FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, NOV. 17, 2008

Board of Agriculture meets Nov. 20 in Raleigh

RALEIGH – The N.C. Board of Agriculture will meet at 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, in the Hall of Fame Room at the Agriculture Building, 2 W. Edenton St. The meeting is open to the public.

The board will consider a request from the N.C. Cotton Growers Association to hold a referendum next year. The referendum would seek the approval of cotton growers to continue assessing themselves up to $1 per bale of cotton produced. The authorization would be for six years beginning with the 2010 crop year. The assessment is used to support promotion of the cotton industry.

The board also will consider adding bushkiller and beach vitex to the state’s list of noxious weeds. Adding the weeds to the list would trigger prohibitions on their movement from certain counties. The movement of bushkiller or any item containing the plant would be prohibited from Davidson, Forsyth, Franklin and Mecklenburg counties. The movement of beach vitex or any item containing the plant would be prohibited from Brunswick, Carteret, Currituck, Dare, Hyde, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender counties.

The Board of Agriculture is a policy-making body that adopts regulations for many of the programs administered by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Its 10 members are appointed by the governor. The commissioner of agriculture serves as chairman of the board.

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