RALEIGH - North Carolina is well known as an agricultural state. And as Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler says, a new report from the USDA on the value of our products shows that North Carolina's reach is growing.

"It confirms that North Carolina ag-products continue to be in demand across the world," Troxler says. "The value of North Carolina's exports for 2013 was more than $3.7 billion and that figure doesn't even take into account the $1.5 billion that we're exporting in forestry products."

Troxler says North Carolina is the 2nd largest exporter in the country when it comes to pork and poultry and the largest when it comes to tobacco. Troxler says he will be participating in an upcoming trade mission due to the international appetite for North Carolina products.

"About any ag-commodity that we grow in North Carolina will find a home somewhere internationally," Troxler says. "One of the things we concentrate on in the Department of Agriculture is international markets and opening these markets for our products."

Agriculture generates more than $70 billion for North Carolina each year and Troxler says it makes sense to look outside the borders for new opportunities.

"When we start talking about exports, 95 percent of the world's population lives outside of the borders of the United States," he says. "This is where the mouths are that we want to feed."

And Troxler says of all industries to excel in, agriculture is an important one.

"If you think about it, agriculture products meet the most basic of human needs. It feeds us, clothes us, shelters us," he says. "These are necessities. These aren't rights or things we want. It's things we've got to have to survive."