Promoting Organic, Environmentally Sound Farming. Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Receives $25,000 Grant From Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company
OXFORD, N.C. – January 12, 2007 – Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company (SFNTC), which contracts with some 50 organic growers in the southeast who supply organically grown and certified tobacco leaf for its Natural American Spirit products, is contributing $25,000 to the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.
In announcing the gift, Mike Little, SFNTC’s senior vice president of operations, praised the Association’s “support and work to expand local and organic agriculture in the Carolinas.” The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, Little said, “is a leader in the region’s organic movement providing inspiration, education and organization for farmers and consumers.”
Over the last 10 years, the company has purchased several million pounds of certified organic tobacco – tobacco grown without the use of chemicals or commercial fertilizers. To do that, the company has worked closely with growers and the Association.
“Our organic growing program promotes sustainable agriculture practices,” Little said, “and that helps advance the interests of small, independent farmers.” Currently, several hundred acres owned by SFNTC contract growers are used to grow organic vegetables and other organic crops, a practice both the company and the Association are encouraging.
Roland McReynolds, the Association’s executive director, thanked SFNTC for its support of the organization’s mission. “Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company is a strong ally,” he said. “And this will help us achieve our vision of a healthy and thriving community of farmers and consumers in the Carolinas who are supported by local and organic agricultural systems that are environmentally responsible, economically sound and socially just.
“Thank you and all the people of Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company,” McReynolds said.
Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, which has its major manufacturing facilities in Oxford, N.C., celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2007. Its line of natural tobacco products includes cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco made with 100 percent certified organic tobacco as well as cigarettes made with 100 percent additive-free natural tobacco.
The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the support and expansion of local and organic agriculture in the Carolinas. Based in Pittsboro, N.C., the association also celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2007.