Hillsborough farmland gift opens doors to new possibilities in teaching, research, Extension
The home place at the Breeze family farm is now part of a research facility on the property donated by Col.
Photo by Becky Kirkland
A stately old clapboard farm house, blooming camellia bushes and cows grazing lazily in a sprawling field set the stage for the April 7 dedication of the new W.C. Breeze Family Farm Agricultural Extension and Research Facility. The farm is a gift from Hillsborough native Col. William H. Breeze and his family to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
With sheriff's deputies directing traffic, more than 100 people, including the Breeze family and friends; College faculty, staff and students; and community leaders gathered to pay tribute to a beloved family and to celebrate the beginning of an exciting new venture for the College.
Breeze, a 1942 N.C. State graduate, and his late wife, Elizabeth, donated the expansive 168-acre farm to the College in 2003, to be preserved for agricultural or forestland use. The gift also includes an $820,000 charitable remainder trust funding agricultural, research and extension activities on the farm. The Breeze family, long-time friends of the College and university, also established a scholarship endowment in 1995 that has provided support to 10 students since its creation.
The College is considering a number of different uses for the farm. These uses include establishing it as the centerpiece of a farm incubator program to explore and demonstrate organic and sustainable agriculture systems, providing support for farmers interested in this rapidly growing agricultural sector, according to Dr. Roger Crickenberger, associate director of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service.
"The site will lend itself well for applied research, training and demonstration activities to benefit farmers, consumers and the local community," Crickenberger said. "It is the vision and generosity of folks like Col. Breeze that will ensure we will have active farms and green space for many future generations."
-Suzanne Stanard
With sheriff's deputies directing traffic, more than 100 people, including the Breeze family and friends; College faculty, staff and students; and community leaders gathered to pay tribute to a beloved family and to celebrate the beginning of an exciting new venture for the College.
Breeze, a 1942 N.C. State graduate, and his late wife, Elizabeth, donated the expansive 168-acre farm to the College in 2003, to be preserved for agricultural or forestland use. The gift also includes an $820,000 charitable remainder trust funding agricultural, research and extension activities on the farm. The Breeze family, long-time friends of the College and university, also established a scholarship endowment in 1995 that has provided support to 10 students since its creation.
William H. Breeze (right), with his son, William Jr.
Photo by Becky Kirkland
Photo by Becky Kirkland
"The site will lend itself well for applied research, training and demonstration activities to benefit farmers, consumers and the local community," Crickenberger said. "It is the vision and generosity of folks like Col. Breeze that will ensure we will have active farms and green space for many future generations."
-Suzanne Stanard