Each week we’ll round up the latest N.C. agriculture headlines from newspapers across the state and country, as well as excerpts from the stories. Click on the links to go straight to each paper’s full story.
- “State stops trucks on I-77 to check for fire ants,” Winston-Salem Journal: The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was at the Interstate 77 weigh station near Mount Airy today checking trucks carrying sod and soil as part of a fire ant blitz. The state wants to make sure that sod and soil coming from areas under quarantine have been treated with a chemical to kill fire ants. …
- “Results of farmland values study to be presented,” Asheville Citizen-Times: The results of the Farmland Values and Farm Prosperity study will be presented 7-8:30 p.m. March 19 at the Haywood County Extension Office Auditorium. The findings of two three-year studies on the value of farmland and ways to keep farming prosperous in your community will be presented. …
- “Inspectors to check for fire ants in Surry,” Mt. Airy News: State personnel will begin manning Interstate 77 today in an effort to keep unwanted invaders from moving in – not terrorists or illegal aliens, but fire ants. A two-day “fire-ant blitz,” as described by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, will be under way today and Wednesday at the Mount Airy weigh station at mile marker 103 of Interstate 77-North. …
- “Dairy farmers fight for survival,” Hendersonville Times News: Chuck Carland shouted instructions to his stepsons, Cassidy and Christian Price. The youth listened and moved dairy cows into the milk processing room. Carland turns and looks around the dairy barn, which he owns in Mills River. …
- “Letter to the Editor: Funds for farmland,” Raleigh News & Observer: Your March 1 editorial “Farmland, paved” laid out in stark terms the changes affecting North Carolina’s agricultural land. A drive across the state illustrates those changes. …