The Salute to Agri-Business Breakfast will sneak a peek at the 2022 Rowan Arts and Ag Farm Tour.

This year our tour will focus on the China Grove area of Rowan County. We have an exciting variety of farms on the tour this year. Millbridge Elementary School’s Discovery Gardens will be on display for everyone to see how students use the gardens to learn about science and math. Patterson Farms Inc. is back on the tour this year, but we get to see the packing house part of their operation this time. Patterson Farms sells thousands of tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries yearly to Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Wal-Mart and several other retail operations.

Weddington Greenhouses is a wholesale greenhouse that sells annuals and perennials to garden centers and other small retail outlets. Hopeful Acres, a cut flower and Charolais beef operation next door to Weddingtons, and cousins of the family will also be on-site to share information about their farm as well. LL Goodnight’s will be celebrating their 75th year in business, and their greenhouses will be on the tour as well as the rest of the store. Get your summer vegetable plants, hanging baskets, and feed for your animals all in one stop. Across the road from Goodnights is Circle D Farm with sheep and pasture-raised cattle.

This year we added a little history to the tour by incorporating the Historic Roller Mill in China Grove. After you visit the Roller Mill, go see Main Street Marketplace’s hydroponic lettuce operation, and then stop by Goodman’s Farm Supply.

Finally, stop by Douglas Vineyards for a glass of wine on your way home. This year’s tour is going to be great! To find more information about the tour, visit the Facebook Page: Rowan Arts and Ag Farm Tour or artsandagtour.com.

We are still looking for artists to join us, so if you are interested, contact us at: info@artsandagtour.com. Come to the Power in Partnership Breakfast Thursday, March 17,  at 7 a.m. to meet some of our farmers on the tour and learn about the importance of agriculture to Rowan County’s economy. Economist Danny Munch from American Farm Bureau will be our keynote speaker for this year’s breakfast. You can register by calling the Chamber of Commerce at 704-633-4221 or the Cooperative Extension Center’s office at 704-216-8970.

Amy-Lynn Albertson is Rowan County Extension director.