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.
- “How a toxin in beetles is killing N.C. horses,” The Technician: Last month, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture suspected blister beetle poisoning caused the death of five horses in North Carolina. The poison, cantharidin, originates from the blister beetle and can contaminate alfalfa hay fed to horses. Cantharidin, produced by the male blister beetle and transferred to the female during mating, is a chemical used for protection by the beetles. The toxin causes a painful blistering of human skin, and when consumed, the digestive tract. Clyde Sorenson, a professor in the Department of Entomology, said it is unclear how many beetles it takes to kill a horse because it depends on the concentration of cantharidin in the beetles. The striped beetle is thought to be the one that accumulates the most of the toxin. …
- “NC company devises method using tobacco plants to produce omega-2 oil without harming sharks,” News & Observer: In the 1975 movie blockbuster “Jaws,” Roy Scheider’s character gets a glimpse of the sharkzilla darting its head out of the ocean and backs away in terror, approaching his shipmate with the unscripted line: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” When it comes to producing the coveted omega-2 oil squalene, a boat is no longer needed. For years, this compound has been harvested from deep-sea shark livers because of its numerous health properties and commercial uses. Now, a company with offices in Cornelius is part of a sustainable and more environmentally friendly production method that not only can ease pressure on shark catches but can benefit North Carolina tobacco farmers. …
- “2015 NC State Fair has second-highest attendance ever,” WRAL: The North Carolina State Fair closed its 11-day run Sunday as the second-most-attended ever, with 1,019,738 people passing through the gates, fair officials announced Monday. The record for total attendance is 1,091,887, set in 2010. Sunday’s attendance was 107,397, nearly 10,000 higher than the same day last year. Saturday’s attendance was 140,886, which is 14,000 more visitors than on the same day last year. For 11 days every October, the North Carolina State Fair is like a miniature city within the Triangle. On any given day during the festivities, the population exceeds that of small communities such as Chapel Hill. …
- “N.C. set for explosion of craft distillers,” Winston-Salem Journal: Mayberry Spirits had their vanilla flavored whiskey, made with sorghum syrup, at MESDA’s 50th anniversary party “BBQ, Bourbon & Bluegrass.” Spirits are up in the local liquor business, a fact made abundantly clear Friday night at the 50th anniversary party for the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts at Old Salem. The event, titled “BBQ, Bourbon and Bluegrass,” drew about 300 people to celebrate the history of MESDA. A big part of the evening was the spirits program organized by Jordan Keiper, whose family owns the Tavern in Old Salem. Keiper and the Tavern have become big supporters of local food, beer, wine and spirits. Keiper has watched North Carolina distilleries begin to come into their own. In 2013, there were 13 distilleries in the state. Now, the N.C. Distilleries Association has 27 members, with three more distilleries set to open in the near future. Nationwide, there are about 425 craft distilleries, according to the American Distilling Institute, and about half of those are three years old or younger. …
- “Can North Carolina farmers hit 100-bushel soybeans?” Southeast Farm Press: If Randy Dowdy can do it, soybean farmers in North Carolina certainly can. So says Brandon Harrelson, sales manager for Southern States Cooperative in North Carolina, speaking of Dowdy, the Brooks County, Ga., farmer who achieved a yield of 116.5 bushels per acre on irrigated soybeans last year. “We all know who Randy Dowdy is and we all want to know what he does to make 500 bushel corn and 100 bushel soybeans,” said Harrelson at the Southern States high yield soybean field day Sept. 15 at Mount Olive, N.C. At the field day, participants toured Southern States’ 50-acre, high-yield test plot on Ralph Britt Jr.’s farm. The irrigated plot utilizes an early production system with the goal of achieving 100 bushels per acre. “We’re trying to think about new ways to manage soybeans and what we can do to achieve big yields,” Harrelson said. “We wanted to use an early production system and make it successful in North Carolina. …
- “Growing a brand: Young farmers navigate a hard business,” Asheville Citizen-Times: As dozens of children in rain boots tromped through a field trip at Hickory Nut Gap Farm, a minor crisis arose in the farm store. “Jamie, this is the last of our cider,” said a solemn-faced worker, proffering a half-empty jug of amber liquid. Jamie Ager, a Warren Wilson College grad and fourth-generation farmer on this rolling 500-acre swath of Fairview property, handled it in stride, directing his crew to grab some apples and press some more on the fly, like a chef in a busy restaurant kitchen. With the opening of his new on-site deli, Ager is now many things at once: restaurant owner, farmer, store manager and more. Hickory Nut Gap is a working farm first, but also an idyllic destination for agritourism with baby animals to ogle, pumpkins to pick and cider to guzzle. But even though it breeds a brand-new set of problems, economic diversification is the name of the game in modern farming. …
- “Industrial hemp poised to become NC’s newest legal crop,” News & Observer: Farmers in North Carolina are likely to wake up Saturday morning with a new option for growing crops: Industrial hemp production is expected to become legal at the stroke of midnight. Lawmakers passed the legalization legislation in September, in the final days of the session. The proposal hadn’t previously been made public, and some conservative groups worry that questions about the plant’s connections to its cousin, marijuana, didn’t get answered. The bill has been on Gov. Pat McCrory’s desk for weeks, and unless he vetoes it, it will become law without his signature at midnight Friday. Lee Edwards of Sugar Hill Farms in Kinston is among the farmers eager to add industrial hemp to their fields. “Hemp really gives us a crop during the summertime that is a viable cash crop to us,” he said. “We’re in a perfect geographical location for the production of hemp with our climate.” …