As of 2026, the N.C. Department of Agriculture has been using a bee protection tool for ten years. That tool is an online-based program called BeeCheck, which is a voluntary bee hive registration system. It involves a database, mapping tools and communication channels. The purpose is to help protect bees from harmful pesticide drift, which … Read more
On a recent spring day, the buzz of drones filled the air over one of N.C. State University’s field labs about five miles south of campus. Beside the big open fields, stood staff from the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, heads tilted up. An overcast sky helped them stare up to follow each … Read more
From grapes to cotton, tobacco to Christmas trees, any crop can be harmed if the wrong herbicide or pesticide comes in contact with it. Certain specialty crops are especially vulnerable because they can be damaged by lots of normal herbicides and pesticides that are commonly used on farms and yards across North Carolina. Beehives could … Read more
