Michael Manganello 
Lovebirds all across North Carolina are making Valentine’s Day plans and restaurants across the state are preparing special menu items highlighting locally-produced ingredients that will make you fall in love all over again. Reservations might be hard to get, but North Carolina-sourced food is easy to find. Here are a few restaurants serving up fresh, … Read more
Earlier in his life, Ryan Speckman lived on the North Carolina coast. When he moved to the Raleigh area, he realized that there was very little access to fresh North Carolina seafood as soon as you moved inland. Speckman, along with Lin Peterson, founded Locals Seafood to change that. Thanks to the vision of Speckman … Read more
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services works on behalf of the people of North Carolina, but perhaps no division better embodies that mission than the Standards Division, which impacts everyday life in a way few people even know about. Based at the Steve Troxler Agricultural Sciences Center in Raleigh, the Standards division … Read more
Children all around the world learn about an incredible carnivorous plant called the Venus flytrap that can eat bugs. It seems almost magical to kids that a plant can feed itself in that way. It is one of the most famous and popular carnivorous plants in the world, and for good reason. The Venus flytrap … Read more
On a map, North Carolina and the small, West African country of Benin appear very far apart. The capital cities of Raleigh and Porto Novo are separated by about 8,800 miles as the crow flies. Chef Adé Carrena is on a mission to help you realize that maybe the cultures aren’t so different, culinarily. Carrena, … Read more
More than two months into the 2023 hurricane season, the Atlantic basin has been relatively calm and North Carolina hasn’t yet faced a threatening storm. But warm water temperatures being observed off the coast and throughout the south Atlantic serve as a reminder that there is no such thing as preparing too early for the … Read more
There’s so much to enjoy about North Carolina’s beaches in summertime, but while you’re there, be on the lookout for a pesky invasive species that is threatening to disrupt our coastal ecosystems. Beach vitex (Vitex rotundifolia) is a deciduous, woody vine that was originally introduced to the southeastern United States in the mid-1980s as an … Read more
There’s nothing better than a fresh North Carolina blueberry or blackberry on a warm North Carolina day. Unfortunately, humans aren’t the only species that think that. An invasive species of fruit fly, Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii, SWD), poses a looming threat to North Carolina’s delicious berry crop. Unlike native fruit flies, which lay eggs … Read more
Just before last month’s Got to Be NC Festival kicked off at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, a special event was held to honor those who have taken the ultimate step in preserving state’s agricultural heritage. Through the work of the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services’ Farmland Preservation Division, more than 32,000 acres of … Read more
As the weather across North Carolina continues to warm up, an invasive species will soon show its true colors. A weed called cogongrass will develop its seed head later this month or in early June, revealing its presence and offering the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services’ Plant Industry Division a chance to … Read more
