N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-554
Any existing commission, council, board or other agency fairly representative of the growers and producers of any agricultural commodity herein referred to, and any such commission, council, board or other agency hereafter created for and fairly representative of the growers or producers of any such agricultural commodity herein referred to, may at any time after the passage and ratification of this Article make application to the Board of Agriculture of the State of North Carolina for certification and approval for the purpose of conducting a referendum among the growers or producers of such particular agricultural commodity, for commercial purposes, upon the question of levying an assessment under the provisions of this Article, collecting and utilizing the same for the purposes stated in such referendum.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-554