Each week we’ll round up the latest N.C. agricultural 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.
- “Workshops on futures offered to farmers,” Asheville Citizen-Times: The N.C. Department of Agriculture will host seven free workshops for farmers around the state with a focus on commodities futures. The workshops will help farmers understand ways to manage price volatility, including the futures market and other trading options for selling their commodities, the department said. The events start Jan. 19 and ends March 4 with the final and westernmost workshop at Carolina Farm Credit, Statesville. Topics will include grain hedging, basis trading, cost of carry, cotton futures, energy derivatives; options trading on futures, equities and indices; and managing exposure to fluctuations in energy costs. The workshops run 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at each location. Registration is not required. …
- “N.C. State economist’s never seen it this bad,” Salisbury Post: In his 31 years with North Carolina State University, professor emeritus Dr. Geoff Benson has seen the fortunes of North Carolina dairy farmers go up and down. A former extension economist, he understands the cyclical nature of the dairy industry. Still, the current dairy crisis in this country troubles him. “I have never seen it this bad,” he says. And in fact, Benson says, a global dairy downturn has affected farmers not just in this country but worldwide. North Carolina is one state that has been hit hard, although not as hard as some other Southern states, Benson says. Mississippi and Louisiana have lost dairy producers at a particularly high rate. In the southeast, Kentucky and Tennessee are losing farms at a greater rate than North Carolina. …
- “South Brunswick aquaculture program flounders, but in a good way,” Wilmington Star News: Nemo, the colorful clownfish, might be the pet project of South Brunswick High School’s aquaculture program, but the mono-toned army of flounder are the stars. Just outside the door of aquaculture instructor Barry Bey’s classroom, students checked on huge vats of living fish. Some of the vats held tilapia, while in others swam blue gills and, by the far wall, was a tank filled with tiny flounder. Bey started the school’s aquaculture program in 1987. Since then, he has watched students release innumerable classroom-raised flounder and other fish into the wild. He’s also watched students go on to earn college scholarships and make aquaculture and wildlife conservation their professions. …
- “Local farmers branching out,” Cherokee Scout: As large farms disappear specialty farming may be the future trend Farmers who make their entire livelihood from working the land are almost a relic from the past in Cherokee County. As the number of large farms has steadily dwindled, a new type of farmer has emerged, one who can forge a living from an acre or two growing for a specialty market. Keith Wood has farmed with his brother Eddie Wood in the Andrews Valley for years. He also works full time for the N.C. Extension Service in Cherokee County. “I don’t know anyone who derives 100 percent of their income from farming anymore. There are a few who get most of their finances from farming,” he said. “There are more part-time farmers than anything.” …