PINETOWN — An event showcasing the opportunities in North Carolina’s biggest industry was held Tuesday at Northside High School.

The 2014 Beaufort County Ag Expo, sponsored by Beaufort County Schools and Beaufort County Farm Bureau, featured 27 different Ag-related businesses, resources and other organizations, as well as representatives from 12 different educational institutions and the United States Air Force. High school students from Northside, Southside and Washington High Schools, as well as those from Unity Christian Academy in Chocowinity, Pungo Christian Academy in Belhaven and Northeast Regional School of Biotechnology and Agriscience in Jamesville attended the event and were exposed to valuable information and resources pertaining to Agriculture-related education and careers.

Don Phipps, superintendent of Beaufort County Schools, said the event, in its first year, was a success and has expanded in its second year.

“The whole goal is to give some students exposure to Ag-related education down the road and also careers that are Ag-related,” Phipps said. “It started from an idea from a couple folks from Farm Bureau. We put it on last year, and it was such a success, the day after the program we started planning for this year. All we’ve said is, ‘if you’re in an FFA program or you’re interested in an Ag career and you want more information about Ag education, come on out.’ The folks have just been extremely generous and wanting to cooperate. Next year, if we do it, we’ll have to have a bigger venue because we have so many folks interested, which is a good problem to have in only your third year.”

To kick off the event, a morning session was held in the auditorium of the school and students and other attendees heard comments and welcome from several individuals in Agriculture-related fields, as well as Phipps. A featured speaker, Richard Troxler, the North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, was supportive of the event and expressed to the students that they are the future of Agriculture and how much the state needs them in Ag-related fields. Richard Linton, the dean of North Carolina State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences also spoke and gave similar comments.

In the gymnasium, vendors had booths set up and representatives from those businesses displayed what their organizations had to offer. Outside, several organizations had equipment on display like antique tractors, backhoes and other pieces of farming equipment. Rodney Woolard, a district conservationist with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, spoke about his organization’s involvement in the Expo.

“We work with farmers and land owners,” Woolard said. “Our mission is helping people, helping land — that’s probably one of the easiest and best ways to describe it. We’re looking for good folks and we appreciate the opportunity between Beaufort County Schools and Beaufort County Farm Bureau to be here and represent the Agency so that’s what we’re doing here today. We want to recruit some good young folks to fill these positions.”

Mark Godley, a 10^th-grade student at NHS said he participated in the event because of his love for farming and his aspiration to be in the Agricultural industry.

“I came because I want to be a farmer,” Godley said. “That’s why I’m in FFA. I want to do something in Agriculture and I just think this is an important event.”

Steve Griffin, a Farm Bureau board member, said the board would like to see the event not only continued, but also expand.

“We would like to see it become a regional thing and include more counties so it’s something we’re looking at, but first, we need to sit down and look at the do’s and the don’ts. This year it’s been extremely successful and we have a lot more kids here this year.”

To close the event, Sarah Lemons, North Carolina FFA president, spoke to students about the importance of the event and how Agriculture is the biggest industry in the state.

“By the year 2050, the world’s population will have grown to nine billion people, and everybody wants to eat three times a day and wear cotton clothes and we need Ag for that,” Lemons said. “It’s the biggest industry in NC and it employs the most amount of people and what these kids need to see is Ag isn’t’ just cows, sows and plows anymore. It’s technology, it’s business, it’s being a leader, it’s a vast industry that they can find a job in and get paid well to do it. I think it’s important to have these kinds of events where they can find where their talents and their skills play into the Ag industry so when they graduate they know what they want to do, whether it’s a four year university, technical training or going right into the workplace, “It’s important for them to find their niche here.”

Phipps spoke about the importance of the event, as well.

“I think (the event) creates exposure, perception and hopefully, opportunity,” Phipps said. “My fear is that a student would go through their school years and not know certain career opportunities are out there. And maybe they rule some in and rule some out, but I want them to know what the options are. And rather than just relying on people they live with or that they know, we want them to know that there’s a world out there and many of the jobs you keep hearing have not even been created yet, so I want them to see that the traditional mindset of farming to some degree is still there, but there’s a lot more to it now.”