North Carolina tobacco growers this week have taken exception to a letter signed by N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper and his counterparts that supports excluding the crop from a pending international trade agreement.

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Vote Hemp, the nation's leading grassroots hemp advocacy organization working to revitalize industrial hemp production in the U.S., is excited to report that President Obama has signed the Farm Bill which contains an amendment to legalize hemp production for research purposes. Originally introduced by Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO), Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the amendment allows State Agriculture Departments, colleges and universities to grow hemp, defined as the non-drug oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis, for academic or agricultural research purposes, but it applies only to states where industrial hemp farming is already legal under state law. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) successfully worked to retain and strengthen the hemp research amendment during the Farm Bill conference committee process. The full text of the bill may be found at: www.VoteHemp.com/FarmBill.

A few seasons ago, the national television series I host and produce, "Growing a Greener World," did an episode entitled, "The Dirt on Healthy Soil." In the episode, we visited a soil-testing lab, typical of such labs operated by a state agriculture department or university system. This particular lab was run by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, in Raleigh, N.C. Once inside, the first thing to strike me was the massive backlog of soil-filled boxes sent in by home gardeners and farmers to be processed for testing. There were many giant rolling mail hampers loaded to capacity in one large room and down the long hallway. In several other rooms, stack after stack of boxes already logged and ready for processing. Suffice it to say, many thousands of samples in queue, with hundreds more arriving every day.

The Produce News - Covering fresh produce around the globe since 1897

A New Boston couple's ever-expanding line of pickled products brings a little of the South to the North.

Image courtesy of The WaterKeepers AllianceRaising hogs is a dirty job. Hogs are massive, they eat a lot, and they produce even more

General Assembly members are likely to debate on what rules and regulations North Carolina could place on drones, as a way of protecting people’s private space. Already a House panel held a mee

Some farmers are raising their pigs more humanely in wide open spaces, instead of tight quarters, and selling them to restaurants and grocers increasingly interested in how animals are treated.

Since North Carolina regulators have failed to stop hog pollution from flowing into the state's rivers, environmental groups have announced plans to sue a massive hog farm that provides pork for Chine...

  By Paul Chesser | Special to Watchdog.org Union activists postponed a forum at Duke University last week due to

Half of the country's most popular types of seafood can be harvested in North Carolina, a starting point for area officials, fishermen and vendors who hope to satisfy the growing demand for locally sourced seafood.

Congressman Richard Hudson opposes the plan. Rep. Robert Pittenger says border security must come first. But Rep. Renee Ellmers calls it a good first step.

AgriNews covers topics that affect local farm families and their businesses in Illinois and Indiana. Some of those topics include: crop and livestock management, agribusiness and new products, market information and national and state political issues.

Thirty-five years ago hog farming was a pretty simple business. Most operations held less than 100 hogs; the biggest held upwards of 3,000 hogs at

Pork producers across the country are grappling with a virus that's going after piglets. Livestock economists estimate the porcine epidemic diarrhea,

State lawmakers next week will begin discussing rules for government and commercial use of drone aircraft in North Carolina, and the balance between security and privacy will likely become a central issue.

The entrepreneur bills the project as the largest solar farm in the country owned by an African American, and it's in North Carolina of all places.

At Farm Boy Farms outside Pittsboro, Dan Gridley is cultivating a craft farming to craft brewing philosophy that is in high demand from local brewers.