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
Summary: We recently hit a milestone with our Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program, keeping 5 million pounds of unwanted pesticides out of the landfill and ensuring they are properly disposed of. The Pesticide Disposal Program began in 1980 and strong collection efforts this year in Columbus, Sampson and Wake counties helped move the program over the … Read more
Summary: Three options are being offered for auxin trainings for growers and pesticide applicators this year. The classes are being held in February and March. Find out more on dates, locations and times at https://www.ncagr.gov/paffairs/index.htm Many people think farmers don’t have much to do in the winter after the harvest is done. That would be … Read more
With the warm weather of summer, you may have seen a few extra critters around your yard, and that may have brought back up some bad advice on how to deal with them – especially snakes. Even for wildlife lovers, snakes are not always welcomed with open arms, but contrary to pervasive wives’ tales, mothballs … Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic changed many things for people in all walks of life, and one of those things has been the licensing testing related to pesticides in North Carolina. During the pandemic, a significant effort was made to move the testing online, and it seems the change is here to stay – at least for … Read more
The NCDA&CS Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program (PDAP) hardly collected any pesticides in the first half of 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Still, the 2020 annual collection total was the seventh-most in the program’s 41-year history. That’s because, in the second half of the year, the program set a record for most pounds of pesticides … 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
It seems many people, including business owners and managers, are thinking about deep cleaning these days. That’s especially true as more businesses in North Carolina reopen and people transition from the governor’s “stay home” order to a “safer at home” advisory. While still not advised by the state’s health leaders, that means more people will … Read more
It’s the time of year when you may be seeing more carpenter bees around your house, especially if you’re around your house more these days. Carpenter bees are solitary though, so you won’t find them in hives – probably just one or two at a time in any given area. Right now, lots of male … Read more
Four million pounds. Two thousand tons. Sixty-four million ounces. No matter how you say it, it’s a big number, and for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer services, it’s a major milestone. Four million pounds is the amount of pesticides the department has helped collect and properly dispose of since 1980. That’s the year … Read more
