Brandon Herring
Brandon joined the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in September of 2019 after more than 15 years as a reporter, anchor, photographer and producer in local TV news. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Growing up, Brandon spent many summers in tobacco fields helping on the family farm just east of Lumberton. He started out driving the tractor in front of the harvester at about age 7, and by the summers in college was cropping and racking tobacco. His father, cousin, mother and sister still keep the farm going. While they no longer grow tobacco, several other field crops remain, along with a peach orchard and roadside produce market.
From a home kitchen to stores nationwide, a N.C. toffee is still a family affair
A product that’s become an iconic N.C.-made sweet treat began like many other specialty foods in the state – in a family’s home kitchen. After many years of making toffee, Karen Graves turned her hobby into a business right from
Corbett ensures multiple farms have what they need to continue research
Managing a farm of any size is a tough job, so it’s hard to imagine the challenge of overseeing 18 different farms with around 90 different commodities across nearly 25,000 acres. Tommy Corbett in the N.C. Department of Agriculture doesn’t
With End of Days comes spirits to enjoy, not fear
[This article is the first in a series about North Carolina distilleries in honor of N.C. Spirits Month, which was first proclaimed in 2017. Each article is part of a “spooky spirits” theme ahead of Halloween.] Not far from the
Even without the State Fair, there’s no shortage of fair food
Although the N.C. State Fair is cancelled for 2020, there are a couple of ways the spirit of the fair lives on in some small ways. Junior livestock shows and horse shows are giving participants and their families a taste
Grape picking and wine sipping; vineyards welcome fall guests
As we get into the fall season, North Carolina’s vineyards are an attractive option to get your agritourism fix. You can visit some vineyards to pick muscadine grapes or just buy the sweet native grapes already picked. The other big
It’s a fine time for muscadines
This time of year muscadine grapes are a hot commodity in North Carolina and the southeast. The juicy and sweet grapes are native to the region, and now is the time to find them from backyards to small farms and
Dozens of department employees recognized for project to save trees that “get in people’s hearts.”
“The project was very complex and difficult.” That’s just part of the way Robert Trickel with the N.C. Forest Service described a project that prompted a recent award for 41 Forest Service employees. Their success in rising to the challenge
Department funding helps save N.C. town’s economy
Funding from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is helping protect about $12.7 million of property and business in one eastern North Carolina town. That estimate comes from the town of Oriental in Pamlico County. The project
Among city streets, urban farm connects people to agriculture
National Farmers’ Market Week takes place Aug. 2-8, 2020. Farmers’ markets across North Carolina offer communities access to fresh, nutritious food, while also stimulating local economies. National Farmers’ Market Week is a time to celebrate those who produce fresh foods
North Carolina’s “Tomato Man” makes a mark saving and sharing heirloom tomatoes
Many North Carolinians may know Craig LeHoullier simply as “the Tomato Man” or maybe “the North Carolina Tomato Man” if they’re being specific. …but he never even ate a tomato until he was a teenager. It’s an odd fact in