Congress Bob Etheridge has scheduled four forums in the next two weeks to meet with farmers in his district, which includes southern Vance County.
The meetings, open to the public, come during the three-month signup period for the tobacco quota buyout. Quota holders and growers have until June 17 to register with the Farm Service Agency, whose Vance County office is on Young Street just west of Chestnut Street.
“For many years, North Carolina farmers pleaded for a tobacco buyout,” Etheridge, D-Lillington, said in a news release Monday. “Last year, Congress finally delivered. The tobacco buyout has brought change and opportunity to our state and to our rural communities. Now our farmers are looking to move into other crops, to retire or to restructure their operations to meet the demands of the post-buyout tobacco economy.
“I look forward to hearing from our farm families about the help that Congress can give them in this new
environment.”
Etheridge is not holding a forum in Vance County, although press secretary Sara Lang said, “We are likely to do additional forums down the road.”
She said Vance farmers should attend the second of the four forums scheduled between March 29 and April 4. It will be in Louisburg at the Franklin County Cooperative Extension Center, 103 S. Bickett Blvd., at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30.
The other forums will be at the Johnston County Farm Bureau, 1809 S. Brightleaf Blvd., Smithfield, at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29; at the Harnett County Courthouse, 301 W. Cornelius Harnett Blvd., Lillington, at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, April 1; and at the Lee County Cooperative Extension Center, 2420 Tramway Road, Sanford, at 4 p.m. on Monday, April 4.
To attend one of the farm forums, RSVP to Jason Sulham in Etheridge’s Raleigh office at 888-262-6202.