Poultry farmers in four northwest N.C. counties hit by recent winter storms are getting some help from Gov. Bev Perdue. She has temporarily suspended motor carrier regulations to ensure that farmers can get feed and supplies delivered for their livestock.
Executive Order No. 48 allows persons transporting feed and supplies to poultry farms in Alexander, Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin counties to operate above the maximum hours of service. The waiver of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations does not apply to size and weight restrictions, or to commercial driver’s license and insurance requirements.
“These feed shipments are essential to keep these animals alive during this extended cold snap and to protect our agriculture jobs,” Perdue said in a news release. “Some areas of our mountains have been especially hard hit by multiple storms during the past two months.”
The uninterrupted supply of feed and other goods to the poultry industry is essential during wintertime, and any interruption in the delivery of those goods threatens the industry, the governor’s office said.
The N.C. State Highway Patrol will enforce conditions outlined in the executive order. Upon request by law enforcement officers, exempted vehicles must produce documentation sufficient to establish their loads are being used for relief efforts associated with the cold weather and winter storm. The duration of this executive order is 30 days or until the emergency situation ends.
Shelley Swaim, an animal welfare inspector with the NCDA&CS Veterinary Division, recently completed the four-day Agricultural Emergency Response training offered by the Department of Homeland Security at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Ala.
The training enables responders to effectively prevent, respond to and recover from real-world incidents involving acts of terrorism and hazardous materials. Swaim has assisted in numerous animal rescue efforts and is a member of the N.C. Veterinary Response Corps.
WMD Basic Agricultural Emergency Response Training is a 32-hour course that provides the responder with an overview of agro terrorism and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive hazards, relative to their potential impact upon agricultural resources and the agricultural community.
Lectures included response actions, epidemiology, zoonotic diseases, foreign animal diseases, animal restraint and euthanasia, and animal carcass disposal. Hands-on training included selecting and using personal protective equipment, conducting decontamination, using survey and monitoring equipment, and preserving the crime scene. The course culminated with a hands-on practical exercise involving a response to a hazardous event in an agricultural setting.
Each week we’ll round up the latest N.C. agricultural headlines from newspapers across the state and country, as well as excerpts from the stories. Click on the links to go straight to each paper’s full story.
“N.C. puts its weight behind gluten-free cause,” News & Observer: When state officials sought to shut down a Durham food company last month for marketing bread as gluten-free that tested positive for gluten, cheers went up across the country among those suffering from celiac disease. “What North Carolina did enforcing gluten-free claims is say, ‘We’re going to take the health of North Carolinians seriously,” said Alice Bast, executive director of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, a nonprofit based outside Philadelphia. …
“Bread seller arrested on fraud charges, “News & Observer: A Superior Court judge ordered a Durham company to temporarily stop selling food products after a Tuesday hearing into allegations that the company, Great Specialty Products, marketed bread as gluten-free that had gluten and made people sick. Moments after the court hearing ended, the company’s owner, Paul Evan Seelig was arrested by state Department of Agriculture police. Seelig, 47, of Durham, was charged with six counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. …
“Farm shares sell like hotcakes”,Charlotte Observer: After restaurant sales drop, Waxhaw farmer finds eager customers for his local food. Waxhaw farmer Sammy Koenigsberg did something unusual this year: He added new shares for his CSA - where customers sign up and pay in advance for a share in a farm’s vegetables. For most farms, that wouldn’t be unusual. Community Supported Agriculture programs have taken off in the last few years as a way for fans of local food to have a stake in local farms. The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association now lists 70 CSA farms, up from 40 in 2006. But for Koenigsberg’s New Town Farms, it was almost unprecedented. …
“Innovation improves cotton profitability,”Southeast Farm Press: Some of his neighbors said it was innovative; others said it was insane, but regardless of what you call it planting conventional, non-transgenic cotton on marginal land paid off nicely in 2009 for Garysburg, N.C., grower David Grant. Tiptonville, Tenn., grower John Lindamood got a similar response when he talked about going low tech with basic GPS equipment to develop management zones to reduce input costs on his cotton crop. Though he continues to tweak the system, it remains low tech and it remains profitable. …
“Slow economic recovery predicted,”Durham Herald Sun: North Carolina’s economy, like the country’s, appears to have bottomed out and is poised for what’s likely to be a slow recovery from the recession, an N.C. State University economist said Wednesday. Employment should starting picking up soon, but the state “will be lucky” to add 40,000 jobs in 2010, economics professor Michael Walden told city and county managers from around the state in Durham Wednesday for an annual seminar. The recovery of a consumer-driven economy is likely to be slow-paced because families will devote more of their money over the next couple years to paying down the debts they incurred while they could borrow against rising home values, Walden said. …
WRAL reporter Brian Shrader and our own Lisa Prince feature seasonal recipes in their Got to Be Good Cookin’ segment using ingredients grown and available right here in North Carolina.
North Carolina is the second-largest hog producing state in the nation. In this segment, Brian and Lisa continue cooking mouth-watering meals featuring North Carolina pork.
The fifth annual Ag Development Forum will be held Thursday, Feb. 4, at the State Fairgrounds.
If you are unable to attend, you can follow the forum as it happens - including highlights from Commissioner Troxler’s State of Agriculture Address and two discussion panels.
We will begin live tweeting the event through the department’s new Twitter account, @ncagriculture, at 9:30 a.m. If you don’t have a Twitter account, you can view the tweets here.
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with the Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Marketing Division will hold a one-day workshop Friday, Feb. 26, that will focus on boosting traffic and sales at farmers markets. It will also include management tips for markets.
“A Successful Season” will be held from 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Martin Building at the State Fairgrounds. Cost is $25 and covers materials and lunch. The deadline for registering is Feb. 19. The class is expected to fill up quickly, so early registration is advised.
Listen in as Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda Garrison talk about this workshop and how to register for it.
The Southern Farm Network is a division of Curtis Media Group.
White blooms shoot up from the compact body of the Venus flytrap plant, providing an unfortunate beacon for would-be poachers.
As an avid Smithsonian magazine reader, I was happy to find I could follow news from the publication on Twitter. A recent “tweet” mentioned an article in the February issue about the Venus flytrap, a plant native to only North and South Carolina. The article quoted Laura Gadd, a botantist with the department who has been featured on this blog before, and included information on the population numbers here in North Carolina.
The department’s Plant Industry Division works to protect the Venus flytrap population in North Carolina. Regular In the Field readers may remember a past article about seed collection and replanting efforts to try to help bolster the population in the wild.
Plant conservation staff members anticipate additional monitoring of Venus flytrap sites this year, and are already thinking ahead to 2012 when it will be time to do a more sweeping assessment of flytrap sites for a 10-year status report on flytrap populations in the state.
The National Weather Service has almost the entire state under a Winter Storm Warning for Saturday, so what does that mean for facilities operated by the NCDA&CS? According to Ron Moore, who oversees the facilities run by the Marketing Division, the plan is to remain open. But he recommends that people call ahead before heading out to ensure the facility hasn’t closed early. Below is a list of NCDA&CS facilities with links and phone numbers.
Each week we’ll round up the latest N.C. agricultural headlines from newspapers across the state and country, as well as excerpts from the stories. Click on the links to go straight to each paper’s full story.
“Making Family Farms Profitable,”Parade Magazine: In 1959, the U.S. was home to 4.1 million farms. Today, there are just 2.2 million. Some 40% of American farmers are 55 or older, and young people aren’t exactly lining up to replace them. But a new program in North Carolina hopes to make farming a viable career option once again. Rutherford County, N.C., has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Yet some 6,000 families own between 5 and 20 acres of land, and chefs in nearby Charlotte, N.C., are in need of fresh produce for their restaurants. …
“Small farms getting big,”News & Observer: On a dark winter morning in Orange County, David Heeks was out in the chill and drizzle checking his crops. “I’ve got a fresh crop of radishes over here,” he said, drawing back a fabric cover to reveal a lush, wide row of bright-green leaves. Reaching down to the red soil, he drew up a stout red and white root. “This,” he said, “I’ll be taking to market this Saturday. You’d be hard-pressed to find anybody else that’s bringing a fresh radish, a new crop.” A few days later and a few miles away in Durham County, Kathryn Spann and David Krabbe broke ground for the milking barn and cheesemaking room at their goat farm. “I have a very strong vision of a renaissance of farming in Durham,” Spann said. Last week in Wake County, Soil and Water Conservation Director Dale Threatt-Taylor was starting work on a proposal to promote farming and preserve farmland. …
“Master Gardener - Test your soil to get ready for planting,”Wilmington Star: Now is the time to begin preparing for spring planting by bringing soil samples to your local Cooperative Extension Office for testing. Soil testing can help you save money in your lawn, garden and landscape and grow healthier plants by telling you which nutrients are already in your soil and which ones you need to add with fertilizers. In addition, soil testing is a free service for North Carolina residents, provided by the N.C. Department of Agriculture. …
“N.C. and Va. push to add 50,000 acres along parkway,”Charlotte Observer: Sens. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Richard Burr, R-N.C., will join their Virginia counterparts in seeking federal money to buy up to 50,000 acres along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The parkway, begun as a public works project during the Great Depression, celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. It runs 469 miles from Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. Nearly 20 million visitors a year drive it. Park supporters have grown increasingly concerned in recent years that mountain-top vacation homes and other development are obscuring views from the historic road. Hagan and Burr said Tuesday that they and Virginia Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner will seek $75 million over five years to buy high-priority land around the parkway. …
“Grant providing drought plan for farmers,”NBC-17: RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina farmers are getting a little help now to prepare for any future problems with droughts. Thursday, the state’s Department of Agriculture announced a $100,000 grant from The Altria Group to study water usage and plan ahead for keeping crops healthy. “What the drought of 2007-2009 so rudely reminded us is that water is precious,” said Cecil Settle, Executive Director of the N.C. Foundation for Soil & Water Conservation. “Water supply is essential.” Ag department experts say a lot of people think farms use a lot more water than anyone else, but they actually only take up about one percent of the state’s demand.
Each week we’ll round up the latest N.C. agricultural headlines from newspapers across the state and country, as well as excerpts from the stories. Click on the links to go straight to each paper’s full story.
The