(The Center Square) – Agriculture, the showpiece of North Carolina’s industries, celebrated more than $100 billion economic impact with nearly 1 million visitors to the annual State Fair.
The 11-day extravaganza wrapped on Sunday with 946,811 in attendance.
“It’s been a very strong year, and we are happy with that,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “A lot of attention gets focused on attendance figures, and we do want to see strong numbers, but that is not the only barometer we use to measure success. Across the fairgrounds and throughout the fair we saw a lot of smiles and a lot of happy people. And that’s what makes all the hard work worthwhile – every day and every year!”
About 42,500 farms are operated on 8.1 million acres from Murphy to Manteo. The state is eighth in the nation in value of agricultural products sold, 14th in exports.
North Carolina production is No. 1 nationally each in sweetpotatoes, all tobacco, flue-cured tobacco, and poultry and eggs. The state is No. 2 in Christmas tree sales, production of turkeys, and food-size trout sold. It is No. 3 in cucumbers and hogs, No. 4 in peanuts and broilers (chicken), and No. 5 in cotton.
Estimates on economic impact leaders for North Carolina are led by agriculture and manufacturing (each $100 billion to $110 billion); real estate and leasing (more than $100 billion); and finance and insurance, and life sciences (each more than $80 billion).
Charlotte is the nation’s second-largest banking center. The life sciences sector is anchored by the Research Triangle Park.
