From the tractor: Breaking down the impacts to ag in the new state budget

‘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

NCDA&CS and USDA-NRCS celebrate milestone 100th partnership conservation easement protecting North Carolina farmland

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

NCDA&CS Food Distribution celebrates opening of warehouse addition

Six men stand behind a large red ribbon while it is being cut.

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

Discovering NC Agriculture: Legacy of tobacco still growing strong at Gray Rock Farms

A tobacco field at Gray Rock Farms during sunset.

Discovering NC Agriculture is a social media series focusing on N.C. grown, raised, caught, and made commodities. Originally started in 2025, this series has been renewed to run for another year! Tune in each month to see how an N.C. commodity is grown, harvested, packed for consumer use and more. Learn nutritional value, find fun … Read more

Seed center opening marks milestone for N.C. Christmas tree industry

On the porch of the seed center, a group stands with scissors cutting a red ribbon

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

Research targets an emerging blueberry pest in North Carolina

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

Discovering NC Agriculture: Blueberries are a nutritional powerhouse, benefitting the body in many ways

Blueberries both in and out of focus laying on a wooden table.

Discovering NC Agriculture is a social media series focusing on N.C. grown, raised, caught, and made commodities. Originally started in 2025, this series has been renewed to run for another year! Tune in each month to see how an N.C. commodity is grown, harvested, packed for consumer use and more. Learn nutritional value, find fun … Read more

Protecting North Carolina’s blueberries: Research tackles diseases old and new

Blueberry researcher looking into microscope

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