Top Agriculture News

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate former White House aide Brooke Rollins to be his agriculture secretary. Rollins, who heads the Trump-allies America First Policy Institute, was the director of his office of American innovation in his first term. The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which will be controlled by Republicans when Trump takes office Jan. 20. Rollins would succeed Tom Vilsack, President Joe Biden’s agriculture secretary who oversees the sprawling agency that controls policies, regulations and aid programs related to farming, forestry, ranching, food quality and nutrition. Rollins is the last of Trump’s picks to lead executive agencies and another choice from within his established circle of advisers and allies.

What a difference a week makes, particularly in the weather. I’m Mike Davis talking with Corey Davis from the state climate office of North Carolina. And yeah, a difference in a couple of different aspects. Corey, tell us what what you’re seeing from your climatological view? “Mike, if you think back to where we were […]

This is the SFN Market Report with Brooks Schaffer of Palmetto Grain. Reach him at [email protected] or 843-540-4540. More of the same for news flow this week. Exports remain strong. Domestic demand remains very strong but the market cannot seem to find any bullish traction. Corn is holding on better than beans. Beans are coming […]

Import tariffs that raise the specter of retaliation remain unpopular with farm leaders, with some exceptions. President-elect Trump vows universal import tariffs of ten to 20 percent and 60 percent on Chinese goods, to bring manufacturing jobs back home and raise revenue. However, farm leaders remember the steep retaliatory tariffs they faced on exports during […]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The chief operating officer for the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency is no longer working in the position as of Wednesday. An office spokesperson confirmed Laura Hogshead is out of the role and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s legislative lobbyist Pryor Gibson will serve in the interim. Hogshead’s departure comes after a scathing rebuke of her work by GOP state lawmakers during a Monday hearing. The recovery office is facing a more than $220 million deficit to continue housing projects in parts of eastern North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence. Republican legislators say the office has mismanaged its funds.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Truist Financial Corporation has announced that it is making hundreds of millions of dollars in loans available to residents, businesses and local governments affected by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. The Charlotte-based bank said in a news release Wednesday that it will lend more than $650 million and offer more in grants and investments over three years. The company’s initiative comes as state legislators have approved hundreds of millions of dollars in Helene aid, while the governor’s office says more is needed. The Truist initiative includes $340 million in lending for small businesses, home mortgages and commercial real estate. It will offer another $310 million in low-cost, tax-exempt loans to municipalities for infrastructure.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says money available to help communities hit by disasters has shrunk after back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton. Deanne Criswell warned during a Senate hearing Wednesday that the funding problems might jeopardize the ability to respond to new disasters in the future. The Biden administration has requested nearly $100 billion for disaster aid. The largest chunk of that money, about $40 billion, would go to FEMA’s disaster relief fund.

Appetites are already whetting for next week’s Thursday spread and on everyone’s mind is, what does this year’s turkey supply look like? Ashley Kohls is Executive Director of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association. “Sure, just like in previous years, it’s probably one of the first questions that we get asked as we skip over from […]

HENNIKER, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire company is working to develop a fleet of autonomous helicopters that it hopes can be used to put out fires, spray crops and handle other dangerous jobs. Rotor Technologies has built two of the autonomous helicopters, started running test flights and plans a demonstration of the helicopter at an agriculture trade show in Texas on Wednesday. The company is hoping to sell as many as 20 of the small helicopters next year, most of which would be used by farmers to spray fields with pesticides and fertilizers. To allow those flights, the company is counting on getting Federal Aviation Administration approval by next year.

NEWLAND, N.C. (AP) — The White House’s Christmas tree is slated to be cut and transported from a North Carolina farm on Wednesday. Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm is located in Avery County, North Carolina. It was one of the hardest-hit counties from Hurricane Helene just a few months before. The farm experienced some road damage and lost between 5,000 to 6,000 smaller trees in a mudslide. But one of the owners, Sam Cartner Jr., says that other Christmas tree farmers had it much worse than his family’s farm. He hopes the White House tree can be an inspiring symbol for western North Carolina.