North Carolina Agriculture

Today, blueberries are North Carolina's most valuable fruit crop – and since 2001, by act of the General Assembly, they've been the Tar Heel State's official berry.

Smithfield Foods, one of North Carolina’s largest employers, has agreed to sell itself to a Chinese company in a $4.72 billion deal that could have far-reaching implications for the state’s multibillion-dollar pork industry.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/29/2924963/chinese-company-to-acquire-smithfield.html#storylink=cpy

 

yngenta has unveiled its new crop research facility at the company's RTP Innovation Center, located in North Carolina. The $72 million Advanced Crop Lab allows company researchers to simulate any agricultural climate and precisely measure plant inputs. This technology will help farmers grow more food with fewer resources.

It's that time of year again when you start seeing those little road signs with arrows pointing to the mecca of spring fruit.

RALEIGH— A stroller-filled crowd descended upon the State Fairgrounds on Sunday, despite a few rain showers, for the annual Got to Be NC Festival.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/19/2904007/rain-doesnt-keep-people-away-from.html#storylink=cpy

The state of North Carolina is heavy on Agriculture. So it’s not odd to see greenhouses from the coast to the mountains. But there’s a new greenhouse at Syngenta in Research Triangle Park that is said to be the only one of its kind in the world.

Feeding strategies and disease control were both on the menu at the recent annual Turkey Science and Production Conference. Ken Randall reports

Now that local and sustainable food has taken root, many Charlotte-area markets are evolving to meet new demands.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $19.5 million for research focusing on the impacts of climate change and weather variability on dairy and beef cattle. 

WAVERLY Among U.S. farmers, corn and soybeans are the front-runners, with wheat and hay going strong. And then there’s sorghum, the humble one, way behind. But lately, the grain with the funny name has been gaining.

Charlotte is gaining another Wells Fargo hub – and those in the East Coast who lend to the agriculture industry are getting more competition.

With summer just weeks away, suburbanites across the region are prepping lawns. Homeowners will rake, aerate and fertilize, while lusting over neighbors’ yards that are just a little greener.  But what if these lawns – soaking up valuable water and fertilizers – produced local food to feed the neighborhood instead of just grass?

 

The Farmstead, a 126-acre development waiting to break ground outside Granite Quarry in rural Rowan County, has been trying for three years to bring this idea to life.

The U.S. Senate this week has started to fine-tune the huge, new five-year farm bill, working through votes on a series of amendments that will include a proposal to eliminate federal subsidies for tobacco insurance.

Touting North Carolina as one of the top states in the country for biotechnology, Senator Kay Hagan, D-N.C., emphasized the industry's contribution to the state's economy during Syngenta Biotechnology's Advanced Crop Lab opening last week.

A new program from the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is encouraging chefs to dig into locally grown products this summer.

Researchers from Clemson and North Carolina State universities, the University of Georgia and other institutions are expected to ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture for permission this month to fight the kudzu bugs with its natural predator – a small wasp the size of a gnat.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2013/05/18/2776674/kudzu-bugs-may-face-natural-predator.html#storylink=cpy

The annual Got to Be NC festival, which celebrates North Carolina agriculture, kicks off Friday at noon. Rides, food, exhibits will fill the state fairgrounds through Sunday.

Let's begin this story by picking up the iPad, smartphone or, dare I say, printed page and stepping outside. Scratch around a bit in the first patch of dirt you see. That sandy soil?

RALEIGH — A new program from the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is encouraging chefs to dig into locally grown products this summer.