Every year, the beautiful forests of our state are at risk from ominous threats. Native insects come and go in significance, but the threat from invasive insects is only increasing with time. Some, such as the hemlock woolly adelgid and the emerald ash borer, have the potential to wipe out an entire group of trees in […]
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.” Even though recent warm weather would indicate otherwise, it is firewood season in North Carolina. As winter approaches, it’s important to consider buying local firewood because it helps to prevent the spread of three major invasive insect species that have […]
In late 2012, a tree-killing disease called thousand cankers disease was found for the first time in North Carolina in Haywood County. The county was quarantined for the pest by early January 2013, restricting the movement of walnut wood and hardwood firewood. Now, nearly three years later, not much has changed. Despite annual surveys and trapping […]
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.” When you hear the phrase “Buy local,” it typically refers to food. But folks should be looking for another local product as we get into winter: firewood. The NCDA&CS encourages people to buy firewood locally because […]
On January 3, the department announced a quarantine that limits the movement of walnut trees and wood products in Haywood County due to the the presence of thousand cankers disease within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Thousand cankers disease is a fungal disease spread by the walnut twig beetle, which bores into the tree, […]