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.
- “Cargill recalling 36M pounds of ground turkey,” Charlotte Observer: Meat giant Cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of ground turkey linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak that has killed one person in California and sickened at least 76 others. …
- “Hydrilla surfaces in Kerr Lake,” WRAL-TV: A fast-growing aquatic weed is causing headaches for some property owners along Kerr Lake. The weed hydrilla has been a nuisance in Kerr Lake in recent years but sprang up with a vengeance around docks and shores last year, said Paul McKenzie, agricultural agent for Vance and Warren counties. …
- “Army reservists, Fort Bragg instructors learn farming techniques,” Fayetteville Observer: For two days last week, Army reservists training at Fort Bragg visited a farm on the Cumberland-Bladen county line that is trying to revolutionize the world of agriculture. …
- “Whitsett farm wins national contest, fruit orchard,” Greensboro News & Record: Peacehaven Community Farm is one of 20 national winners of a fruit orchard. …
- “NCSU gets federal grant to study food poisoning,” News & Observer: A national team led by N.C. State University has received a $25 million federal grant to research and help control the viruses that cause food poisoning. …
- “Drought forces Texas, Okla. ranchers to cut herds,” Charlotte Observer: Texas cattle rancher Charles Kothman is down to six calves and their mothers after selling off 80 animals in recent months. The drought that has baked pastures and dried ponds has ranchers in Texas and Oklahoma – the nation’s top two beef producers – culling their herds. …
- “Duplin, surrounding counties benefit from $2M in state ag grants,” Duplin Herald-Sun: The Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund recently awarded more than $1.8 million aimed at protecting farmland and promoting agricultural enterprises, according to Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. …
- “Mexico reopens markets to peaches from Southern US,” Asheville Citizen-Times: An agreement signed earlier this year by the U.S. and Mexican governments has allowed sweet, juicy Southern peaches to be sold in grocery stores south of the border for the first time in 17 years. …
- “Rain helps as Pender Co. fire lingers into third month,” WWAY-TV: The Juniper Road Fire in Pender County is close to being 100 percent contained. The NC Forest Service just passed command of the fire to the local office in Whiteville; a move made possible by improved containment and fewer crews fighting the fire. …
- “Plant closing stuns Siler City, Mocksville,” News & Observer: The Ukrainian owner of the North Carolina operations of chicken processor Townsend plans to close all the company’s facilities by October and lay off more than a thousand workers in Siler City and Mocksville. …
- “Heat wave a risk for apple crop,” Asheville Citizen-Times: Like families heading out to the beach, the lake or Bele Chere, apple growers in Henderson County are battling the hot sun as they protect their crops this summer. Working through another scorcher of a season, farmers are taking extra precautions. …
- “In Season: The best dishes in N.C.,” Wilmington Star-News: The N.C. Best Dish competition is nothing new to local foodies. But if the contest has slipped your mind, here’s a little reminder. …