The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) solicited public comments on the registration of Monsanto’s new dicamba formulation premixed with glyphosate to use in Monsanto’s Xtend trait systems in soybean and cotton. Although in commercial use for years, the use of dicamba in Monsanto’s Xtend seed trait system requires a new, separate registration. The public comment period is open from Apr.1 – May 31. Public…
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COVID-19 has changed how much of the world operates over the past two weeks. But one thing that has not changed is the considerable workload that farmers face this time of year. Last week, with encouragement from many national grower associations, including the American Soybean Association, the Department of Homeland Security declared agriculture as a…
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Governor Cooper has declared a State of Emergency for NC and issued Executive Order No. 100 in light of the approaching Hurricane which is expected to make landfall in the Bahamas and Florida early next week. The order includes transportation waivers suspending the weighing of vehicles transporting agricultural products and livestock as well and lifting…
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On October 15, 2018, the NC General Assembly established the Hurricane Florence Agricultural Disaster Program of 2018. This program is a one-time assistance program from producers who had losses occurred during the storm. The program will be administered by the NC Department of Agriculture. Applications must be submitted from November 7th to December 10th, 2018 to receive assistance. The program…
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President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met this weekend during the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires. Soon after, the White House released a statement that the two countries had potentially agreed to de-escalate the current trade friction and continue negotiations. In return for the U.S. not raising the current 10% tariff to 25% on January…
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On June 25, farmers from all across the state left their fields and came to Raleigh to stand up for North Carolina’s number one industry, agriculture. They were joined by ag businesses, commodity associations and those who know the importance of this community to the state at the Rally for Ag. Hundreds of people gathered…
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$19.1 Billion Approved for Federal Disaster Aid President Trump signed the $19.1 billion federal disaster bill after the House of Representatives was finally able to pass it through (354-58) this week. The bill failed three times in the past several weeks while the House was not in session (the House majority was looking for a unanimous vote). The approval of the…
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This week the agriculture community had two major victories in trade with the signing of the China Phase 1 deal and Congress’ passing of USMCA. The House of Representatives passed USMCA 385-41 in December before they left for recess after over a year of back and forth negotiations. The Senate was able to take up…
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Below is Executive Order 81 terminating the state of emergency and transportation waiver for Hurricane Michael declared earlier this month. All Executive Orders for Hurricane Florence that have not already been rescinded (i.e. evacuation orders) remains in effect that includes the State of Emergency and any Transportation Waivers. See Executive Order 81 in its entirety below…
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Friday, August 3rd, leaders from across NC and the country gathered to discuss the future of agriculture on a national scale. The conversation was organized by Congressman David Rouzer and Senator Thom Tillis in light of the recent nuisance lawsuits that are targeting eastern NC hog farmers. The roundtable was held at the NC State Fairgrounds…
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This past Monday, October 15th, 2018, the NC General Assembly held a special session to finalize appropriations for hurricane relief funds. They approved $850 million in funding, $450 million that can be used immediately and $400 million that the legislators will decide how to spend in the coming months. Of the $850 million in hurricane…
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Five growers from NCSPA’s board went to Capitol Hill last week to agvocate for North Carolina ag. The week kicked off with a visit with Ray Starling, USDA Chief of Staff. Starling, a North Carolina native, heard and related to the concerns of our growers. The following day the group meet with Congressmen David Rouzer…
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