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.
- “NC Ag Commissioner Considers Greensboro Event a Learning Experience,” Southern Farm Network: On Wednesday, North Carolina’s Ag Commissioner, Steve Troxler, along with other state and local dignitaries, members of the media from across the country, as well as employees of several of Syngenta’s divisions from the US and Canada gathered at the Greensboro Coliseum for Insights into Syngenta’s New Strategies just about a year after the company announced it would be consolidating all its divisions. …
- “NC black farmers filing claims in USDA settlement,” News & Observer: Black farmers in eastern North Carolina are lining up to talk to lawyers about claiming part of a more than $1 billion settlement with the federal government before time runs out. Meetings are scheduled between Thursday and Saturday in Fayetteville for farmers who may be eligible to receive payments. …
- “Tobacco firms agree to discuss farm workers’ rights,” Winston-Salem Journal: A long-sought meeting of the minds on tobacco farm worker conditions has been agreed to by advocacy groups and several large tobacco manufacturers, including Reynolds American Inc. …
- “No additional cold damage to western NC crops,” News & Observer: Farmers in western North Carolina say this week’s cold snap has done little additional damage to their crops. Henderson County Extension director Marvin Owings says crops in the area already were suffering from an April 11 freeze. …
- “New case of mad cow disease in California,” Winston-Salem Journal: The first new case of mad cow disease in the United States since 2006 has been discovered in a dairy cow in California, but health authorities said Tuesday that the animal never was a threat to the nation’s food supply. …
- “Ag commissioner visits local 4-H club,” Hendersonville Times-News: State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said he was thrilled to speak to a local Henderson County 4-H club Tuesday because in his mind, young people are the future of agriculture. …
- “Will exports save North Carolina’s tobacco farms? ,” Greensboro News & Record: In his greenhouse just off Clapp Farms Road , Andy Clapp pulls a batch of tobacco seedlings from their watery bed. In a few more weeks, the stems will be thicker and stronger, ready for the freshly plowed field just down the road. …
- “Beetles’ birth explosion adds stress to trees,” News & Observer: Mountain pine beetles attack and kill weak pine trees, boring into bark to lay their eggs. They attack the trees in hordes, and their larvae feed off fungi in the trees. Now, the beetles are reproducing twice a year instead of once, and millions of trees are dying as a result. …
- “FDA proposes rules for nanotechnology in food,” Charlotte Observer: Regulators are proposing that food companies that want to use tiny engineered particles in their packaging may have to provide extra testing data to show the products are safe. …