FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, JAN. 9, 2009

Final meeting to gather public input on management
of state’s ag research stations is Jan. 14 in Waynesville

RALEIGH – The public will have one more opportunity to offer suggestions about management of the state’s agricultural research stations at a hearing at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the Haywood County Extension Center in Waynesville.

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, Dr. Johnny Wynne, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State University, and Dr. Donald McDowell, interim dean of the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at N.C. A&T State University, are scheduled to attend the meeting.

The department and universities are working together to develop a strategic plan for managing the state’s 18 agricultural research stations and the N.C. A&T Farm.

The strategic plan will be designed to enhance efficiency, improve effectiveness and modernize North Carolina’s agricultural research facilities.

The Waynesville meeting is the last in a series of three regional hearings to gather public input on how North Carolina’s agricultural research stations might be modernized and managed more efficiently and effectively. Hearings were held last month in Plymouth and Raleigh.

Additional information about the strategic planning process is available at www.ncagr.gov/research/strategicplan.htm.