North Carolina farmers grew about 50,000 acres of grain sorghum this year, an estimated 10-fold increase over 2011. The are several reasons why the crop is becoming popular with growers: drought tolerance; flexible planting dates; unattractiveness to deer; no need for specialized equipment or costly inputs; and improved rotation and double-crop options for management of [...]
Our department’s Agronomic Lab processes more than 350,000 soil samples every year from farmers, weekend gardeners, homeowners and landscape professionals. Clearly, plenty of people are aware of this valuable service which can help you improve your yard, boost yields from your crops and reduce the application of unnecessary soil additives. But when it comes to taking a [...]
Only at the N.C. Museum of History’s upcoming Farm Fresh Family Day will you be able to catch a hay ride in downtown Raleigh. The free event will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, with a wide variety of agriculture-themed activities, including a hayride, scavenger hunt, antique farm equipment, cooking [...]
Tobacco, corn and peanut plants are not exactly what visitors to downtown Raleigh might expect to see in planters near the State Capitol, but these and other field crops are offering many visitors a unique opportunity to see some of North Carolina’s top agricultural crops up close. The plants, which are in large, permanent concrete planters [...]