The 137th opening of the Wilson Tobacco Market drew a crowd Wednesday, Aug. 12, setting a festive and hopeful tone for the start of the tobacco buying season that felt equal parts family reunion and pep rally. With America also celebrating its 250th anniversary, many speakers included tributes to America’s first crop and its role … Read more
‘From the tractor’ is published in the monthly Agricultural Review. This column appears in the August 2026 edition of the paper. The N.C General Assembly passed a $34.4 billion state budget on July 2, and it was signed into law by Governor Josh Stein on July 7. I wanted to share a brief rundown of some … Read more
The Farmland Preservation Division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture reached a significant milestone with the closing of their 100th jointly funded agricultural conservation easement. The easement was recorded July 15 in Johnston County. This milestone is the result of … Read more
The addition of nearly 29,000 square feet of storage space to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Food Distribution warehouse in Butner will support the division’s efforts to get food onto dinner tables and into school cafeterias across the state. Ten years in the making, a ribbon cutting in late July officially opened … Read more
Fair season? But it’s only August! When you think of the fair, you may picture carved pumpkins, flannel and the scent of kettle corn in the brisk fall air. Even though the summer heat is still upon us, fair season is almost here, with nearly two dozen fairs scheduled across the state over the next … Read more
The Tobacco Trust Fund Christmas Tree Seed Center of Excellence is officially open. A ribbon cutting at the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Upper Mountain Research Station not only marked the formal grand opening, but also the beginning of a new chapter for North Carolina’s Christmas tree industry. NCDA&CS and NC State University … Read more
For North Carolina blueberry growers, pest management is a regular part of their work, and for the most part they know what to expect from year to year. However, in recent years, an unfamiliar visitor has been turning up beneath the soil. Now researchers are working to understand it and figure out how to deal … Read more
Developing better blueberry varieties is only part of the work needed to keep North Carolina’s blueberry industry thriving. Protecting those plants from diseases, and helping growers respond when new threats emerge, is just as important. That work falls to researchers like Bill Cline and Caleb Bollenbacher, Extension plant pathologists with North Carolina State University based … Read more
North Carolina is home to more beekeepers per capita than anywhere else in the country, making it a vital industry in our state for many reasons. Brandon Simmons, owner of Foothills Farm and Apiary in Taylorsville, is not just raising bees and making honey through his operation, but he is actively working to ensure a … Read more
North Carolina blueberry farmers have some solid options when it comes to what cultivated varieties – or cultivars – of blueberries they grow, but various demands on those farmers mean they’re always in need of improved blueberries that meet their evolving needs. That’s where blueberry breeding research comes into play, along with the research stations … Read more
