The Orange County Nickels for Know-How Referendum will be held on Thursday, November 17, 2022.
One polling location will be established in Orange County. The polling location will be at the County Extension Office at Bonnie B. Davis Building, 1020 US 70 West, Hillsborough, NC 27278.
Mart Bumgarner, the Crops and Horticulture Extension Agent explained that the referendum is being held to let users and producers of feed or fertilizer decide if they wish to continue the self-assessment program. This program has been in place since 1948, and the law requires that a new referendum be held every six years.
A 2/3 favorable vote will mean that growers are willing to continue to assess themselves to support agricultural research and education. The assessment is fifteen cents per hundred pounds on feed and fertilizer produced in North Carolina.
The funds, about $1.4 million annually, are collected by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and then allocated by the NC Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc.'s 148 volunteer Board of Directors to support agricultural research and extension projects at North Carolina State University benefitting agriculture in North Carolina.
For more information on the referendum, please call your County Extension Office at 919-245-2062 and speak with Mart.