Category: Agriculture

RALEIGH – The State Farmers Market will be a great place to find locally made holiday gifts Saturday during the Market Shoppes Open House. The annual event will feature free samples from market vendors and prize drawings from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Vendors will be selling an assortment of products including N.C. meats and cheeses, fresh seafood from the coast, jams and jellies, wines from across the state and homemade baked goods. Shoppers also can find unique gift baskets, …

This Thursday, 12/11, come out to the Vance County Regional Farmers Market to learn about Season Extension Techniques from Dr. Sanjun Gu. This seminar will start at 10 am. Dr. Gu is an Extension Specialist from NC A&T State University, and will cover all the ways you can grow crops early and late, such as row covers, high tunnels and much more. Don’t miss this unique opportunity! Registration requested by calling 252-438-8188.

RALEIGH – Over the next few weeks, North Carolina families will visit choose-and-cut farms, tree lots, farmers markets and shopping centers in search of the perfect fresh Christmas tree for their holiday decorations. It’s important to know how to care for the tree once you get it home.  “For many families, choosing the perfect Christmas tree is the start of their holidays, and giving your tree proper care will ensure it stays fresh throughout the season,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve …

RALEIGH – As retail stores gear up for the busy holiday season, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services urges shoppers to pay attention at the register to make sure sale items are ringing up at the right price. “We have 21 inspectors throughout the state that inspect price scanners at grocery stores, discount stores and large-format retail stores as a part of their job,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Last year we inspected about 3,000 locations across the …

GARDEN TASKS FOR LATE NOVEMBER Clean up perennial beds and raised bed vegetable gardens. Be sure to drain water out of sprayers and other equipment that might be damaged by freezing temps. Use ear, eye and other protective equipment when using leaf blowers and other landscape equipment. Plant and/or transplant trees and shrubs now and through the winter whenever ground is not frozen. Clean and store any tools and equipment not being used in the garden now. Dig and store …

RALEIGH – This autumn, tons of seed from many different tree species have hit the ground in record amounts. And squirrels weren’t the only ones looking for it. N.C. Forest Service staff from across the state collected the seed used to grow more than 50 types of tree seedlings for the agency’s nursery program. The NCFS sells these native seedlings to landowners at low cost for a variety of purposes, such as reforestation, wetlands mitigation, aesthetic improvement and wildlife habitat …

CANCELED – TAX & ESTATE ISSUES FOR FARMERS/LANDOWNERS Unfortunately, due to low registration, this seminar scheduled for Thu, 11/20, 10 am at the Vance Farmers Market has been canceled. FINAL REMINDER – AVOID THE PEAK SEASON SOIL SAMPLING FEE If you deliver soil samples to the Warren or Vance Extension Center by 5 pm on November 24th, we will deliver to the lab in time to avoid the “Peak Season Fee” ($4/sample) that goes into effect from December through March. Samples …

RALEIGH – One present that is not on anyone’s wish list this holiday season is bedbugs. The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Structural Pest Control and Pesticides Division encourages travelers to take extra steps to ensure they don’t pick up any hitchhiking pests this holiday season.    “Peak travel time is often when we see an increase in bedbug cases reported,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Bedbugs are excellent hitchhikers. This holiday season I encourage you to be …

TAX & ESTATE ISSUES FOR FARMERS/LANDOWNERS by Ted Feitshans, NCSU Extension Professor in Ag Economics Do NOT miss this! Ted is an extremely knowledgable speaker and is also a lawyer. He will cover many of the complex legal and tax issues that farmers have to deal with. You do NOT want to miss this rare opportunity to learn from him! Please register by Monday. If minimum number is not met, this seminar will have to be cancelled! Thur, 11/20, 10 …

RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Standards Division has collected fines from stores in Johnston, Mecklenburg, Mitchell and Wake counties for excessive price-scanning errors. The Standards Division conducts periodic, unannounced inspections of a business’ price-scanner system to check for accuracy between the prices advertised and the prices that ring up at the register. If a store has more than a 2 percent error rate on overcharges, inspectors discuss the findings with the store manager and conduct …

RALEIGH – Dr. Patricia Norris of New Mexico has been hired as director of the Veterinary Division Animal Welfare Section of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. She replaces Dr. Lee Hunter, who retired from the position in June. The Animal Welfare Section licenses public and private animal shelters, boarding kennels and pet shops and oversees the state’s Spay and Neuter Fund. “I am thrilled to bring Dr. Norris on board as director of the Animal Welfare Section,” …

GARDEN PATH NEWSLETTER NOW AVAILABLE The November issue of the Garden Path newsletter is now available at the link below! As always, you’ll find lots of timely tips and interesting articles written by local Extension Master Gardener Volunteers! Here’s the link: http://davie.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/NOVEMBER-2014.pdf FARMERS MARKET UPDATES Warren County Farmers Market – Closed for the season!  Vance County Regional Farmers Market – Open Saturdays Only, 8 am to 1 pm. Season closing date will be late Nov to mid Dec, details coming. …

RALEIGH – With the arrival of cold weather, many North Carolinians are beginning to use their wood-burning stoves and fireplaces. The N.C. Forest Service reminds stove users to never dump hot ashes or coals into a wooded area. If you do, you’re risking not only your home, but your neighbor’s as well. In Mitchell County recently, an eight-acre fire on Humpback Mountain damaged two homes. The suspected cause of the blaze was stove or fireplace ashes that had been dumped …

Last night I attended the Vance County Farm Bill meeting at the Farmers Market. You have some IMPORTANT DECISIONS to make. I would not pretend to be able to help you consider your options, but I know people who can: the friendly staff at your local FSA office! If you raise field crops, I strongly encourage you to make an appointment to visit with them (call 252-438-3134). Here is a link to information about the ARC/PLC prorgrams, which as I …

RALEIGH – Produce farmers and animal-food manufacturers can learn more about updated rules proposed under the federal Food Safety Modernization Act at a listening session Nov. 20 in Greensboro. The session will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Daniel D. Godfrey Multi-Purpose Room in Coltrane Hall at N.C. A&T State University. It is being organized by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and hosted by the Cooperative Extension Program at the university. The listening …

Beginning 11/1/2014 the VCRFM will operate under their Fall/Winter Schedule: The Farmers market will be open on SATURDAYS ONLY: 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Also check out the latest flyer for What’s at the Market:  What’s at the Market 11.1.14-1

CEDAR MOUNTAIN – DuPont State Recreational Forest will be harvesting timber in November on 35 acres near the Conservation Road and Lake Julia Dam Road and on 25 acres near Joanna Road. The start date for the work is dependent on the weather, but there will be periodic trail closures as well as forestry equipment in the woods and on DuPont’s roads. Lake Summit Road, which runs from Lake Julia to the airstrip area, will likely be closed in early …