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.
- “There’s a strong interest in Friends of Agriculture,” Mecklenburg County Extension Blog: The 20 or so farmers and food system activists looked a bit out of place Tuesday morning, clustered around tables in an ornate room generally reserved for high-class weddings and corporate powwows at the posh Ballantyne Resort Hotel in South Charlotte. …
- “Drought conditions return to N.C. after scorching heat,” Fayetteville Observer: North Carolina didn’t stay drought-free for long. Below-normal rainfall and record-breaking temperatures have brought moderate drought conditions to 17 counties, state officials said. …
- “Locally raised meats get a boost from new Cabarrus facility,” Charlotte Observer: It has a cryptic name: “The Cruse Meats Harvest Facility.” It has a use that some people may find unsettling: It’s where livestock – mostly cows, pigs, sheep and goats – will come to end their lives before they become steaks and sausage. …
- “Weather Extremes Working to Derail Good Start to 2012 Crops,” Southern Farm Network: Kent Messick, chief of NCDA’s agronomic division says that a couple of weather events in the past week has been working to derail what’s heretofore been an outstanding start to the growing season…
- “Fewer workers crossing border create farm labor shortage,” News & Observer: On more than 10,000 acres of drained swampland in western New York, Maureen Torrey’s family farm grows an assortment of vegetables in the dark, nutrient-rich soil known as “Elba muck.” …
- “Thousands flock to Denton for Old Threshers’ Reunion,” News 14: The sound of steam engines and the smell of fuel fills the air in Davidson County this week. The 42nd annual Southeast Old Threshers’ Reunion kicked off Saturday at Denton Farm Park. …
- “Ethanol makers idle plants amid high corn prices,” Charlotte Observer: Ethanol makers are cutting production, and some are temporarily idling plants in the Midwest, as corn prices skyrocket and demand for gasoline falls because people are driving less. …
- “Kudzu Bug Showing up in Carolina Soybean Fields Early this Year,” Southern Farm Network: In 2011 South Carolina experienced a major infestation of the kudzu bug. According to Dr. Jim Dunphy, NC State Extension Soybean Specialist, the pest was reported in most soybean producing counties in North Carolina…