-Information courtesy Turner A. Pride Jr., County Extension Director, NC Cooperative Extension

This year the Vance County Cooperative Extension Office is turning our focus to the women in agriculture in our area.  As integral parts of the agriculture community, we want to provide support for their endeavors and push them to the forefront.

In the spring of 2019, the team is planning to offer a program to cultivate and honor the women in agriculture in Vance County.  This program is called the Vance County Women in Agriculture Leadership Program. Our office will put together a nomination committee to select five to six women with strong agricultural ties to participate in the program. This could be a teacher, farmer, ag business worker/owner, backyard gardener, etc.

By offering a collaborative learning experience we hope to strengthen agricultural ties of the women in Vance County, provide an opportunity to share and learn from each other and to promote a future for agriculture in Vance County.

While in the program these women will have the opportunity to network with and learn from some of the leading women in agriculture from around the state through numerous “lunch and learn” sessions.  Some of the topics covered will include agriculture resources and programs, business development, marketing, time management and more. We want this group to receive a worthwhile and empowering experience, as well as the opportunity to tap into the various resources available around the state.

To culminate their time together and celebrate their contributions to agriculture in Vance County, we will be hosting a banquet at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market in May. At that time, we will recognize all of these women and the nominated winner for the Vance County Woman of the Year in Agriculture.

As we prepare for the kick-off of this program in April, we want to reach out to the community for your thoughts. If there are individuals that you may feel would benefit from this opportunity, please contact County Extension Director Turner Pride at (252) 438-8188 or tapride@ncsu.edu.