(The Center Square) – More than $186.2 million is appropriated toward agriculture and agribusiness in North Carolina’s state budget.
The General Assembly gave final votes on Thursday, sending the spending plan to the governor.
The outlay for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is part of $814.2 million across six agencies that comprise the area of agriculture, and natural and economic resources.
The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is ticketed for $327.7 million, Department of Commerce $140.4 million, Department of Environmental Quality $111.9 million, Department of Labor $28.7 million, and Department of Wildlife Resources Commission $18.9 million.
Agriculture and agribusiness are a $102 billion annual economic impact for North Carolina. It has been the state’s No. 1 industry forever. About 42,500 farms are operated on 8.1 million acres from Murphy to Manteo.
The state is eighth in the nation in value of agricultural products sold, 14th in exports.
North Carolina production is No. 1 nationally each in sweetpotatoes, all tobacco, flue-cured tobacco, and poultry and eggs. The state is No. 2 in Christmas tree sales, production of turkeys, and food-size trout sold. It is No. 3 in cucumbers and hogs, No. 4 in peanuts and broilers (chicken), and No. 5 in cotton.
Additionally, $58.5 million is to be transferred to the Agriculture Department from the Stabilization and Inflation Reserve; $7 million in Hurricane Helene funds will go to the Agriculture Department for the Forest Development Program; and $7.5 million in State Capital and Infrastructure Fund allocations will go to the Agriculture Department’s capital projects.
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