science at N.C. State University, was one of the speakers Wednesday at the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce Hot Topics "Agribusiness is Our Business" luncheon at Lane Tree Golf Club. At right is Dr. Sandra Maddox, assistant professor and director of the Lois G. Britt Agribusiness Center at the University of Mount Olive. Not pictured is Jacob Traverse, director of the AgBiotech Enterprise and Technology Development at the N.C. Biotechnology Center.
North Carolina's booming agriculture and agribusiness industries were hailed Wednesday morning as the state's "new economy" that holds the potential to be as big as textiles and furniture once were in the state.
Local and state perspectives on agriculture and agribusiness were the topic of the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce Hot Topics "Agribusiness is Our Business" luncheon at Lane Tree Golf Club.
Speakers for the program were Dr. Chris Daubert, department head and professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences at N.C. State University; Jacob Traverse, director of the AgBiotech Enterprise and Technology Development at the N.C. Biotechnology Center; and Dr. Sandra Maddox, assistant professor and director of the Lois G. Britt Agribusiness Center at the University of Mount Olive.
"My interest today is to share with you the perspective of the life science portion of our agriculture industry in the state," Traverse said. "I hope to share with you a perspective that not only are we a great agriculture state, but that we are a global leader in life sciences related to animal health and crop production and crop protection.
"This provides a great basis for the initiatives and strategies that you have to build off this in your region."
Agriculture is the largest sector of the state's economy accounting for more than $76 billion in the state's annual income and providing more than 700,000 jobs (nearly 17 percent of the workforce), he said.
North Carolina has one of the most diverse agricultural bases in the nation and is a leader in production of sweet potatoes, hogs, poultry, tobacco, cotton, peanuts, watermelons and herbs.
By 2050 the world's population is expected to reach 9 billion, he said.
"We will need to produce more food than human society as produced to date," he said. "So this is a pretty grim challenge. It is being driven not only by growth in population, but more of the world wanting to live and eat like we do.
"That is going to put more and more demand on every single acre of arable land on the planet. We really believe that biotechnology is a toolbox to deliver on that."
The purpose of the Biotechnology Center is to create jobs, Traverse said.
The center has a wealth of resources and contacts on which to draw, he said.
"If we can help find that right person for you, that is what we are here for," he said. "We want you to call us. We would love to help you if we can."
Daubert talked about the North Carolina Food Processing and Manufacturing Initiative.
"Clearly we are going to have to increase dramatically our food supply and enhance efficiency of its delivery," he said. "We believe this goal can be achieved through expanded processing capabilities and new technologies.
The Legislature asked N.C. State and its Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences to evaluate the potential for food processing and manufacturing to contribute to the state's economy, but also achieve and address the global food challenge, he said.
"We believe that food processing and manufacturing has the potential to be as big as textiles and furniture once were in our state," he said. "We are talking about the next economy for our state."
The state has the raw materials, the scientists and workforce to make that happen, he said.
Ms. Maddox said Traverse and Daubert had laid the foundation for her comments on how to make the connection between agriculture and education.
"They have told you the jobs are out there; the jobs are growing," she said. "The future is in agriculture. Who is going to fill those positions? Who is going to be educated enough, trained well enough to go in and take over what you guys are already doing?"
Ms. Maddox said she wanted to talk about how the university's agriculture and agribusiness center are doing just that.
The region is fortunate to have a network of excellent community colleges that offer programs in agriculture, she said.
The University of Mount Olive is one of only three in the state to offer a bachelor's degree in agriculture in the state. The other two are N.C. State and North Carolina A&T, she said.
Mount Olive is the only private institution in the state offering Bachelor of Science degrees in Agribusiness, Agriculture Education and Agricultural Production Systems, Ms. Maddox said.
Community college students with associate degrees in agriculture can transfer the full two years to the university, she said.
The majority of the 130 students enrolled in the university's agriculture programs are from eastern North Carolina and make up 13 percent of its traditional student body.
Of the students in that field of study, 71 percent are from rural communities in eastern North Carolina; 23 percent from west of Interstate 95; and 6 percent from out of state (Florida, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia).
The Lois G. Britt Agribusiness Center was set up to with two focuses, she said.
"One was to provide agricultural outreach and to impact economic development in rural communities," Ms. Maddox said. "It was also set up to develop agricultural degrees so that students could go to the University of Mount Olive and return to the rural communities that they came from and serve as leaders and educators in those communities.
"What is different about the programs that we offer in our ag degree programs? Folks, I can sit and lecture kids all day long about the principles and theories of agriculture. But until they get out and they do it, they don't get it."
She said that 80 percent of the students in the programs have internship or are taking on summer employment because people in the community have said they want to try them out.
That network is growing, she said
Mount Olive also offers students an opportunity to gain 11 different standard industry certifications, she said.
"The thing I like to say is that we not only give them a diploma -- we give them a resume," Ms. Maddox said. "And we give you a trained, educated and ready-to-work workforce.
"At career placement we are at 100 percent of our graduates -- 100 percent have careers in the field that they want to be in."