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.
- “150th State Fair is in the books,” North State Journal: The N.C. State Fair finished its 11-day run on Sunday with the fourth highest visitor total in its 150-year history with 1,014,478 through the turnstiles. The fair also saw the highest number of attendees for an opening Thursday at 57,083. The second week of fair events included several cooking awards and livestock milestones. Highlights are below. …
- “North Carolina growers expect high quality sweet potatoes,” The Packer: Despite a significant decline in acreage, North Carolina sweet potato growers are optimistic about the size and quality of their crop. “We’ve had pretty good weather,” said George Wooten, owner of Wayne Bailey Produce, Chadbourn, N.C. “We’ve had good digging conditions. Quality is really good. We’ll have good supplies for the holidays and the rest of year.” Wooten said in mid-October that his harvest was about half finished and that his company had been shipping new crop sweet potatoes for a month. …
- “Asheville Breweries By the Numbers,” Asheville Citizen-Times (Video) How many breweries does Asheville have? And how have these growing numbers contributed to the local economy?
- “Listen: A farmer’s impromptu speech jolts a crowd,” Southeast Farm Press: Less than 20 seconds into his unscripted speech, the creed he proclaimed hit home, and the jolted audience returned to him a thunderous clap of their own. Like a familiar thunderclap, his words rolled over the docile crowd. Less than 20 seconds into his unscripted speech, the creed he proclaimed hit home, and the jolted audience returned to him a thunderous clap of their own. On Oct. 17, first-generation Virginia farmer Robert Mills, Jr., held the 2017 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award in his hand and proclaimed the FFA creed to the more than 600 people attending the opening-day luncheon at the 40th anniversary Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Ga. From that opening salvo, he launched into one of the best speeches given to accept the award; and many a fine farmer has given many a fine speech over the 28 years of the farmer of the year program. …
- “SURVEY SHOWS IMPACTS IMMIGRATION POLICY HAS ON AGRICULTURE,” Southern Farm Network: A survey recently released by the California Farm Bureau shows immigration policy still harms agriculture in the same capacity as seen in a similar survey in 2012. The informal survey showed that more than half of responding farmers had experienced employee shortages during the past year. California Farm Bureau President Paul Wenger says the worker shortage impacts farm operations…”We have seen some people making some changing in their cropping patterns, going to more mechanized type of crops, and trying to deal with farm labor contractors. “But, the bottom line is, we have a broken immigration system, farmers and ranchers are having to make decisions, not on the market, but on the availability of labor.” Wenger says the shortage in farm labor means a more competitive situation for farmers to source workers. “You see a lot of farm labor contractors going into other fields and orchards offering increased wages, rob Peter to pay Paul, get somebody over to pick their crop, and leave the others. When you don’t have that available supply that means there’s a big fight over those folks that are there, and at the end of the day, somebody’s going to lose.” …
- “Mom on the Go: Day at Hubb’s Corn Maze,” Fayetteville Observer: About 30 minutes from Fayetteville is one of the best corn mazes around with tons of activities, themes for the weekend and more! One of our favorite pumpkin patches in the area, Hubb’s Corn Maze is a go to for fall and Christmas activities. We went the Saturday before last to enjoy Pirate Invasion weekend and not only was it a picturesque day, the farm has added even more than in years past making it well worth the drive.
Overall, it is easy to get overwhelmed with the layout so take one station at a time. We started with the barrel train rides while watching the pirates shoot cannons, then headed to the large slides, which are next to the toddler area, which has a small play land, a mini bale maze, a sand pit with mini tractors and construction vehicles and a cute animated singing chicken show called Hubb’s Dixie Chicks. This is also next to one of the two snack bars on the property where you can get hotdogs with all the fixin’s, nachos and freshly made extra large chocolate chip cookies. There are hayrides going every 30 minutes to the pumpkin patch where you can get pics with pumpkins and a small pond in the background. Pumpkins are pretty inexpensive, and most are scattered pre-picked making it easy to get off the wagon, take some photos and grab a one or two for your porch. … - “Cox racks up wins at State Fair,” Mitchell News-Journal: When Colton Cox was about to turn 8 years old, he asked for a weed trimmer for his birthday. The next year, he asked for a leaf blower. “I was happy to buy him both of those,” said Eddie Cox, Colton’s father. “He’s always been that type of kid and that is why he’s so good at what he does.” Since he was 10, Colton has bought, raised and sold his own cows. After a trip to Triple T Farms in Nancy, Kentucky, Colton decided he wanted to buy a $2,000 calf. Eddie told Colton he would have to evaluate his financial situation – money he had saved from mowing lawns and doing other odd jobs – to determine if he had the $2,000 needed. “On our drive home, we got a call from Tim Tarter, owner of Triple T Farms,” Eddie said. “He told Colton he could have the calf, raise it and sell it and they could split the money. It’s what he has wanted to do ever since.” The partnership with Colton is one of which Tarter is proud. …
- Five inducted into N.C. State Fair Livestock Hall of Fame including Wesley Looper of Granite Falls,” Caldwell Journal: Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler recently inducted five new members into the N.C. State Fair Livestock Hall of Fame at the State Fairgrounds. “Today’s inductees join a small group of men and women who have been leaders with the State Fair livestock shows,” Troxler said. “We are thankful for our livestock family and what their involvement has meant for countless youth who have grown up showing animals at the fair.”