Troxler welcomes new Board of Ag members

Gov. Beverly Perdue recently appointed Casey Armstrong of Enfield and Billy Johnston of Fletcher to the N.C. Board of Agriculture. She also reappointed Kirk Mathis of Roaring River and Bert Pitt of Macclesfield to the board. Both have served since 2003.

Armstrong fills the role of horse farmer on the board. She manages saddlebred and Arabian horses on her farm in Halifax County. She is a former president of the N.C. Horse Council and currently serves on its Board of Directors.

Johnston fills the role of dairy farmer on the board. He is a partner in Taproot Dairy and president of the N.C. Dairy Sustainability and Growth Committee. He also is president of Buncombe County Farm Bureau and serves on N.C. Farm Bureau’s board.

Mathis raises beef, broiler chickens, corn and grain in Wilkes County. Pitt is a sixth-generation tobacco farmer in Pitt County. The Board of Agriculture is the primary rulemaking body for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Its 10 members are appointed by the governor. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler serves as chairman of the board.