News
NC has 2nd highest rate of threatened farmland in the nation
Steve Troxler says farmland preservation is a major issue during "State of Agriculture" address.
News
Economist: Most food prices won’t go back down in 2024
At the recent 19th annual Agriculture Development Forum, Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman gave his predictions for agriculture's economic outlook. He warns that many people believe if inflation goes down, prices will too, but that may not be the case.
News
Suicides in agriculture industry bring awareness to mental health
Suicides in Ag workers increase leading to a focus on mental health for farm workers.
News
Foreign holdings account for 3.5% of NC agricultural land
Over 700,000 acres of NC agricultural land is foreign owned; on trend with growing numbers on foreign owned US agricultural land.
Opinion
Give peace a chance — on trade
Former President Donald Trump has proposed an across-the-board tariff tax of 10% on all imports. How would such an increase in protectionist central planning affect our economy? Barry Goodwin suspects it would be disastrous. A William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and Resource Economics at North Carolina State University, Goodwin wrote in a recent...
News
State Supreme Court rejects lawsuit over hog farm rules
The N.C. Supreme Court will not take up a legal challenge to state hog farm laws. In orders issued Friday, the court declined to take up a case challenging 2017 and 2018 amendments to North Carolina’s Right to Farm Act.
Opinion
Medical marijuana: don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater
Recently, Dr. Christian Thurstone, a Colorado psychiatrist, implored North Carolinians to heed his warning about medical marijuana, suggesting that legalizing medical marijuana in our state would be a net negative. Dr. Thurstone offered reasonable critiques of medical marijuana—ease of access, the potential for being over-prescribed, and higher potency. However, while all of these are valid, he...
News
First Lanternfly spotted in NC, sparking concern for ag industry
In June the first spotted lanternfly sighting in North Carolina happened in Forsyth County. In a news release, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture said the spotting occurred near Interstate 40 in Kernersville.
News
Lawmakers call to fight SEC rule devastating to small farms
The North Carolina House recently voted 78-31 in favor of a resolution urging Congress to oppose a proposed Securities and Exchange rule that could potentially hurt small farms.. Lawmakers say the rule would require small farms to report their greenhouse gas emissions, something they are not equipped to do.
News
NC House resolution opposes SEC rule forcing ‘climate disclosures’ on farmers
A N.C. House resolution, would condemns a Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rule that requires farm to file "climate disclosures."
News
Smithfield ‘fully committed’ to NC pork operations despite West Coast pullback
On June 10, Smithfield Foods announced that their Vernon, California, pork-processing plant would be closing in early 2023 due to “the escalating cost of doing business in California.” With the largest pork-processing plant in the world being another Smithfield plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, there are concerns that the rising costs of labor, fuel,...
Opinion
The high cost of our current energy policy
While Western civilization caps its oil wells, its enemies see the opening and are stepping up to cash in, economically and politically.
