Troxler Announces Over $12.4 Million in Grants to North Carolina Food Manufacturers and Processors

Sep 10, 2024

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler today announced $12.4 million in awards that will focus on the expansion of current food manufacturers and processors with the goal of increasing value-added goods and products manufactured in the state. A total of eight projects that include produce, meat and dairy products received initial awards through the N.C. Agricultural Manufacturing and Processing Initiative (NCAMPI).

“We have been working to create more value-added opportunities for farmers and have been successful in lobbying the General Assembly for funds that will help strengthen our food supply. This provides a great benefit to both farmers and consumers.” Troxler said. “This inaugural round of NCAMPI-funded products will increase farmer opportunities, reduce costs to both the farmer and consumer, result in more jobs and leverage $63.4 million in private investment right here in North Carolina. We know our famers and growers need more options close by to process and distribute their products and these projects will help address these needs.”

NCDA&CS administers NCAMPI with funding provided by the General Assembly to increase N.C. agricultural manufacturing and food processing capacity.

Following are the August 2024 grant recipients and projects, in alphabetical order by county:

Johnson Breeders Inc. of Duplin County -- $1 million for corn handling/drying
Maola Milk of Guilford County -- $980,600 for school milk production
FlavorFull Slices of Henderson County -- $220,000 for an apple slicer
Origin Foods LLC of Iredell County -- $2,297,000 for dairy equipment
Ripe Revival of Nash County -- $1,956,266 for vegetable processing
Cardinal Foods of Pender County -- $4,309,512 for sweet potato processing
Foster Caviness of Pitt County -- $158,152 for vegetable processing
Mitchell’s Meat Processing of Stokes County -- $1,511,801 for livestock processing

Source : ncagr.gov

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.