N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-187

It shall be the duty of the Board of Agriculture to investigate the subject of marketing farm products, to diffuse useful information relating thereto, and to furnish advice and assistance to the public in order to promote efficient and economical methods of marketing farm products, and authority is hereby given to gather and diffuse timely information concerning the supply, demand, prevailing prices, and commercial movement of farm products, including quantities in common and cold storage, and may interchange such information with the United States Department of Agriculture.