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 has no drought area for 1st time in 3 years,” News & Observer: For the first time in three years, no area of North Carolina is experiencing a drought or abnormally dry conditions. The chairman of the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council credits Tropical Storm Andrea and several other storm systems for the relief from the dry conditions. …
- “How sweet it is: Columbus County businessman finds new ways to market homegrown potatoes,” Fayetteville Observer: Some people call him Mr. Sweet Potato. And in the state that produces half of the nation’s sweet potatoes, that’s saying something. “Whatever talents God gave me, it’s in sweet potatoes,” George Wooten said, wearing a shirt just the right shade of orange to match the core of a sweet potato. …
- “More food now traveling less to get on students’ plates,” Salisbury Post: During a recent school lunch this spring, kindergartners at Isenberg Elementary School bit into sweet, fresh strawberries. They smiled in surprise when they found out that the fruit they were eating was picked just days earlier at a farm less than 15 miles away. Some of them had even visited there. …
- “Cogongrass discovered in Stanly County, N.C.,” Southeast Farm Press: A small patch of cogongrass, considered by many experts to be one of the world’s worst weeds, was discovered recently in Stanly County by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. This is the second confirmed infestation in North Carolina; the first was in Pender County in May 2012. …
- “Cool spring weather slows tobacco crop progress,” Southeast Farm Press: Tobacco farmers in most of the areas where tobacco is grown in the United States were hoping for a hot spell in mid-May after experiencing cool spring temperatures that resulted in delays in planting and in-field development. …
- “Blueberries thriving in Southeastern N.C.,” Wilmington Star News: Today, blueberries are North Carolina’s most valuable fruit crop – and since 2001, by act of the General Assembly, they’ve been the Tar Heel State’s official berry. (Legislators hedged a bit, also recognizing the strawberry as North Carolina’s official RED berry.) …
- “For Lewis, growing blueberries a labor of love,” Wilmington Star News: Cal Lewis kicks at the dirt in one of his Rocky Point blueberry farms, turning the sandy top level over to expose the soil beneath. “This soil here is an acidic … soil. It’s not good for growing strawberries, tobacco, peanuts, corn, cotton or anything else. It’s good for growing blueberries,” Lewis said. …
- “Farm Fresh Produce making a name in summer vegetable deal,” The Produce News: Take a young couple with strong roots in the produce industry and a determination to build a business that evolves and expands with every season, and you have Farm Fresh Produce in Faison, NC. Husband-and-wife owners Steven and Bethany Ceccarelli may be young, but they know their business and they are packed with energy to build what has already become a well-known supplier of summer vegetables. …
- “Record rainfall squelches strawberry harvest,” Hendersonville Times News: More than 7 inches of rain has fallen at the Asheville Regional Airport so far in June, about 5.84 inches above normal, according to the National Weather Service. More than 3.4 inches of rain fell Friday, breaking a daily record set 144 years ago, followed by 1.48 inches on Sunday that broke another record for the date. …
- “June is a rain maker so far,” Greensboro News & Record: It’s not your imagination. It pretty much has rained all month. The gauge at the Piedmont Triad International Airport has recorded some level of rainfall every day since June 2. Thank Tropical Storm Andrea — which dropped a little more than an inch last week — and old-fashioned luck. …