Executive Director’s Report: February 2022
- Posted by Emily
- On March 28, 2022
- 0 Comments
Accomplishments:
- Farm Bureau Women’s Conference
- Legislative Issues: Letter to our Congressional Delegates
- Year of Trail Committee Meeting
- Great Trail State Coalition Meeting
- Orange County Agricultural Summit
- Grant Reviews
- Recap of our 50th Year Celebration Activities
- NCSU Equine Educational Unit Updates
- Equine Expo
Discussion:
The month began by attending the annual Farm Bureau Women’s Conference. There were representatives from 84 counties. Multiple breakout sessions were offered including a presentation on current and future trends in Agriculture presented by Dr. Sandy Stewart. Other topics that were attended included: Time to Lead from within: running for public office and how to approach your legislative leaders, Building Resilient Grazing Systems, and Crucial Conversations presented by the American Farm Bureau. The highlight of the conference was the keynote speaker, Jason Brown. Jason spoke with us about his calling to Agriculture leaving behind a successful NFL career.
Of deep concern and highlighted by the Farm Bureau conference was the rising cost of fertilizer and other agricultural items. These costs impact all aspects of our farming community. The NC Farm Bureau requested the sign on of all agricultural commodities on a letter to our Congressional Delegates asking them to address this critical issue. Other legislative requests included signing a petition to not change the definition of the Waters of the US (WOTUS) from the text signed under the past Administration which was more favorable to Agriculture.
The Year of the Trail Committee met to select trails to be highlighted by PBS during the celebration in 2023. The list below is not final but reflects possible trails to be highlighted. Equine Trails are asterisked.
| NW NC |
| Elk Knob State Park |
| Green Knob/Sims Pond Loop Trail |
| Profile Trail at Grandfather Mountain |
| Rough Ridge |
| Appalachian Trail at Roan Mountain |
| Linville Gorge Area, Hawksbill Mountain |
| Rocky Knob Mountain Bike Park |
| Deep Gap Trail Mountain Mitchell State Park |
| Middle Fork Greenway |
| Moses H. Cone Memorial Park* |
| SWNC |
| DuPont Forest* |
| Art Loeb Trail – Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain, Sam’s Knob |
| Clingman’s Dome |
| Rainbow Falls, Gorges State Park |
| High Shoals Falls, South Mountains State Park |
| Thermal Belt Rail Trail |
| French Broad River Paddle Trail and Greenway |
| Ecusta Trail |
| Fonta Flora State Trail |
| South Mountains State Park – All Equestrian Trails* |
| Charlotte |
| Pinnacle/Ridgeline Trail – Crowders Mountain State Park to SC State Line – |
| Cross Charlotte Trail/ Little Sugar Creek Greenway – |
| South Fork Trail |
| South Fork Rail Trail – Lincolnton |
| Irish Buffalo Creek Greenway – |
| Baker’s Mountain Trail |
| Latta Plantation* |
| Morrow Mountain state Park* |
| Triad |
| Haw River Trail (hike and paddle) |
| Stone Mountain State Park Loop Trail |
| Downtown Greenway, |
| Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area, |
| Salem Lake Trail with connection to downtown Winston-Salem via Salem Creek Greenway* |
| Hanging Rock Trail |
| Grindstone, Jomeka, and Ledge Spring Trails Pilot Mountain State Park |
| Knight Brown Nature Preserve |
| Smith River Greenway |
| Cedarock Park* |
| Uwharrie National Forest Trail System* |
|
Triangle |
| Sandy Pines Preserve* |
| American Tobacco Trail* |
| White Oak Greenway |
| Company Mill Trail, Umstead State Park |
| NC Art Museum Trails, Raleigh |
| Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area |
| Cox Mountain Trail, Eno River State Park |
| Or do a segment on the East Coast Greenway in the Triangle and capture several trails |
| Coastal |
| Goose Creek Trail at Goose Creek State Park |
| Nags Head Woods Preserve |
| Croatan National Forest-Neusiok Trail |
| Currituck Banks National Estuarine Reserve |
| Lake Waccamaw State Park |
| Carolina Beach State Park |
| Gary Shell Cross City Trail |
| Lumber River Paddle Trail |
| Dismal Swamp Canal Trail and Paddle Trail |
| Duck Trail & Boardwalk |
| Cape Fear River Trail |
| Roanoke River State Trail |
| Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center* |
| Medoc Mountain State Park*
Croatan National Forest – Pinecliff Trails* |
|
The Great Trail State Coalition also met in February. Topics addressed during this meeting included: Executive Committee elections, Committee Updates, a vote on the legislative agenda and a discussion of the legislative strategy. Our lobbyists have already reached out to the Coalition lobbyist to offer support on common areas of interest.
The Orange County Agricultural Summit was held in February. The NC Horse Council was invited to be the keynote speaker. The topic for discussion was Agricultural Present Use Value and Equine Farms. There were over 40 people in attendance. Several legislative leaders were in attendance, and we were able to publicly thank them for support of the equine industry.
Multiple grant requests have been received this month. One EAAT Grant was deemed ineligible due to not owning the land upon which they were requesting an improvement.
We continue to plan for our 50th Year Celebration. Several textile products have been ordered. Many are taking advantage of our lifetime membership offer. We have not identified the site of our Anniversary Trail Ride but hope to have that locked in by next month. The final activity will be a recognition dinner sometime in November or December.
During February we received an update from the Equine Educational Unit on new workshops that are currently being taught. This is a follow-up from previous meetings with NC State regarding the training of our undergraduate equine workers and possibly the broader training of equine workers across the State.
The month ended by attending the Equine Expo in Lumberton. It was certainly nice to be back out observing the breadth of our equine industry! |
