There are now over 70 Johnston County farms and agribusinesses listed on the Visit NC Farms App, a new initiative from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. The app is a digital marketing tool aimed at the 10 million residents and over 50 million visitors to the state annually. Johnston County was one of the first counties to sign-on to the program and continues to add JoCo participants.

The Johnston County Visitors Bureau (JCVB), in partnership with the Johnston County Cooperative Extension, and on behalf of agritourism businesses across the county, has helped to begin and maintain JoCo’s presence on the app. Johnston County listings include farms, u-pick operations, farmers markets, restaurants sourcing from local farms, and even farms that double as wedding venues! The JCVB will continue to work with Extension, the state, and participating farms in the county to market the app to residents and visitors.

Visit NC Farms App Poster

The NC Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services describes the app as a way to promote farms and fisheries, farmers markets, local food and drink, farm lodging, value added products, farm-to-table restaurants, community food access, and special events to residents and visitors. The app also helps farmers strengthen consumer awareness and connection to local food as well as highlight products that are grown, raised, caught, made, and experienced on farms across the state.

“Both agriculture and tourism remain multi-million-dollar economic drivers for the county and the new Visit NC Farms App offers a unique way to combine the two for the benefit of consumers and the profitability of farmers,” says Johnston County Visitors Bureau President, Donna Bailey-Taylor.

Bailey-Taylor adds, “we [the visitors bureau] have been championing agritourism for over 15 years in Johnston County. Our heritage and our continued tradition as a farming community allows us to market our destination as a place to learn about and experience agricultural.” 

To download the app visit the Apple or Android store on your phone and search “Visit NC Farms”. For more information on the app visit VisitNCFarmsToday.com. To learn more about agritourism in Johnston County visit the tourism page on our website at johnstoncountync.org/agritourism.  

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