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.
- “Pintful: Craft beer in North Carolina is $791 million market,” News & Observer: Every time I visit the bottle shop, it seems like there are a dozen new craft beers on the shelves. It’s hard to keep track of the new players and flavors. But it’s a healthy indication that interest in craft beer is still growing in North Carolina. A new study is putting the state’s craft beer scene into perspective. The Brewers Association, the leading industry trade group, estimates craft beer’s economic impact in the North Carolina topped $791 million in 2012, putting the state at No. 14 nationally. …
- “NC legislative panel looking at drones,” Fayetteville Observer: General Assembly members began learning more Tuesday about the emerging unmanned aircraft industry and are likely to debate soon what restrictions North Carolina could place on drones to protect people’s privacy. A House panel held its first meeting to examine the use of drones for agriculture, law enforcement and other fields. Committee members also are expected to examine how to balance their potential with the constitutional rights of those who may be filmed or have their data collected. …
- “North Carolina experiences record corn crop for 2013,” News 14/Time Warner Cable News: While North Carolina is not in the nation’s corn belt, record numbers will have it competing with many of the states that are. Numbers for 2013 have been released and officials say it was a banner year for corn in the Tar Heel state. Wade Byrd has been farming land in Columbus County for the past five decades. …
- “Find Hickory Nut Gap meats at Ingles and elsewhere,” Asheville Citizen-Times: January is local meat month, according to the Asheville-based Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. Some local eateries are joining in with special meat-based dishes on their menus, the sales of some of which benefit ASAP. (See box at right.) The goal is to promote local farms and small-scale meat industry. …
- “Editorial – Great care should be taken if poultry plants are allowed to inspect own product,” Wilmington Star News: Consumers have a right to be nervous about a push to remove most federal inspectors from poultry processing plants and replace them with inspectors who work for the poultry producers. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., is leading that effort and contends that the plan will actually reduce food-borne illnesses. …
- “Is There a Doctor in the House? NC Farmers Fall Short on Healthcare,” Public News Service: As North Carolina farmers work to put food on the tables of the state’s residents, many are doing so without health insurance or preventive care. According to the Agromedicine Institute, at least 30 percent of farmers and more than 90 percent of farmworkers do not have health coverage. Francesca Hyatt, Come to the Table director for Rural Advancement Foundation International, said the data points to a cultural practice among farmers. …
- “Point of View: EPA plan imperils NC’s growing biodiesel industry,” News & Observer: The growth of the renewable fuels industry in North Carolina is an American success story. Notably, the state’s biodiesel producers have burst onto the scene in the past decade, generating remarkable advances in creating new sources of sustainable energy. Yet today, the latest political skirmish in Washington is threatening to stamp out the sector’s growth and cost the state jobs in the process. …
- “Mexico, U.S. in Talks Over Meat Dispute,” Wall Street Journal: Mexico is in discussions with U.S. trade officials in efforts to find a solution to a contested meat-labeling rule, said Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo. Mexico is pursuing a claim with the World Trade Organization on a trade dispute among the U.S., Mexico and Canada in efforts to reach a resolution that doesn’t discriminate where cattle are born, Mr. Guajardo said in an interview at the World Economic Forum. …