If you’re looking for a luxury libation, come to North Carolina. The craft beer business is thriving in the state, adding new breweries and brewpubs every year, as North Carolina’s wine industry continues to grow.
Farmers and many of those they do business with will gather at the State Fairgrounds Thursday for the annual Ag Development Forum. State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler will begin his third term in office by discussing the state of the industry. Ag Department spokesman Brian Long says the meeting will be about much more than just tending crops and animals. It's about the process of getting the goods to your home.
North Carolina’s Commissioner of Agriculture is in China this week. This is the second trip to that country since 2009.
Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler doesn’t necessarily like the long air plane trip to China. But he says it’s worth it. Troxler says after the 2009 trade mission – China increased its purchase of North Carolina tobacco by close to 40-percent. Sales of soybeans and cotton also increased.