News

Center announces 33 small towns will take part in revitalization program
The Rural Center announced last week that 20 applicants representing 33 small towns across the state will take part in its N.C. Small Towns Economic Prosperity (NC STEP) demonstration program. NC STEP is part of the center’s Small Towns Initiative, which was launched in November 2005 to help revitalize the state’s economically distressed towns of fewer than 10,000 residents. Representatives from each of the 20 demonstration sites came to the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh on March 9 to take part in a kick-off ceremony attended by Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, state Sens. Tony Rand and Jim Jacumin and state Reps. Bill Faison, Ed Jones, Marion McLawhorn, Ray Rapp and Joe Tolson. The following 15 small towns will participate as individual demonstration sites: Candor, Columbia, Grifton, Marion, Marshall, Maxton, Mount Gilead, Pinetops, Plymouth, Robbins, Scotland Neck, Sparta, Swan Quarter, Valdese and Yanceyville. The following 18 small towns will participate as part of a cluster of demonstration communities under the direction of a lead organization, county or town: Bakersville, Bladenboro, Bolton, Bryson City, Chimney Rock, Clarkton, Crossnore, Elizabethtown, East Arcadia, Elkin, Dobson, Hayesville, Mars Hill, Pilot Mountain, Sandyfield, Todd, West Jefferson and White Lake. Each demonstration site will receive $20,000 in planning funds to develop its initiatives and will be eligible to receive up to $200,000 in grants to implement local projects. In addition, the towns will receive training and coaching assistance and will have opportunities for global networking during the program’s three-year plan of work. To find out more about the NC STEP demonstration program, click here.

Center to share local water, sewer infrastructure data from its Water 2030 Initiative in series of regional meetings
The Rural Center will hold seven public outreach meetings to share local water resource information from its Water 2030 Initiative beginning later this month. The meetings, slated to kick off March 21 in Rocky Mount and March 30 in Greensboro, will allow the center to share critical water and sewer infrastructure data that impacts local communities, businesses and residents. The data was gathered over three years as part of the center’s Water 2030 Initiative, designed to arm state leaders with information essential to spurring job growth, preserving quality of life and protecting the environment in North Carolina. The initiative, which documented $16.6 billion in water and sewer needs in North Carolina over the next 25 years, included an in-depth analysis of ground and surface water supply in the state, an update of the water and sewer database completed by the center in 1998 and a state water supply and demand assessment with projections for 2010, 2020 and 2030. The center will host the meetings alongside its local, state and regional partners, including regional councils of government Participants will hear first-hand about the projected water demand for their region over the next 25 years as well as the estimated cost of meeting that demand. In response to the Water 2030 Initiative findings released last month, the center announced it would work to put a $1 billion bond referendum before North Carolina voters to help rural and distressed communities ease the burden of paying for costly water, sewer and stormwater improvements. The center will announce dates and locations for five additional meetings, along with other pertinent information, on its website. To view the Water 2030 reports online, click here.For a summary of the Water 2030 Initiative findings, click here. For more information on the initiative, contact project director Jean Crews-Klein at (919) 250-4314.

Leandro judge threatens closure of 10 rural high schools unless sweeping reforms are made soon
Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr. has threatened to close 19 poorly performing high schools – 10 of them in rural counties – unless the state implements major reforms. In a strongly-worded letter to state Superintendent of Public Schools June Atkinson and Chairman Howard Lee of the State Board of Education, Manning said the state is ultimately responsible to ensure a quality education for students attending the schools in Anson, Bertie, Halifax, Hertford, Guilford, Northampton, Washington and Wayne counties. Manning was the presiding judge in the Leandro school funding suit, which spelled out the requirements of a sound and basic education for public school children. In his ruling, Manning said the state was responsible to ensure each child had access to well-trained teachers, effective principals and sufficient resources. But, Manning found it is poor leadership of principals at the high schools – and not a lack of funding – that is causing the poor performance. Principals at schools with passing rates on state tests of 55 percent or less beginning in the 2000-2001 school year and continuing through 2005-2006 would be forced to step down, he wrote, to be replaced by principals endorsed by the state Board of Education. The schools would also be required to implement reforms adopted under the state's New Schools Project.

Reports and Research

Farmer Entrepreneurship: Problems and Prospects of Growing a Business on the Farm
As America rushes to embrace entrepreneurial start-ups and the strategies that allow entrepreneurship to thrive in regions and communities, we should take care not to overlook the original American entrepreneur – the farmer. That is the basis of a new report from Iowa State University that examines agriculture’s increasingly corporate environment and the effect on small family farms and farm families, which have been dwindling in number for many years. Rather than giving up their farm, many farm families in Iowa are turning to entrepreneurship as a means to diversify their operation and keep it profitable, according to the report. University researchers surveyed 32 successful small farms that have implemented entrepreneurial ventures from across the state. They found that, just like entrepreneurs in other industries and business sectors, farm-based entrepreneurship is often made difficult by a lack of access to capital, business services and technical assistance. Most of the entrepreneurs surveyed had been established in farming for a number of years before taking on their new ventures, a majority had taken college level courses, and two-thirds had grown up in the town where they live. To view the full report, “Farmer Entrepreneurship: Problems and Prospects of Growing a Business on the Farm,” click here.

Survey ranks 21 North Carolina counties among the most profitable places to farm in the U.S.
It pays to farm in North Carolina, according to a recent article in Farm Futures Magazine that found Sampson County the most profitable place to farm in the entire nation. The magazine ranked 21 North Carolina counties among the top 100 most profitable places to farm in the U.S. Five other eastern North Carolina counties – Duplin, Wayne, Greene, Bladen and Wilson – ranked among the top 10 places to farm in the U.S. today in terms of profitability, according to the magazine. Also rating high in the survey were Jones, Robeson, Craven, Pender, Pitt, Hoke, Lenoir, Edgecombe, Nash, Tyrrell, Hertford, Anson, Wilkes, Scotland and Bertie counties. Farm Futures analyzed data from the 1987 to 2002 Census of Agriculture to determine the best and most profitable places in the country to farm. Profitability was measured by return on assets, and the magazine also looked at net profits per farm, sales growth, asset growth and profit growth in addition to asset turnover and profit margin. Agriculture and agribusiness are big business in North Carolina, generating nearly $60 billion for the economy and employing 18 percent of the state workforce. To view the full report online, click here.

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Meetings and Events

Rural Center and partners to hold state’s first Entrepreneurship Policy Summit April 19
More than 350 state leaders and public policy experts will come together in Chapel Hill April 19 for North Carolina’s first policy summit on entrepreneurship. There, they will examine the critical role of entrepreneurship in state and local economies, discuss how the state can more fully invest in entrepreneurship as a viable economic development strategy, and set a course to strengthen the foundational system that underpins entrepreneurship on the state and local levels. A panel of entrepreneurs will share their personal accounts of struggle, sacrifice and the road to success. The summit will conclude with a call to action as the state’s foremost experts on entrepreneurship lead others in forming work groups that will meet over the next year to further develop and refine strategies and recommendations for boosting entrepreneurship in North Carolina. The event is hosted by the Rural Entrepreneurship Development System Project – a Rural Center-led team working to create a comprehensive entrepreneurship development system to serve rural and minority entrepreneurs in low-wealth areas of the state – as well as the N.C. Business Resource Alliance and the N.C. Entrepreneurial Association. Funding for the event is provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and North Carolina’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives. Other sponsorships are still available. Registration for the summit is $100, which includes lunch. The event will be held at the Friday Center just off Highway 54 East. Click here for directions. Further details on the summit and registration information are available on the Rural Center’s website. For more information, contact Leslie Scott or Michelle Hall at the Rural Center at (919) 250-4314.

N.C. Dept. of Commerce to share international trade advice with small businesses, farmers in series of meetings April 17-21
The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s International Trade Division will visit three locations around the state during its seventh annual road show April 17-18 in Charlotte, April 19 in Winston-Salem and April 20-21 in Cary. The events will help North Carolina businesses interested in increasing their exports and expanding their presence in the international marketplace. Business leaders that attend the road shows will learn about market opportunities for their companies through individualized consultations with one of North Carolina’s foreign trade representatives, who are based in Canada, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico and Germany. Participants also can meet with the department’s international trade managers who specialize in targeted industries such as biotechnology and life sciences, information technology, telecommunications, plastics, textiles, furniture and automotive technology. Last year, North Carolina companies exported $19.4 billion worth of goods around the world. The department’s International Trade Division helps these companies take advantage of worldwide opportunities by providing more than a century of combined experience in foreign markets to help ensure the success of North Carolina companies in the global marketplace. To find out specific times and locations, visit the N.C. Department of Commerce International Trade division website.

Small Business Expo to be held April 28 at Isothermal Community College in Forest City
Sandhills Connect and Isothermal Community College are teaming up to host a Small Business Expo at the college on April 28. The all-day event, which is free to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, will feature panel discussions and workshops with experts and service providers. Workshop sessions will include information on sales and marketing, financing, tax laws, web design and entrepreneurship training opportunities. The event will be held at the college’s Foundation Center, located just off Highway 74 Bypass. To find out more, visit the website or call Isothermal Community College at (828) 288-1650.

Global economic challenges the focus of annual economic developers association meeting to be held June 5-9 in Charlotte
ACCRA, a national association of economic developers, will hold its annual conference in Charlotte June 5-9. Participants will learn strategies for competing in the global economy. Specifically, participants will learn about three key economic drivers – financial services, tourism, and motor sports – that are well entrenched in the Charlotte region. Participants will also learn about the importance of regional collaborations that cross state boundaries and appeal to fast-growing entrepreneurial companies. Workshops will include new analytic techniques for economic developers, along with the latest data sources and research tools. For more information on registration fees, accommodations, directions, and to download a registration application, click here.

UNC School of Government to hold training, Boosting Local Economies Through Entrepreneurship, April 18 in Chapel Hill
The School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill will hold an in-depth training for elected officials on April 18 designed to help them stimulate and support entrepreneurship in their communities. The one-day event will feature workshops on specific strategies local governments can undertake to foster entrepreneurship, including incubators, entrepreneurship education and financial capital development. Sponsored by the Institute of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill in partnership with the Rural Center-led North Carolina Rural Entrepreneurship Development System Project, Boosting Local Economies through Entrepreneurship is designed to help local elected officials understand the role entrepreneurship plays in economic development and the strategies available to them as they work to support different types of entrepreneurs in their communities. The fee to register is $65, which includes lunch and materials. For more information, contact Jennifer Lobenhofer at (919) 843-7736, or Emily Campbell at (919) 843-8176. Registration materials will be available on the Community & Economic Development Program page of the School of Government’s website.

At the Rural Center

Project New Start: Second phase of jobs assistance program for dislocated workers to serve Harnett, Johnston, Randolph and Wilson
A second phase of the Rural Center’s jobs assistance program for dislocated workers, Project New Start, is already under way in Wilson County and will kick off in Harnett, Johnston and Randolph counties next month. Project New Start uses a community-based approach to help laid-off workers map out an employment transition plan, search for a new job, receive basic education and job training skills and and obtain the emergency and supportive services they need to achieve their job search and training goals. During Phase I, the program served more than 600 dislocated workers in Vance, Wilson, Transylvania and Buncombe counties, helping secure new jobs for more than 240 workers. In Phase II, the project will offer expanded services in four counties that have been hit especially hard by layoffs in the tobacco, textile, apparel, and furniture manufacturing industries. Funding for the program’s second phase is being provided by the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina. N.C. Congressmen Bob Etheridge and Howard Coble provided support for federal funds. To find out more about Project New Start, contact project director Anne Scharff Bacon at (919) 250-4314.

Funding Sources

Entrepreneurial Incubator grants program gears up with March 24th informational workshop in Raleigh and Hickory
A grants program that offers ‘bricks and mortar’ funding to help get entrepreneurial incubators up and running in small cities and towns is gearing up for its second year. Offered through the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program, the grants will give local governments and their partners an opportunity to secure up to $350,000 in funds for the construction or expansion of entrepreneurial incubator facilities. Such facilities help entrepreneurial start-ups survive in the business’s early days and improve its chances of long-term success. The Rural Center and the N.C. Department of Commerce will hold an informational workshop on March 24 in Raleigh at the Rural Center and in Hickory at Catawba Valley Community College’s Hickory Metro Higher Educational Center. The workshop, which will be linked by video teleconference, will offer details on grant guidelines, eligibility and the application process. Interested applicants will submit preliminary applications by May 19, with grants awards to be announced in August. Workshop space is limited and a reservation is required. Contact Leslie Scott at (919) 250-4314 to reserve a seat or for questions about the grant program. For questions concerning applicant eligibility, rules and other matters, contact George Sherrill at (919)715-6559.

From the N.C. Press

Asheboro Courier-Tribune: Forest land sell plan draws fire
The president’s proposal to sell parcels of national forests and public lands to benefit rural schools has met with resounding opposition from across the country, especially in North Carolina. The proposal — aimed at continuing Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act funding for another five years — hits close to home in Randolph and Montgomery counties. In the two counties, over 2,300 acres of the Uwharrie National Forest have been identified for sale by the Bureau of Land Management. In the Uwharrie Forest, one plot of 117 acres in Davidson County would be up for sale, eight parcels in Randolph County totaling 827.6 acres and 22 parcels totaling 1,372.5 acres in Montgomery County. In 2000, the N.C. Legislature passed legislation calling for protection and preservation of an additional one million acres of open space within 10 years, including forest land. “People I have talked to are absolutely astounded that the federal government wants to sell off forest land when we are working at the state level to gather more green space,” said N.C. Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-District 29). “No one I have spoken to thinks this is a good idea.”

North Carolina Associated Press: N.C. Congressmen want help for farmers
High fuel and labor costs are threatening farmers' livelihoods and a pair of North Carolina congressmen want to find a way to help. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that energy is costing farmers $5.2 billion more now compared to a year ago, U.S. Rep. Brad Miller said last week at the Congressional Farmers Breakfast at the State Fairgrounds. U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., said he wants to examine how farmers can provide alternative sources of fuel and help draw up trade agreements to benefit farmers. Miller added that comprehensive reform is needed to provide a dependable, affordable work force. Tobacco growers, for example, have said labor is their greatest cost, nearly twice as costly as machinery or fuel for curing the leaf. Many of them employ immigrant laborers, and the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina's top resolutions include asking Congress to revise the guest worker program so that temporary visas for laborers are easier and cheaper to get.

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The mission of the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center is to develop, promote, and implement sound economic strategies that improve the quality of life of rural North Carolinians, with a special focus on individuals with low to moderate incomes and communities with limited resources.

N.C. Rural Economic Development Center
Michelle Taylor, UPDATE editor
Courtney Kilpatrick, UPDATE production manager
Elaine Matthews, vice president for communications and development
4021 Carya Drive, Raleigh, NC 27610
(919) 250-4314 Fax: (919) 250-4325
www.ncruralcenter.org