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.
- “A rental kitchen for pros,” News & Observer: In Durham, there’s a business that’s not a retail store but that I know will interest a lot of business owners and aspiring business owners. The Cookery will open its doors this month, offering folks with a food-related business kitchen space with professional-grade equipment that can be rented by the hour 24 hours a day, seven days a week. …
- “Global exports grew record 14.5 percent in 2010,” Charlotte Observer: Exports jumped 14.5 percent last year – the biggest rise recorded since 1950 – as economies rebounded from the global downturn, the World Trade Organization said Thursday. Cross-border trade is expected to recover further in 2011, the WTO said in its annual report. …
- “The market is up,” Wilmington Star-News: Farmers’ market season is officially here. And there are many of them for locavores to check out. …
- “Bill would add to protection of flytrap plants,” Wilmington Star-News: A proposal to help protect the Venus’ flytrap, which grows naturally only within about 60 miles of Wilmington, took a first step toward passage Tuesday when it was approved by the House Agriculture Committee. …
- “Food Tidbits: Annual farm tour will be April 16 and 17,” Winston-Salem Journal: The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association will sponsor the 16th Piedmont Farm Tour on April 16 and 17. The tour includes about 40 farms, including two cheese dairies, a biodynamic fruit farm, three vineyards and many organic-produce farms. …
- “New Canton livestock market thriving,” Asheville Citizen-Times: Judging by the number of cars in the parking lot and the cacophony of moos coming from inside, the WNC Regional Livestock Center is booming. Three weeks after opening, the center has sold nearly 2,000 head of cattle, bolstered by a national dearth of beef cattle and high demand from American consumers. …
- “Grants help convert hog waste lagoons,” Wilmington Star-News: There’s $900,000 in funding available to help North Carolina swine farmers switch from hog lagoons to innovative waste management systems, the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources said Monday. …
- “State prepares for battle with gypsy moths at park,” Fayetteville Observer: North Carolina agriculture officials are ready to oust a hungry pest from Hammocks Beach State Park in Onslow County. …
- “Stink bug species could severely damage crops in WNC,” Hendersonville Times-News: The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is an invasive pest of Asian origin that was first detected in the U.S. in Allentown, Pa., in 1998. In subsequent years it spread from this focal point, establishing itself as a pest of minor significance on various crops, primarily tree fruits in the mid-Atlantic states. …
- “Cooperative extension facing cuts,” Mount Airy News: A resolution recently proposed at the federal level would cut funding for the Cooperative Extension Service, which could be just a start of cuts for the program which has a large impact in the state and in Surry County. …