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.
- “House panel shelves major immigration legislation,” News & Observer: A special House panel on immigration reform dissolved abruptly Thursday without any major legislative recommendations, an indication that Republican lawmakers are confounded by the politics of the contentious issue and reticent to follow the lead of other states by cracking down on illegal immigrants. …
- “UN: world food prices drop,” Charlotte Observer: A United Nations agency says prices of basic foods fell by 1.5 percent last month, with the international prices of all commodities except dairy products dropping. …
- “Asheville marketplace showcases local foods,” Asheville Citizen-Times: More than two dozen vendors offered samples and sold their locally produced items, mostly made in the kitchens of Blue Ridge Food Ventures, at Wednesday’s Holiday Marketplace on the Enka campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. …
- “Soybeans rise on hopes for better export demand,” Charlotte Observer: The price of soybeans rose Wednesday on expectations that U.S. exports could strengthen after unfavorable weather affected the planting seasons in Argentina and Brazil. …
- “North Carolina growers see advantages to grain sorghum,” Southeast Farm Press: About 50,000 acres of grain sorghum were grown in North Carolina this year, an estimated 10-fold increase over 2011. Growers are choosing the crop for the real advantages it provides: drought tolerance; flexible planting dates; unattractiveness to deer; no need for specialized equipment or costly inputs; and improved rotation and double-crop options for management of plant-parasitic nematodes and difficult weeds. …
- “For foodies on your list: Gifts to please the palate,” Charlotte Observer: As we’re nearing the holiday finish line, here’s your gift-giving mantra: Keep it simple. Keep it practical. Food gifts can be great choices for people who appreciate consumables that don’t add to the clutter around the house. …
- “Bayer CropScience to build bee care center in RTP,” Durham Herald-Sun: Bayer CropScience is planning to break ground in February on a bee care center in the Research Triangle Park where one official said the company hopes to attract university researchers to look into factors that may affect bee health. …
- “Guilford farms teeter on ‘fiscal cliff’,” Greensboro News & Record: About 380 families and companies own farms worth more than $1 million each near Greensboro. The “fiscal cliff” on Dec. 31 — when Bush-era tax cuts expire and sweeping automatic cuts in federal spending kick in, unless Congress acts — could mean trouble for those who hope to pass those farms along to their children. …
- “New grant program aims to enhance agriculture, forestry sectors in WNC,” Mountain Xpress: WNC Communities announced today that the TVA Ag & Forestry Fund is now accepting letters of intent until January 14, 2013. Funds have been made available by Commissioner Steve Troxler of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to WNC Communities to create and implement this competitive grant program focusing on projects in the agriculture and forestry sectors. …
- “NC Agriculture Exports Hit Record,” WUNC: North Carolina Agriculture products are in growing demand around the world according to new numbers from the U-S Department of Agriculture. …