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.
- “Ukrainian about to buy N.C. chicken processor: Bankrupt Townsends employs 1,200 in Chatham County, buys from farmers.” Charlotte Observer: A Ukrainian billionaire is poised to buy the North Carolina assets of chicken processor Townsends in a $24.9 million deal that is the latest sign of how globalization and rising food prices are reshaping one of the state’s biggest industries. …
- “Report: Conservation is paying off,” Winston-Salem Journal: Every $1 invested in buying land for conservation in North Carolina returns $4 in economic value from natural resource goods and services, according to an economic benefits report released Wednesday at a summit on economics of conservation. …
- “Oil prices hit $100 per barrel,” Charlotte Observer: Oil hit $100 per barrel Wednesday for the first time in 2 1/2 years as the unrest in Libya worsened, and gasoline prices in the U.S. climbed to nearly $3.20 a gallon, the highest level ever for February. …
- “Sanderson shelves factory plans as corn costs bite,” Agrimoney.com: Sanderson Farms ditched controversial plans for a new poultry processing plant as, revealing a first-quarter loss, it warned of a double whammy from higher grain costs and an “oversupply” of chicken. …
- “Perdue proposes closing research stations,” Salisbury Post: Gov. Bev Perdue has proposed shutting down seven unnamed agricultural research stations, but a state official says at this time, Piedmont Research Station doesn’t appear to be one of them. …
- “Board approves farmland plan,” Lexington Dispatch: The Davidson County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a farmland protection plan, essentially promoting and protecting farmland in the county. …
- “Big Crop – Cotton’s comeback comes with a challenge,” Fayetteville Observer: Soaring foreign demand has raised hopes of a cotton resurgence in North Carolina. Farmers in the Cape Fear region are watching closely. …
- “Food scientist’s legacy is in your taste buds,” News & Observer: Bill Hoover played with food. For most of his 94 years, he lorded over bubbling beakers in his basement lab, dabbling in cocktail sauce, fiddling with cheese spread, burrowing to the essence of sweet potatoes. …
- “USDA, others invest $5M to grow broccoli in East,” Charlotte Observer: A cool microclimate in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains has allowed farmer James Light to grow broccoli in quantity enough to supply a small chain of supermarkets. Along most of the East Coast, however, the broccoli piled up in produce crispers has traveled thousands of miles from the West Coast in refrigerated trucks, typically at a cost of $6,000 a tractor load. …