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UMO Announces 2026 AgPrime Funding for Farmers and Agribusinesses

The University of Mount Olive (UMO) Lois G. Britt Agribusiness Center announces the 2026 AgPrime Cost-Share Grant Opportunity in partnership with the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission (TTFC).

AgPrime funding is available to North Carolina farmers and agribusiness owners for new and innovative ideas that can increase farm profits. The University of Mount Olive’s Lois G. Britt Agribusiness Center oversees the program, which will serve 33 NC counties in North Carolina from Montgomery to Currituck.

Mr. Edward Olive, Director of the Lois G. Britt Agribusiness Center, said, “The program is designed to strengthen farms and communities that have been impacted by changes in the tobacco economy. The creativity and innovation that exists, within the thirty-three North Carolina counties included in the AgPrime program, is inspiring and we are excited to be part of helping those farms and agribusinesses attain capital to reach the next level within their business plan.”

UMO AgPrime grants are available to farmers and agribusiness owners in Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Gates, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Montgomery, Moore, New Hanover, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Onslow, Richmond, Robeson, Scotland, Tyrrell, and Washington counties.

Funding proposals of up to $10,000 will be considered for farmers and agribusinesses that are agriculturally dependent and have viable ideas for new and innovative agricultural projects. Priority is given to applicants who earn at least 50% of their personal income from their farm operation or agribusiness entity, and to current and former tobacco farmers or former quota holders. Funding is made available by the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and administered by the Lois G. Britt Agribusiness Center at the University of Mount Olive.

Source : umo.edu

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Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.