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.
- “Fresh market muscadines finding niche,” Southeast Farm Press: Muscadine grapes sold unprocessed on the fresh market could be the next hot item in the grape industry. At least that is what Ron Cottle of Faison,N.C., thinks. In the past year, he has put a major effort into providing grapes ready for the table from his area of eastern North Carolina. “We have put in 35 acres of our own and have arranged for another 35 to 40 acres to be grown for us by other growers,” says Cottle. “We are going into this somewhat on faith: We are banking that the word will get around about the health benefits of muscadine grapes and that the market will continue to grow.” …
- “In real life, it’s not so easy,” News & Observer: Take away the open plains, the Indians and other facets of the Old West, and what’s left are about 12 shooters on horseback at the state fairgrounds with a greater appreciation for the riders of that time. But unlike the bravos and gunslingers they try to emulate, these competitors don’t fire live bullets. Their pistols – replicas of the Colts and Remingtons of the late 1800s – are loaded with black powder blanks topped with bits of corn cob or walnut husks to help bust 10 balloons on a timed course. …
- “Natural cures run in her family,” News & Observer: Before the clatter of capsules against childproof caps came the whispering fields of medicinal plants – fields Nadja Cech knows very well. Cech, 31, grew up on an organic farm in Oregon where her family tended medicinal herbs. Now she’s an associate professor of chemistry at UNC Greensboro, studying how and why plants such as echinacea work as medicine in the body. She gathers plants across North Carolina, and sometimes from her family farm out West, to analyze back in her lab at UNCG. “History tells us that nature has made a lot of compounds that end up being very useful drugs. …
- “Saddle up, partners, the bull riders are coming!” News & Observer: Get out your cowboy boots, rustle up the kids and head out to the State Fairgrounds for the NBRA Bullriding and Barrel Racing finals tonight and Saturday. “It’s like the wild, wild West,” says Jeff Mullen, owner of Carousel Farms, which is hosting the event. Except more family-friendly. Thirty top bull riders and 15 top barrel racers will compete to be named champions of the series. …
- “Target of land trust coalition: Preserve 50,000 acres,” Hendersonville Times News: Ten land trusts in North Carolina want to preserve 50,000 acres in the western region of the state. Two years ago, they formed the Blue Ridge Forever Coalition and developed a plan to preserve land in 25 Western North Carolina counties. The group identified 28 areas that need preservation. They did not look at individual parcels but identified areas with valuable water resources, scenic views, farmland or biological diversity. ” …