County Grants Funded for 2019

 2019 Extension Regional Grants

In 2019, Corn Growers Association of North Carolina made fundamental changes to the Extension Grant program that had been in place for many years.

The Board of Directors opted to turn the Extension Grant Program into a competitive, regional grant program versus the previous $500 for the asking program. Each Extension region of the state was invited to submit a proposal for up to $5,000 for a project in that region that would benefit more than one county.

For the 2019 grant cycle the Association received nine proposals from east to west, and the Board funded four out of the nine. It’s safe to say that we all learned something in the process and will continue to make tweaks and improvements to this grant program, but going forward, the program will fundamentally stay the same.

Below are the 2019 recipients and an outline of their project:

Southeast Extension District – Submitted by Wesley Stallings

The Southeast Region requested $5,000 to be divided into thirds to help support three separate field days in that region.

The first area to host a field day will be in the Jones, Craven, Carteret, Lenoir, Pamlico area on September 11, 2019. Topics include irrigation and nutrient management, variety trials, technology, economics, and extension updates.

The goal of this particular meeting is to reach as many as 150 local growers, industry representatives, researchers, and specialist agents.

The second group to host a field day will be Wayne, Wilson, Duplin, Sampson and Johnston Counties on August 15, 2019. The topics to be covered and the number of people reached is the same as above.

The third area for a field day is Pender, New Hanover, Brunswick, Columbus, Bladen and Robeson Counties on September 4, 2019. The topics and number of people reached is the same as above.

Northeast Region – submitted by Al Woods, et al

The objective of this proposal was to support the Northeast Ag Expo, a relatively new event, that serves farmers in Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Pasquotank, and Perquimans Counties, roughly 308,000 acres of farm land.

The Expo will be held July 25th in Shawboro, NC, and the expected attendance is in the 300person range.

The proposal was for $3,500, and the Board of Directors granted this proposal.

Northern Piedmont Region – submitted by John Cothren, Wilkes County Extension, Marsha McGraw, Davie County, Troy Coggins, Davidson County, and Tim Hambrick, Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin Counties

The objective of this proposal is to enhance the research and educational opportunities for growers…to increase yield and profitability.

This group requested the amount of $5,000 to subsidize the purchase a small no-till planter outfitted to apply liquids, both in-furrow and banded on one or both sides of the row.
The Board of Directors funded this proposal in the amount of $5,000.

Eastern Region – submitted by Rod Gurganus, Beaufort County Extension

The eastern region submitted a proposal for banding fertilizer for corn production to learn how to use fertilizer more efficiently while maximizing environmental sustainability.

The second objective of the proposal is to determine accurate placement of fertilizer so as to minimize run off into ditches, canals, streams and rivers during a heavy rainfall event.

The requested $5,000 is to purchase two Hawkins  'Zone NForcers' with a cost of $2,280 each, plus an air compressor.

The Board of Directors funded this $5,000 request.