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.
New tractor lending program brings benefits to research stations
Research Stations Division Director Teresa Lambert expects a new tractor lending program to be a nice boost for two of the state’s agricultural research locations. It already has her dreaming about expanding the program too as a way to help
Research station teams ups to help flooded farmers in WNC
Less that 24 hours after remnants of Tropical Storm Fred flooded areas of western North Carolina, staff at the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville began mobilizing to help farmers who needed a hand to recover. The flooding rains came on
Research station welcomes visitors for popcorn tour
On a hot, humid, August morning recently, Amy Manzulich of Roxboro stood on the edge of a corn plot on the Oxford Research Station, watching her four children pull ears of corn from the stalks. Braving the heat was worth
One award brings two honors in two ways for long-term Food Distribution leaders
This past spring, when Gary Gay retired as the director of the Food Distribution Division after 36 years with NCDA&CS, the division staff wanted to celebrate his retirement with a special gift. That gift also turned into a way to
Meet the new WNC Farmers Market Manager
Phil Jacobus has started his career with the NCDA&CS as the new manager of operations/marketing at the Western North Carolina Farmers Market in Asheville. He started June 1, and has jumped right in to implement innovative programs to connect western
New facility near Asheville will help with produce safety training and produce research
A food safety education program within NCDA&CS gained a big tool for its toolbox recently. It’s expected to help ensure that North Carolina fresh produce growers are well educated about how to safely pack and hold their produce. On July
Research Stations again welcoming public for show-and-tell
One of the things in N.C. agriculture that is helping 2021 feel a little more normal is the return of field days at the state’s agricultural research stations. During 2020, several of the field days were cancelled, and others switched
Department aid helps restore ponds, protect watersheds
When Hurricane Matthew swept through eastern North Carolina in October of 2016, Russell Thompson’s dream of leaving a good piece of property to his son was put in jeopardy. While most of his land survived the flooding rain without too
Online testing is new game-changing option for pesticide applicators, dealers, etc.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed many things for people in all walks of life, and one of those things has been the licensing testing related to pesticides in North Carolina. During the pandemic, a significant effort was made to move the
Department team recognized for food supply improvements that will last decades
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler recently recognized a team of employees that has had a huge impact on the state by helping to fix a food supply chokepoint. It’s a problem that became more obvious in the beginning of the COVID-19