Agricultural review [2024 : February, v.99 : no.2]

Published by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Upcoming Ag Review ad deadlines The following are deadlines to submit ads for the Agricultural Review newspaper. Feb. 1 for the March issue March 1 for the April issue April 1 for the May issue May 1 for the June issue June 3 for the July issue July 1 for the Augusr issue Aug. 1 for the September issue Sept. 2 for the October issue Oct. 1 for the November issue Nov. 1 for the December issue State Fair offers livestock scholarships Youth who participated in N.C. State Fair junior livestock competitions are eligible to apply for N.C. State Fair Junior Livestock Scholarships. The deadline to apply is March 1 . Up to 25 $2,000 scholarships are available, in addition to one $2,500 Farm Credit of N.C. Premier Scholarship. “Paying for college can be a challenge and every dollar in scholarship money received is important in helping kids realize their higher education dreams," said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Since the program started in 2015, we have awarded over S400.000 in scholarships, which is a tremendous investment in young people. 1 am proud of what this program is doing and I want to thank all the buyers who help make this program a success.” All youth who exhibited a livestock animal at the State Fair are eligible regardless of species, class or show placement. Scholarships are good for institutes of higher learning, including community colleges and technical schools. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of Any youth that entered a N.C. State Fair livestock show can apply for the Junior Livestock Scholarship to assist with higher education costs. Find out more at www.ncstatefair.org. 9 course hours. The scholarship money is raised through the State Fair’s annual Sale of Champions where grand and reserve grand champioas, along with champion Got to Be NC animals are sold at auction. Apercentage of the sale total goes into this youth livestock scholarship program. High school seniors and college students will need to submit the completed application, (See Scholarships, pg. 2) Stores pay fines for price-scanning errors The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Coasumer Services’ Standards Division has collected fines from 1 8 stores in 12 counties because of excessive price-scanner errors. “Our Standards Division remained diligent in its effort to protect consumers across our state in 2023,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Inspectors continued to find significant numbers of price scanner errors at stores across the state, which serves as a reminder that consumers should check their receipts and notify store managers if they see an error.” The department conducts periodic, unannounced iaspections of price-scanner systems in businesses 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% error rate on overcharges, inspectors discuss the findings with the store manager and conduct a more intensive follow-up inspection later. Undercharges are also reported, but do not count against a store. Consumers who would like to file a complaint about scanner errors they encounter, can call the Standards Division at 984-236-4750. Penalties are assessed if a store fails a follow-up inspectioa In addition to the penalties paid, the store will be subject to reinspection every 60 days from the last iaspection until it meets the 2%-or-less error rate. Additional penalties may be assessed if a store fails reinspection. Following are civil penalties recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023: - (Burke) Food Matters Market at 210 Avery Ave., Morganton paid S555 in penalties. The store failed iaspectioas in July and August. The store passed a follow-up inspection in October and paid its penalty in November. - (Cabarrus) Circle К at 850 1 Concord Mill Blvd., Concord paid S845 in penalties. An initial inspection in May found an error rate of 12% based on six overcharges in a 50-item lot. A follow-up inspection in June found (See Price scanner errors, pg. 3) From the tractor by Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler Commissioner Troxler This year has gotten off to a fast start with the department working on a lot of issues. I cannot say that is unusual though because I believe agriculture is at a pivotal junction right now, where we need to be sure we are looking ahead and investing for tomorrow. If you have read my column for very long, you know farmland preservation is a topic that comes up often. In fact, some folks are likely tired of me mentioning it, but it is an issue that we absolutely have to stay focused on if we are going to easure we have viable farmland for the future. Our state is experiencing rapid growth, with a number of large manufacturing projects underway that are fueling more planned development around their sites. Farmland is being bought up with future development in mind and that is the reason it is imperative that we continue to work with farmers interested in conserving their farmland. We have to focus on farmland now because developers are absolutely focusing on farmland now. For example, I read an interesting article in the News & Observ er recently that talked about development taking place near Pittsboro in light of the development of the 2, 500-acre VinFast electric vehicle and battery site being built in Chatham County. The article mentioned that Pittsboro's population had jumped over 25 percent from 2010 to 2020, up from 800 people to over 4,500. Additionally, it noted that plaas are in the works for the 8,500-acre Chatham Park planned community about three miles east of Pittsboro. What stood out to me is that the park Is expected to draw 60,000 people to the area by 2045 and have 22,000 homes. It is also projected to have 22 million square feet of business and commercial space. We are working hard on farmland preservation and in 2023 we have recorded 34,000 acres in permanent conservation easements since 2006. Comparing what we have been able to preserve in 1 7 years to this one large project shows the magnitude of the challenge we face. These two developments associated with this plant alone represents roughly a third of what has been conserved, and the developers of Chatham Park have envisioned its growth through 2045 - 2 1 years from now. We have secured $106.3 million since 2008 for farmland preservation projects. This year’s application requests are $55.2 million for 132 applications. The previous record for requests were nearly $30 million. The interest is there, but we need to invest in agriculture like we invest in attracting new industry. Let's not forget that agriculture and agribusiness feeds us. Water issues, including the availability of water and flooding following tropical storms and hurricanes, are other areas that 1 expect we will be talking about with much more regularity. As you can read about in this issue, our Soil and Water Conservation Division is working with local soil and water coaservation districts and towns and communities to mitigate flooding through its Streamflow Rehabilitation Assistance Program. We have been able to secure $38 million in funding from the (See Troxler, pg. 4)