Press Releases
RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Plant Industry Division is asking North Carolina residents to be on the lookout for the early-stage nests of the Yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina). While this invasive hornet species has not been found in North Carolina, it has been collected in Georgia and the southernmost point of South Carolina in 2023 and 2024.
RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has lifted the quarantine of a HPAI-positive dairy herd after serial testing was negative for the virus. This herd was the only HPAI-positive herd within the state and was directly linked to a dairy herd in Texas that was clinically affected and epidemiologically linked to the virus.
RALEIGH -- The Got to Be NC Festival takes over the N.C. State Fairgrounds May 17-19 in Raleigh with plenty of food, fun, tractors, music, agricultural exhibits and activities for the whole family. Festivalgoers will find North Carolina food products and N.C. agriculture on full display throughout the grounds.
To celebrate turning 40 and the arrival of season’s first local fruits and produce, the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market is hosting a Spring Fling event Sunday, May 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with fun activities for the whole family, plus free strawberry ice cream and strawberry cake.
Get inspired for Spring when the Robert G. Shaw Piedmont Triad Farmers Market hosts its Spring Fling event May 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Check out the fun and educational activities for kids and adults, plus shop a market full of local produce, plants, crafts, baked goods and N.C. meat, cheeses and seafood.
Get inspired for Spring when the State Farmers Market hosts its Spring Fling event May 2 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Check out the fun and educational activities for kids and adults, plus shop a market full of local produce, plants, crafts, baked goods and N.C. meat, cheeses, wines and seafood.
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is encouraging equine owners to have their animals vaccinated against Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis and West Nile Virus. “Mosquito-breeding season in North Carolina lasts from spring until the first frost and horses are at risk if not properly vaccinated,” Troxler said. “EEE is fatal 90 percent of the time in horses and WNV has a fatality rate of 30 percent. However, both diseases are preventable by vaccination.”
North Carolina poultry has been designated High Path Avian Influenza-free by the World Organization for Animal Health. This designation means that the state can resume exports and international trade for poultry products.
RALEIGH – North Carolina’s wine industry ranks among the top 10 nationally in production, and each May, the 190-plus wineries come together to celebrate with tasting rooms across the state hosting special events and promotions throughout the month.
The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Standards Division has collected fines from 14 stores in Alamance, Forsyth, Hertford, Mecklenburg, Stanly, Wake, Wilkes and Union counties for price scanning errors.