Invitation to a pig show turns into a business opportunity for Transylvania County girl

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Jen Kendrick

Ella and Denver McNealy show pigs at the Mountain State Fair in Fletcher in September.

It was an invitation to a livestock show that turned the McNealys into a pig family. Watching her friend parade around a show ring with …

Showtime’s Legit BBQ wins second state championship

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Jen Kendrick

2019 Champions: (front row, l-r) Dana and Kevin Peterson, Chris Fineran, Billy Narron, James Lamb; Back row NC Pork representatives: (l-r) Chad Herring, Brandon Warren, Andy Curliss

Twenty-eight of the top whole hog barbecue cooks filled South Street in downtown …

Latest attack by N&O is false, harmful

Posted on September 16, 2019September 16, 2019 by Andy Curliss

The News & Observer published a story on the front page of the Sunday paper, written by a freelance writer and directly funded by a policy advocacy organization, that is factually incorrect and dishonest.

The story is inaccurate on three …

Reports from NC DEQ to General Assembly on animal operations

Posted on September 15, 2019September 15, 2019 by Andy Curliss

Here are reports from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality to the General Assembly about animal operations for the past decade.

These document 24,551 inspections on permitted farms in the time period covered.

Additionally, these document complaints that inspectors acted …

Background on the Open Philanthropy Project

Posted on September 15, 2019 by Andy Curliss

There is an entity called the Open Philanthropy Project that is funded largely from the personal fortune of billionaire Dustin Moskovitz and his wife, Cari Tuna.

Moskovitz is a co-founder of Facebook.

One focus area of the Open Philanthropy Project …

Surveys, reports continue to show limited impacts from Hurricane Dorian

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Andy Curliss

UPDATE: Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, at 4:30 p.m.

Surveying by regulators and the North Carolina pork industry continues to indicate that impacts to or from pig farms in North Carolina from Hurricane Dorian has been limited.

There are no reports …

N.C. Pork Council: Limited farm impacts from severe Hurricane Dorian

Posted on September 6, 2019September 6, 2019 by Andy Curliss

North Carolina hog farms, like this one (foreground), did not have impacts as a result of Hurricane Dorian, which made landfall hours earlier. Additional photos below.

UPDATE: 10:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, 2019

North Carolina hog farms did not have …

N.C. Pork Council: No significant farm impacts from severe Hurricane Dorian

Posted on September 6, 2019September 6, 2019 by Andy Curliss

Farmer Lorenda Overman surveys pig barns and a treatment lagoon after Hurricane Dorian made landfall in North Carolina. The pork industry has not reported negative impacts from the severe storm.

UPDATE: 11:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6, 2019

There are no …

Hurricanes spawn storms of misinformation

Posted on September 3, 2019September 4, 2019 by Jen Kendrick

An Associated Press article published in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Dorian begins like this: “The names of hurricanes may change, but one thing seems to stay the same: Misinformation spreads quickly…”

We cannot agree more. The pork industry …

STATEMENT BY NORTH CAROLINA PORK COUNCIL ON APPROACHING HURRICANE DORIAN

Posted on September 1, 2019September 1, 2019 by Jen Kendrick

The North Carolina pork industry is prepared for the approach of Hurricane Dorian and is ready to respond as necessary to protect human health, animals and the environment. Surveying by the North Carolina Pork Council indicates that anaerobic treatment lagoons …