N.C. Cooperative Extension-Alexander County Newsletter December 2025

Backyard Flocks Client Survey

Since March 2024, 70 cases of avian influenza A(H5) (H5 bird flu) have occurred in humans in the United States, mostly among workers exposed to infected dairy cows and commercial poultry farms. However, cases have also occurred among people exposed to birds kept in non-commercial, backyard flocks.

CDC is interested in learning more about backyard flock owners and their flocks. The anonymous survey asks about:

Characteristics of backyard flock owners, their families, and their flocks.
Knowledge of H5 bird flu and signs and symptoms of H5 bird flu in birds and humans.
Perceived risk of and concern about H5 bird flu to their backyard flock and themselves/families.
Attitudes towards reporting sick or dead birds and protective measures like vaccination of their flock.
Practices they use to protect their flock and themselves from H5 bird flu.

CDC will use the survey results to improve H5 bird flu prevention activities. Questions can be sent to h5flustudy@cdc.gov.

URL link to the survey:

https://redcap.link/backyardflock

Extension Foundation’s H5N1 website. Please take a look at the resources on the website here: h5n1.extension.org

Additional details can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13SldmqeSzpj8UtrguLnSGY3Hpcb_7qUv?usp=sharing

2026 Small Fruit Plant Sale

Each year we start taking orders in the winter for small fruit plants. Pickup is held in early spring at the proper time to plant the items available. Cari has worked with a new vendor this year to offer plants that are bigger and potted. Please check out the link below to see what is available this year. Also the Green Thumb Gazette horticulture newsletter is linked below. Check out what programming Cari is offering in the upcoming months.

2026 Small Fruit Plant Sale Information

December 2025 Newsletter

Applications are being accepted NOW for AgVentures Grant!!

NC AgVentures, a NC State Extension program provides grants to NC farmers and non-profit community groups that work with family farms, for agricultural project ideas that will increase farm profits. The program, which is sponsored by the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, will award a minimum of 50 grants to independent family farms. This is a great opportunity for any producer who is thinking of diversifying, improving, or expanding their farm operation.This is a competitive grant program.

Applications will be accepted from family farms in the following counties: Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Cabarrus, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Forsyth,, Gaston, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, Martin, Mecklenburg, Nash, Northampton, Orange, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Union, Vance, Wake, Wayne, Wilson, Wilkes, Warren, and Yadkin.

NC AgVentures will award grants up to $10,000.
Application submission begins October 15th, 2025
Deadline to apply is 6 PM December 19th, 2025.

More Information on the AgVentures Grant** If you are interested in applying for an AgVentures Grant, please contact Cari Rosenbalm or Allison Brown at 828-632-4451 or email: cari_rosenbalm@ncsu.edu or allison_brown@ncsu.edu.

Below is a comment from one of our local farm families that received this grant to help purchase equipment for their farm:

In 2025, we were blessed to receive the Ag Adventure Grant for H&C Boer Goat Farm. With that support, we were able to upgrade our fencing to keep our goats safer and make it easier to rotate pastures. We also added automatic feeders, which let the goats eat whenever they’re hungry and help turn every pound of feed into healthy muscle. A year later, we’ve seen fewer losses from goats getting stuck in the fence and a big improvement in our feed efficiency and profits. This grant has truly helped our farm grow stronger and run smoother than ever before.