Top Agriculture News

Interest in the department’s social media accounts continue to grow as our Facebook followers grow to nearly 50,000 plus over 20,000 on Instagram. The department plans a new social media series beginning in January. Follow us to stay up on the latest ag news and information, plus fun features about the state’s No. 1 industry. […]

Christmas is tomorrow, and we are fortunate to have Commissioner Hugh Weathers here to talk with us about this season. Commissioner: It has been a trying year for many farmers. But this week, we spend some time with family and reflect on our blessings. The harvest season is over. Despite the storms, drought and economic […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is allocating more than $100 billion in emergency aid to address extensive damage caused by hurricane and other disasters. The money is in a bill passed early Saturday by Congress after this week’s scramble to find consensus on a government spending bill. The money is being provided after back-to-back hurricanes slammed into the Southeast. But the funding will go to much more than just Helene and Milton recovery. There’s also disaster assistance for farmers, money for damaged roads and highways and money for block grants administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Farmers in Georgia are still reeling more than two months after Hurricane Helene blew away cotton, destroyed ripened squash and cucumbers and uprooted pecan trees and timber. Agribusinesses in other Southern states saw costly damage as well. The University of Georgia estimates the September storm inflicted $5.5 billion in direct losses and indirect costs in Georgia alone. In rural Toombs County, Chris Hopkins just finished harvesting his ravaged cotton crop and figures he lost half of it, costing him about $430,000. Poultry grower Jeffrey Pridgen in Georgia’s Coffee County had four of his 12 chicken houses destroyed and others badly damaged. Farmers say more government disaster assistance is needed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has rushed through final passage of a bipartisan plan to fund federal operations and prevent a government shutdown. It now goes to President Joe Biden, who is expected to quickly sign it into law. The House passed the package late Friday in an overwhelming vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed into the night to finish early Saturday, just after the midnight deadline. The bill would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but drops President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year. Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. He also said Trump is happy with the outcome.

Those rains we had a week or so ago really starting to kick in now on the soil moisture, and we see that on the Drought Monitor. Corey Davis is the Assistant State Climatologist for North Carolina. He joins me now, and at the time those rains were occurring, you had said that we really […]

This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at [email protected] or 843-540-4540. First the good news. Exports this week were at the center of the range of expectations for everything reported after being very disappointing last week. So it does not look like they have come to a screeching […]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — American farmers and small business owners are among those who will suffer if Congress cannot agree on a new spending bill after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan that included more than $100 billion in disaster aid. The money is urgently needed after Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed the southeastern United States one after the other this fall. In North Carolina, small business owner Jessie Dean is still waiting for a U.S. Small Business Administration loan after her building was completely destroyed three months ago. She says she is determined to build back, but she speaks to friends every day who are weighing whether they can go on.

Regenerative agriculture continues to gain momentum as more practices and offerings become available for both growers looking for additional revenue streams and companies looking to reduce their Scope 3 carbon emissions. Dustin Madison, who manages the agronomic, conservation, and fertility operations of the Engle Family Farms in Virginia and North Carolina, is part of the […]

NEW YORK (AP) — A person in Louisiana has the first severe illness caused by bird flu in the U.S., health officials said Wednesday. The patient had been in contact with sick and dead birds in backyard flocks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Agency officials didn’t immediately detail the person’s symptoms. Previous […]