Agriculture

North Carolina Extension and Community Association celebrates the Seasons of Change
[Dec. 22, 2009] North Carolina Extension and Community Association (NCECA) held its 89th Annual State Council meeting in Concord recently where the theme was “Celebrating the Seasons of Change”. Over 250 members from across the state attended this exciting event where they recognized and celebrated their accomplishments of the year.

Berries or no berries, that is the question
[Dec. 21, 2009] There are at least four species of holly, both evergreen and deciduous, that are native to Chatham County and others that do well here, especially several Chinese varieties and some hybrids. Despite their extensive use as a foundation plant, Japanese hollies (black berries) are not outstanding selections for heavy wet soils and often are short-lived here due to root rots. The native and underused inkberry holly is often a better choice. By Al Cooke

Chatham County farmer named farmer of the year
[Dec. 21, 2009] At the recent Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference held Dec. 4-6 in Black Mountain, Chatham County farmer Doug Jones of Piedmont Biofarm was named Farmer of the Year from nominees submitted from both North and South Carolina. By Debbie Roos, Agricultural Extension Agent
Also: Piedmont Biofarm

Controlling eleagnus
[Dec. 21, 2009] Two kinds of eleagnus are a problem in the Southeast - Eleagnus pungens ( Silverberry, is an evergreen, thorny eleagnus) and Eleagnus umbellata (Autumn Olive, is a deciduous, less thorny eleagnus). They are quite prevalent in the woods this time of the year when many native plants have dropped their leaves. By Matthew Arnsberger

The "perfect" lawn and other side effects
[Nov. 23, 2009] I noticed some non-sequiturs in Tim Keim's comments in his Chapel Hill News article on "The Perfect Suburban Lawn". I understand that Tim has the best of intentions - protecting the natural world on which we all depend - and I salute your objectives. You've just made a few conclusions that don't necessarily follow from your observations. By Al Cooke

Farm Show and Tell Monday
[Oct. 12, 2009] The Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension has organized a "show and tell" at Okfuskee Farm from 5:00-7:00 pm for Monday, October 12. This farm visit is for farmers of all levels and also eaters interested in learning more about our local farms. By Debbie Roos, Agricultural Extension Agent

Controlling bamboo in landscape plantings
[Sep. 6, 2009] Too often I receive the following plea: "My neighbor planted bamboo and now it is coming up all over my yard. I have tried to kill it and nothing seems to work!. What can I do?" Bamboo is one of the most difficult to control "escaped ornamentals." Once established, bamboo can take over landscapes, stream banks, and woodlands. I have seen bamboo shoots actually breaking though concrete driveways. By Dr. Joseph C. Neal, NCSU Weed Scientist

Tick removal and bees
[Sep. 6, 2009] Before we get to the toxicity to bees, I think there are a couple of other misconceptions that need to be addressed first: one is that we can eliminate ticks and fleas and the other is that some product is the answer. I'll suggest first that you can learn to manage the tick/flea populations and that products may be part of the solution. By Al Cooke

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy’s 27th Annual Conference seeks to put rare breeds back on the table
[Aug. 16, 2009] The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC), a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the future of agriculture through the genetic conservation of endangered breeds of livestock and poultry, will present its 27th Annual Conference at the Clarion Hotel State Capital in Raleigh, NC, November 13-14, 2009.

Lil' ole Chatham County now has four farmers' markets
[Jun. 4, 2009] So can you believe lil' ole Chatham County now has four farmers' markets? So now no one has an excuse for not being able to make it to at least one of them during the week, right? Our farmers have been hard at work growing and harvesting our food. By Debbie Roos, Agricultural Extension Agent

Robeson Creek report to Pittsboro community
[Apr. 11, 2009] A Robeson Creek report to the Pittsboro community will be conducted by the Robeson Creek Watershed Council and the Chatham Extension Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service on Thursday night, April 23.

Chatham Extension office offers forestry management tour
[Apr. 11, 2009] Chatham County residents interested in learning about recommended forestry management and timber harvesting practices can sign up for a tour of local forest landowner properties on May 1 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. The tour is jointly hosted by the Chatham County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, Edwards and Randolph Forest Management Group, and Chatham County Farm Bureau. The tour theme is “Practicing Forestry while Preserving Land Values."

Judy Pick wins 2009 Outstanding Friend of Extension award
[Apr. 10, 2009] The Chatham County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension recently held their Friends of Extension Awards Banquet, held annually to honor volunteers who have served the citizens of Chatham County through their work in Extension programs. This year, over 75 volunteers were honored with a homemade meal prepared by the Extension staff.

Fearrington Farmers' Market opens its 19th season April 7
[Mar. 23, 2009] The Fearrington Farmers' Market begins its 19th season on Tuesday, April 7th at 4pm. Discover great locally produced items including fruits and vegetables, salad greens, potted plants, fresh flowers, jams & jellies, honey, eggs, pastries, prepared meals and more.