Each week we round up the latest N.C. agricultural headlines from news outlets across the state and country, as well as excerpts from the stories. Click on the links to go straight to the full story.
- “Counting calories will soon get easier when eating out,” News & Observer: Diners in North Carolina soon will see what customers in Philadelphia, Albany, N.Y., and Seattle know just by looking at restaurant menus – that Olive Garden’s eggplant parmigiana has 1,220 calories, a Krispy Kreme glazed has 200, and Hardee’s Six Dollar Thickburger has 930. …
- “USDA to require labels for more meat,” News & Observer: Those nutrition labels slapped on everything from cereal to soda pop will be required on packages of meat in about a year. …
- “Conservancy protects 300 acres in Gaston and Lincoln,” Charlotte Observer: The Charlotte-based Catawba Lands Conservancy has announced the conservation of about 300 acres of farm and forest lands in the Stanley area spanning Gaston and Lincoln counties. …
- “2010 a year of weather extremes in Asheville area,” Asheville Citizen-Times: Madison County farmer Sue Mickey doesn’t need statistics to tell her how remarkably variable the weather was in 2010. She felt it as she tended her animals and crops, from the bone-chilling cold and heavy snow of January and February to the sweltering heat of summer and now back to bitter cold and snow again. …
- “Are you getting what you pay for at the pump?” WTVD-TV: In case you haven’t noticed, gas prices have steadily crept up over the past few weeks and are hovering in the $3-a-gallon range for regular. That has drivers paying close attention to the accuracy of gas pumps. …
- “Predictions on top food issues of 2011,” Winston-Salem Journal: Food safety, health initiatives and local food dominated the food news in 2010. First lady Michelle Obama was front and center with her White House vegetable garden and her Let’s Move initiative to fight childhood obesity. Food safety reared its ugly head with a large egg recall. And food-safety and local-food issues got stirred up in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, first because of interruption in fishing and second because of concerns about contamination of any seafood harvested from the gulf. These issues will certainly spill over into 2011. Below are my predictions — call them my best guesses — on the top food issues of the coming year. …
- “Fewer weeds and insects could be the bright side to cold weather in the Carolinas,” Southern Farm Network: After enduring one of the coldest December’s on record, there may be a bright side come spring for both farmers and home owners. …
- “Business side of tourism,” Hendersonville Times-News: Agritourism is an exciting enterprise that many agricultural producers consider when expanding their farm business. …
- “North Carolina agronomists help with greenhouse tomatoes,” Southeast Farm Press: To grow greenhouse tomatoes, Steve McLawhorn and Mike Skinner made a commitment to learn a new skill set. Although highly experienced in agriculture, they wanted to be sure they were well informed on the specifics of tomato production in a greenhouse environment. …