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.
- “In a time of austerity, budget spares no one,” News & Observer: Gov. Bev Perdue presented a $19.9 billion budget plan Thursday that would keep a portion of the temporary sales tax she had promised would expire this year, while eliminating thousands of state jobs and dozens of programs. …
- “Uptown food market finds two sponsors,” Charlotte Observer: Carolinas HealthCare System and Blue Cross make healthy investment in old Reid’s store. Five months after boosters’ unsuccessful appeal for public money, two of the state’s largest health care companies are teaming up to sponsor a new food market in the old Reid’s grocery in uptown Charlotte. …
- “Vote Feb. 22 on North Carolina corn check-off,” Southeast Farm Press: Although 2011 is shaping up to be a banner year for North Carolina farmers, it could be a very difficult year politically. With budget cuts planned for the 2012 farm bill, this year could be a pivotal one for agriculture. …
- “Winter weather still impacting produce costs,” WRAL-TV: The weather may be getting warmer, but the memory of winter is still fresh at the grocery store. Freezing temperatures have devastated crops in both of the nation’s crucial winter growing regions, creating shortages in the produce that’s available. …
- “Learn how to generate income from your forested property in Western North Carolina,” Asheville Citizen-Times: Land-of-Sky Regional Council will host a series of forest-based workshops throughout Western North Carolina that will give land owners, business owners, craftsmen, and others information they can use to generate income from their forest lands. …
- “A farm, for starters,” Durham Herald-Sun: The cleared, flat plot of land directly opposite the Carolina Friends School has a barren, harsh look that matches the weather on a recent chilly winter’s day…It is the beginning, the first step, to what’s going to become the Duke University Campus Farm. …
- “Master Gardener – Soil testing helps you save money,” Wilmington Star-News: One of the most important things you can do to be a more successful gardener is to get to know your soil. Digging in the soil and observing how water drains and plants grow will tell you a lot, but to really understand your soil’s ability to nourish healthy plants you need to test it. Soil testing is free in North Carolina, provided by the N.C. Department of Agriculture…