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.
- “Farmers struggle to find enough apple pickers, ” Hendersonville Times News: Farmers are struggling to find enough pickers for this year’s apple harvest, after news spread about the diminished crop and hassles of using E-Verify to employ workers. Despite a hard freeze last spring that reduced this year’s apple crop by roughly 70 percent, local apple farmers are struggling to find enough pickers for the harvest. …
- “School lunch requirements change,” Wilmington Star News: Lunch time at Gregory Elementary is half choice, half you-eat-what-you-get. Behind the counter, cafeteria workers Linda Pringle and Pamela Wilson gave the fourth-graders a choice: nachos or pork chops? Once a decision was made, the ladies loaded plates with the non-negotiables: pinto beans, grapes and cups of salad. …
- “Mountain State Fair opens 19th edition,” Asheville Citizen Times: The North Carolina Mountain State Fair returns Friday with a mix of longtime attractions and a couple of new spins: a lively wild west rodeo and the human cannonball from this summer’s London Olympics. The fair has a 10-day run, through Sept. 16, at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center near Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher. …
- “Soybeans hit all-time high as Isaac pushes north,” Charlotte Observer: The price of soybeans is at an all-time high on expectations that Tropical Storm Isaac may cause more damage to crops already battered by the devastating drought. September soybeans rose 6.85 cents Thursday to finish at $17.7025 per bushel. That topped the previous record high of $17.575 per bushel set July 20. …
- “Dedication celebrates conservation agreement,” Jacksonville Daily News: The late Billy Guthrie loved working the family farm and Friday was about celebrating a seed he planted six years ago. It wasn’t a seed for a plant he’d watch grow; rather, the beginning of a discussion. That discussion has led to the preservation of more than 50 acres of the farmland that he grew up on and where he spent much of his life walking the cornfields or checking the Bogue Sound watermelons for which the area is known. …
- “Overcharged at the pump?,” WTVD: How closely do you check what you’re charged at the gas pump? Have you ever actually run the numbers to know if you’re getting what you pay for? You may want to pay closer attention after you see what happened to an ABC11 news crew recently. Fred Shropshire and cameraman Tommy Harris were filling up at a Shell station on Durham’s West Main Street when the gas nozzle clicked off, but the price meter kept going. …