(The Center Square) – Annual celebration by 910,584 people of North Carolina’s No. 1 industry wrapped up an 11-day run at the State Fair on Sunday, the Agriculture Department says.

The attendance figure is the lowest since 2021 (824,328) as the COVID-19 era dissipated. The fair drew 946,811 in 2025; 998,926 in 2024, 926,425 in 2023; and 960,172 in 2022. The all-time record is 1,091,887 in 2010, and eclipsing 1 million was last achieved in 2017, according to records from the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.

More than 200,000 pounds of food was donated to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina during Hunger Relief Day, and more than 8,400 military members and guests made the trek in on Military Appreciation Day. The former represents what can feed 2,300 to 3,000 in a year, according to two food distribution programs’ statistics; the latter is a portion of the state’s estimated 615,000 veterans, roughly 90,000 active-duty military, and about 43,000 National Guard and reservists.

Sixth-term Republican state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, in a statement shared with The Center Square, said in part, “It was an incredible fair. Everywhere I looked I saw smiling faces, families making special memories and plenty of agriculture on display. We saw strong attendance every day but the rain day, which was not unexpected. Our numbers were on par with the 2025 attendance minus the rain day.”

The State Fair operates as self-supporting by the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, meaning no taxpayer money is directly appropriated.

According to state government calculations by the Agriculture Department, agriculture and agribusiness are a $102 billion annual economic impact for North Carolina. It has been the state’s No. 1 industry forever. About 42,500 farms are operated on 8.1 million acres from Murphy to Manteo.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture calculations, the state is eighth in the nation in value of agricultural products sold, 14th in exports.

North Carolina production, the USDA says, is No. 1 nationally each in sweetpotatoes, all tobacco, flue-cured tobacco, and poultry and eggs. The state is No. 2 in Christmas tree sales, production of turkeys, and food-size trout sold. It is No. 3 in cucumbers and hogs, No. 4 in peanuts and broilers (chicken), and No. 5 in cotton.