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.
- “Financial assistance for tornado-damaged forest land,” Delta Farm Press: Landowners impacted by recent tornadoes may be eligible to receive financial assistance for reforestation efforts through the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP). EFRP makes payments available to owners of non industrial private forest (NIPF) land who are approved for program participation and carry out measures to restore land damaged by natural disasters. …
- “Plentiful crop has Henderson growers smiling,” Hendersonville Times-News: The first Henderson County strawberries of the season have arrived, and growers are predicting a healthy picking season. “Our crop is really plentiful,” said J.D. Obermiller of Obermiller’s Strawberry Farm in Horse Shoe, whose 1-acre, pick-your-own business opened for the season this week. …
- “The Dish – Local chefs to compete for best dish,” Wilmington Star-News: The Cape Fear region used to be known for oyster roasts and fried fish served open-air or in shacks along the river or dirt roads. Now, visitors come for top chefs whose names keep popping up in respected cooking competitions. …
- “House budget would eliminate two tobacco settlement funds,” News & Observer: House Republicans want to abolish two trust funds that receive half of North Carolina’s share of the national tobacco settlement and intercept money from the third – a direction health and economic development advocates contend will raise youth smoking rates and discourage economic recovery. …
- “Wake Forest gets grant for biodiesel project,” Winston-Salem Journal: A Wake Forest University alternative-energy project will be able to expand the testing of a key catalyst through a $145,665 grant from the Biofuels Center of North Carolina. The one-year grant is going to Wake’s Terrafinity project, which is working to produce biodiesel from inexpensive feed stocks and other sources. …
- “Asheville growers, brewers have hopes for local hops,” Asheville Citizen-Times: Researchers and growers are forging new ground to make hops a viable crop in Western North Carolina, and their work is coming to a head. Hops are a primary ingredient in the production of craft beer. The flowering plants produce fruit-like flavors in beer. With the explosion of the craft-brewing industry in WNC, some see the potential for a viable hop industry in the mountains. …
- “NC ports falling behind on ag exports,” WUNC-FM: North Carolina agriculture leaders say the state is losing exports to neighbors like Virginia and South Carolina. State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler told the Ports Authority board almost 90 percent of North Carolina’s overseas agricultural exports leave from other states. He says it’s too expensive to transport goods to the coast and ports don’t have the right equipment to handle large loads. …
- “Acres of farmland disappearing, but not as fast,” Salisbury Post: North Carolina has lost 1 million acres of farmland over the past decade, with about 8.6 million acres remaining, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture. This includes Rowan County, where 32 percent of land mass is some type of farming operation, including 983 farms on nearly 116,000 acres, according to a 2007 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). …