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.
- “Column: Forest health concerns,” Hendersonville Times-News: Certainly one of the treasures of Western North Carolina is the abundant forests which cover the mountains and valleys of this area. These vast swaths of vegetation are among the most diverse in the U.S., consisting of mixed hardwood trees. The scenic beauty of these forests adds much to the quality of our lives and is obviously a huge draw for many to move here. The forests are also important economic drivers of the region supporting tourism, outdoor recreation and other forestry-related jobs. Unfortunately, there is some concern for the health of our forests. Exotic invasive pests (weeds, disease and insects) have caused the loss of many trees and led to a decline in the forest environment in some areas. Invasive weeds such as kudzu and oriental bittersweet aggressively climb and cover vegetation essentially choking them out. …
- “For North Carolina farmers in 2013: Growing grains in an awful lot of rain,” Southeast Farm Press: The rain-soaked summer of 2013 brought good news and bad news for the Webb Family Farm of Saratoga, N.C. On one hand, they produced their best corn crop ever. On the other, their grain sorghum was a major disappointment. And soybeans and wheat fell somewhere in between. Some of the variation was a little hard to predict. “Our sandier and clay soils gave the best yields this year, instead of the soils that we normally think of as good corn soils,” says Ricky Webb, who farms with his father, Bruce, and his son, Thomas. “The good number 1 bottom land just didn’t give the best results this year.” And price was a letdown. “We averaged $3 less per bushel than last year,” Ricky says. One third of their wheat was still in the field when the rains set in. …
- “Diverse Group Looks to Tackle Issue of N.C. Food Access,” North Carolina Health News: Bankers, health officials, agricultural policy experts, public health advocates and farmers filled a General Assembly committee room to overflow Monday afternoon to listen to four hours of presentations on how North Carolina can address food insecurity. The meeting was the first in a series of four study committee meetings on “food deserts,” areas, both inner-city and rural, where people have limited access to fresh healthy food because there are few if any places to buy a fresh piece of fruit or head of broccoli. And everyone who attended the meeting agreed on one thing: Addressing hunger and inaccessibility to healthy food is a multi-faceted problem with few simple answers. …
- “Cultivating New Farmers,” Organic Gardening: North of the Rocky River, amidst central North Carolina’s rolling pastures and woodlots, something surprising is growing at the Elma C. Lomax Incubator Farm. This 30-acre organic farm, on a sunny Piedmont hillside 20 miles northeast of Charlotte, produces plenty of crunchy lettuce and luscious heirloom tomatoes, but its most important harvest is a crop of new farmers. Incubator farms provide beginning farmers with access to land, equipment, resources, and training, similar to the way business incubators support budding entrepreneurs. Dozens are now starting up across the United States, with great diversity in philosophy, organization, and services offered. The growth of incubator farms comes at a time when America’s farmers are aging, with fewer young farmers stepping up to replace those who retire. …
- “(Audio) LP Gas Shortage and Arctic Blast Bad Combination,” Southern Farm Network: We’re in the midst of arctic blast number three for the month of January alone … the first two were a nuisance, but this one could be truly dangerous says NC Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler: “The forecast is showing significant snow in eastern NC and there are some problems already out there with the price and shortage of LP Gas and we hope that we don’t combine that with power outages that can be very detrimental to agriculture.” And to make matters worse, there’s a shortage of LP gas. Troxler explains: “We are beginning to see allocations of LP Gas to dealers in NC which means that instead of coming and filling your tank completely, they may have to cut it to 60-70% and the price is going up, about 89 cents last week.” …
- “U.S. House passes massive farm bill, divides NC delegation,” Progressive Pulse: SNAP House Republicans and Democrats voted 251-166 Wednesday to pass the 2014 farm bill conference report. The wide-ranging bill ends direct payments to farmers cutting $23 billion in federal spending while trimming about $8 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. Representative David Price (NC-04), who supported the farm bill, stressed that North Carolina will continue to receive its full share of funding for the food stamp program. …
- “Cargill idling North Carolina soy processor this spring,” Reuters: Cargill Inc will idle its soybean processing plant in Raleigh, North Carolina, this spring amid reduced demand for U.S. soymeal due to large soy harvests in South America, the company said on Thursday. “In recent years, demand for U.S. soybean processing has become more variable and seasonally driven,” Mark Stonacek, president of Cargill’s North American grain and oilseed supply chain, said in a statement. “Cargill will continue to monitor the global situation and will consider restarting the plant if conditions change.” The company will still operate an elevator at the Raleigh location, purchasing soybeans from farmers and other commercial sellers, it said. …
- “Carolina grain growers optimistic about 2014,” Southeast Farm Press: Jay Sullivan, president of the North Carolina Corn Growers Association, says he plans to plant about the same number of corn acres as last year. “Price is always important, but you have to look at crop rotations and other factors, too,” he said. Sullivan, who farms in Samson County, N.C., with his son, says he is optimistic about the 2014 season. …