A recent survey conducted by CHS & Associates indicates that Sampson County residents have positive feelings toward their local community. 

Five hundred registered voters in Duplin and Sampson Counties were surveyed for the study. 

The results showed that nine out of ten people saw their communities as good, very good or great places to live.

“There’s a misperception out there that people don’t want to live in these communities because of negative impacts from agriculture. Our survey found just the opposite. People love living here, enjoy spending time outdoors, and overwhelmingly view agriculture as having a positive impact locally,” said Pat McFerron, president of CHS & Associates, a national research firm that has been providing trusted data and analysis since 1989.  “We don’t often find Republicans and Democrats agreeing, but both groups believe the communities in Duplin and Sampson counties are good or even great places to live,” McFerron continued.

One of the issues addressed in the survey was projects that support renewable natural gas on farms. With a 6-1 margin, “voters support efforts by farmers to cover lagoons, capture gases and generate renewable energy,” a press release on the study said. 

In addition, 77 percent of residents in the two counties saw the agriculture industry’s impact as very (54%) or somewhat (23%) positive.

  Seventy-three percent of residents in Sampson and Duplin Counties reported that the impact of the pork industry is positive, “most often pointing to jobs and economic impact (63%).” 

The surveying occurred from Sept. 20 to Sept. 27 on behalf of of the NC Pork Council. CHS disclosed that the confidence interval associated with the sample is that 95% of the time the results are within 4.3% of the true values.