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.
- “Fair changes put humans, animals farther apart,” WRAL: Visitors to the 2012 North Carolina State Fair will see even more signs reminding them to wash their hands, the result of an investment of more than $200,000 after 25 people contracted E. coli infections last year that could be linked to a livestock building. …
- “Raleigh man follows his sauce-making dream,” News & Observer: Neal McTighe quit his very stable job at Duke University Press in January to follow his sauce-making dream. Now Nello’s Sauce is available at Whole Foods and other retail stores across North Carolina and throughout the Southeast. …
- “Program teaches kids about canning,” Hendersonville Times-News: Fresh fruits and vegetables are abundant during the summer in Transylvania County… a perfect time to can and freeze local foods for enjoyment through the winter. …
- “Cattle, corn being bred in response to climate change,” Winston-Salem Journal: Cattle are being bred with genes from their African cousins that are accustomed to hot weather. New corn varieties are emerging with larger roots for gathering water in a drought. …
- “North Carolina tobacco crop bouncing back from 2011,” Southeast Farm Press: As harvest got under way, the tobacco crop in eastern North Carolina appeared to have bounced back from the hurricane-induced disaster conditions of 2011. …
- “If you look, signs of a bright future are emerging,” Mount Airy News: Mount Airy and Surry County, like much of the nation, are still struggling under the weight of a sluggish economy. [Wednesday], though, the county saw two reasons for optimism. North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler was in town, and part of his visit included some time at Pilot Mountain Pride. …
- “Public Comment Sought on Reorganization of State Fisheries Agencies,” Cape Fear Business News: State officials are looking for ideas from the public on how three different agencies can cooperatively provide more efficient, productive and enjoyable uses of the state’s fisheries resources. …
- “Short Orders: Triad chefs compete,” Greensboro News & Record: Last week 16 Triad chefs were announced for Fire in the Triad, an “Iron Chef”-style competition which begins Monday. …
- “8th Annual Food Safety Forum Coming Up,” Southern Farm Network: North Carolina’s Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler is hosting the 8th annual Food Safety Forum on August 28th from 9:00 am until 12:30 pm at the Expo Center at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. …
- “High feed prices threaten N.C. livestock industry,” News & Observer: The drought that’s choking the Midwest is also throttling North Carolina livestock growers, who are seeing record-high feed prices and worrying about farms and processing plants shutting down. …
- “Swine flu cases increase fivefold,” Winston-Salem Journal: Don’t pet the pigs. That’s the message state and county fair visitors got Thursday from health officials who reported a fivefold increase of cases of a new strain of swine flu that spreads from pigs to people. …