Agriculture
Farming and cultivation activities
Latest stories
-
Almonds or data centers: which requires more water? Fact-checking AI executive's claim about ChatGPT
“For every 38,000 ChatGPT queries, that is the same amount of water that is used in the production of a single almond in California,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a Sept. 1 episode of the Sources Podcast.
-
NC State scientists solve mystery behind beetle damaging North Carolina blueberry farms
NC State researchers identified the beetle damaging blueberry farms across North Carolina, a discovery that could help growers better detect and manage the emerging pest.
-
NC bills regulating homeless camps, farmland sales head to Stein; elections bill advances
The North Carolina House of Representatives sent Gov. Josh Stein a bill focused on homelessness that would crack down on “unauthorized sleeping” in public spaces. Stein will also consider a bill that would bar foreign adversaries from buying farmland near the state’s military bases.
-
Stein signs sweeping North Carolina agriculture bill into law
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signed the “Farm Act,” which had been held up in the General Assembly for months over proposals that would have banned raw milk and protected fertilizer companies.
-
NC lawmakers pass Farm Act, without raw milk or cancer lawsuit bans
Lawmakers rewrote the annual Farm Bill after proposed bans on raw milk and lawsuits by cancer patients drew outcry from Republicans and Democrats.
-
NC lawmakers revive effort to block foreign adversaries from buying farmland near military bases
Legislation introduced Tuesday is a compromise between House and Senate Republicans whose previous proposals failed to gain support from the full General Assembly, bill sponsors said.
-
Food-plant sanitation company to cut 170 jobs in Chatham County
Fortrex is ending services at a Siler City site after a chicken processor ended a contract with the food-plant sanitation company.
-
Cows missing from farm in Nash County
Eleven cows are missing from Griffin Farms in Nash County, the sheriff said.
-
Fact check: Are turkey prices at their lowest point since 2000?
“This Thanksgiving, turkey prices are at their lowest point since 2000, thanks to Republican policies,” said U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-NC, in a Nov. 24 newsletter.
-
From equipment to exports, tariffs squeezing NC farmers
Ten to 20 years ago, when tobacco sales began to decline, many farmers in the state switched to soybeans. Today, soybeans are among North Carolina's biggest cash crops, and one of the hardest hit by new tariffs and trade tensions.
-
North Carolina soybean farmers face financial crisis amid trade war and China boycott
President Donald Trump’s trade war is rippling through the U.S. agriculture industry, and North Carolina farmers say they're feeling the impact.
-
Cape Fear Community College expands Landscaping and Horticulture classes
Cape Fear Community College is broadening its Landscaping and Horticulture curriculum, offering new classes in 2025. These expanded courses offer hands-on learning for careers in landscaping, gardening and horticultural services.
-
1.2 million immigrants are gone from the US labor force under Trump, preliminary data shows
It's tomato season and Lidia is harvesting on farms in California's Central Valley.
-
Climate swings squeeze farmers
Weather patterns are changing more quickly and that's a big problem for agriculture in our states. WRAL takes a look at some ways farmers can fight back.
-
For NC farmers, complexity makes tariff impact hard to predict, Troxler says
North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler discusses the complex impact of President Trump's tariffs on the state's food producers.
-
How tariffs impact state farmers
Minnesota farmers weigh in on how tariffs could impact the state's agriculture. The commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture is worried about the impact of reciprocal tariffs with the state's biggest trading partners.
-
Help now available for farmers who lost crops to weather disasters in 2024
After a devastating 2024 season, applications for disaster relief is now available for North Carolina farmers.
-
North Carolina farmers can apply for disaster relief after devastating crop losses in 2024
North Carolina farmers dealing with a devastating season of lost crops can now apply for help. Starting Tuesday, applications opened for the Agricultural Disaster Crop Loss Program.
-
Tens of billions in Hurricane Helene aid to start by March 21
ATLANTA (AP) — Tens of billions in aid for victims of Hurricane Helene should start flowing later this month, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pledged Wednesday, but delays are already making it hard this year for some farmers to plant crops.
-
EPA: Forever chemicals found in food fertilized with sewage sludge
A new EPA report warns that PFAS in biosolids may contaminate water and food. In NC, past use as fertilizer threatens drinking water in the Triangle, leaving communities without clear solutions.
-
17-foot-tall okra plant has eastern NC woman shooting for world record
An eastern North Carolina woman has grown an okra plant that's now over 17 feet tall.
-
Democrat Hunt to replace Robinson; new faces emerge in other Council of State races
State Sen. Rachel Hunt will become the first Democrat to win the lieutenant governor's seat since 2008.
-
Most statewide executive offices will have new leaders. NC voters will decide how many.
North Carolina will have at least six new officials among its 10 statewide executive offices, including a new governor, new lieutenant governor and new attorney general.
-
NC farmers facing unprecedented struggles amid extreme weather and economic pressures
65% of North Carolina counties have suffered agricultural losses from extreme weather. The effects are being felt in Wilson County, where Tropical Storm Debby exacerbated an already dire situation.
-
Extreme summer weather taking a toll on NC crops
Drought, storms and extreme heat have killed hundreds of thousands of acres of crops this summer. Wilson County farmers met with federal officials to ask for help on Wednesday.
