Chancellor's Tour - Eastern Region
North Carolina Cooperative Extension is making an IMPACT!
- Read Solutions for North Carolina, our annual impact report of Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T
- Learn more about our Summer Intern Program
Day 1
Hitting the Road
Location: Webb Hall, N.C. A&T State University Campus
- Welcome from Shameca Battle, Ed.D. and M. Ray McKinnie, Ph.D.
- Load bus at 7:30 AM
Breakfast: Sponsored by NC Farm Bureau | Chick-fil-A

Cooperative Extension at North Carolina A&T State University sponsored the Eastern Region Tour, in the photo, the tour group leaves Mizelle Farms in Colerain.

Madeline Eaton is surprised as Elvin Eaton smiles at the Small Farmers of the Year announcement at the annual luncheon.

Students enjoy learning about nutrition during their a walk through the human body in the Speedway to Healthy exhibit.
Granville County Stop
Family and Consumer Sciences
Stop 1: Richard H. Thornton Library, 210 Main St. Oxford, NC 27565
Stop 2: Farmers Market: 105 W. Spring St, Oxford, NC 27565
- Welcome from Selena McKoy, Cooperative Extension Director and Drew Cummings, County Manager.
- Discussion of the Food Lion Farms to Fridge program with Wendy Tatum, food systems associate
- Presentation by 2025 Small Farmer of the Year: Elvin and Madeline Eaton.
- Presentation by Nitasha Kearney, EFNEP and SNAP-Ed Program Assistant, SNAP education class on creating a watermelon salad
Learn More about our Family and Consumer Sciences Programs
Brown Family Farm
High Tunnel; Large Scale Hemp Manufacturing
Location: 6819 Vicksboro Rd. Henderson, NC 27537
Tour featuring high tunnel and large-scale hemp manufacturing with Patrick Brown, the 2024 Small Farmer of the Year.

From left to right, Clayton Brown, Small Farmer of the Year 2024 Patrick Brown, speaking, 4-H member Ed Jenkins, small farmer Victor Hunt, 4-H member Jorja Pierce, and Juniper Cummings participate in a power networking conversation at the Small Farms Week Kickoff at the Warren County Armory Civic Center.

A 4-H member of the Union County high school team watches her drone during the second annual Game of Drones, a collaboration between N.C. A&T Cooperative Extension’s 4-H STEM program and STEM learning organization STEMerald City, in Moore Gym on the campus of N.C. A&T April 27, 2024. Six middle school and five high school 4-H teams across the state took part in the competition, with 55 total registered students.
Lunch & STEM Bus in Warren County
Location: Warren County Armory Civic Center, 501 US Hwy 158 Bus E Warrenton, NC 27589
The dinner emcees will be Marion Booth, Strategic Planning Council Member, and Louis Adams, 2025 student intern in Pitt County.
- Presenter: Mark Light, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Extension 4-H STEM Specialist
- Presenter: Sheronica Sharp, Area Specialized Agent - 4-H STEM
- Welcome from Stacy Burns, Cooperative Extension Director, Crystal Smith, County Manager and Sandy Hall, District Extension Director
- 4-H students talk about the impacts of internships and Cooperative Extension
Stations:
- Teen Leads
- AI, Coding, 3D/Laser Printing
- Game of Drones
- Robotics
Lunch: Sponsored by MERCK | Kimmie D’s.
Dinner & Dialogue in Pitt County
Location: Pitt County Cooperative Extension Office, 403 Government Cir. Suite 2 Greenville, NC 27834
Dinner: 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Facilitated Dialogue:
- The Power of Extension in Eastern North Carolina
- What do we see as gaps that we can address?
- What are some initiatives happening?
Programming Highlights by:
- Travella Free, Ph.D., Extension 4-H Youth Development Specialist
- Katryn Eske, Ph.D., Nutrition Specialist
- Raymond Thomas, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Agribusiness/Marketing Specialist
- Cynthia Knudson, Area Specialized Agent N.C. A&T Cooperative Extension
Dinner: Sponsored by North Carolina State Grange | REP Express Events and Catering

Attendees discuss issues at the 2024 Grassroots Leadership Conference in Charlotte.
Day 2
Check-out and load bus at 8:00 AM - Depart at 8:30 AM
Breakfast: Sponsored by Biscuitville
Departure for Wayne County (Cherry Research Farm)
Arrive at 9:30 AM: Center for Environmental Farming Systems at Cherry Research Farm, 600 Farm Rd. Goldsboro, NC 27530
Small Farms Unit:
- Chyi-Lyi Liang, Ph.D., Co-Director of CEFS
- Johnnie Howard, Superintendent
- Trequan McGee, Ph.D., Extension Horticulture Specialist
- Hannah Talton, Ph.D., Extension Plant Pathology Specialist
- Biswanath Dari, Ph.D., Natural Resources Specialist
- Sri Yogitha Relangi, Graduate Student
Lunch: Sponsored by AgCarolina Farm Credit | McCall’s BBQ & Seafood

Kathleen Liang, Ph.D. works with a farmer. She is co-director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems.
Depart for lunch at McCalls BBQ & Seafood
Location: Wayne County, 139 Miller Chapel Rd., Goldsboro, NC 27534 - Arrive at approximately 11:30 am
Shameca Battle, Ed.D., Eastern Region Director, presiding
Lunch sponsored by AgCarolina Farm Credit
Departure for Orange County
Arrive at 3:15 PM: Sankofa Farms, 2916 JA Killough Dr., Cedar Grove, NC
Welcome from Shannon Wiley, Ph.D., Urban Regional Extension Director, and Tadashi Totton, District 6 Field Representative with North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation.
- Kamal Bell, '14, '15

Kamal and his family at Sankofa Farms in Orange County, NC. That's Khalil Bell (Kamal's oldest of three boys) atop the tractor. Akeem (second oldest of three boys) has dreadlocks. At the bottom is Ade (youngest boy) and Amber (Kamal's wife). Surname is Bell for all five of them. Note that there's a fourth child due on commencement weekend.
Depart for Campus
Arrive back on the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State Unviersity's campus at 5:00 PM
Thank You to our Sponsors!
-
NC Farm Bureau
-
MERCK & Co.
-
N.C. State Grange
-
Biscuitville
-
AgCarolina Farm Credit
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