Meat processing is a booming industry in North Carolina. With that, there are jobs abound for graduates to take on, but do they have the relevant training? NC State's Currey Nobles is working with the Agricultural Institute instituting courses to help train the next wave of workers entering the industry.

go.ncsu.edu/food-animal

Thank you for listening to Farms, Food and You, produced by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University. Over the past three years, we’ve enjoyed bringing you information and news about food and farming issues in North Carolina. This is our last episode, but you can hear previous episodes at go.ncsu.edu/farms. And we hope you’ll keep up with the latest from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences online at cals.ncsu.edu/news.

Considered a delicacy, oysters are wildly popular in culinary communities. But is farming them as exclusive as some might believe. This episode we sit down with Jane Harrison to discuss the North Carolina Oyster Trail, and learn about the burgeoning industry that is North Carolina oysters.

Latest issue of CALS Magazine - go.ncsu.edu/calsmag
North Carolina Oyster Trail - https://ncoystertrail.org/

In this episode of Farms, Food and You, we’ll look at what essentially equates to carbon recycling and the potential it holds for farmers, entrepreneurs and society in general. It’s a topic covered in the latest magazine of North Carolina State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Our guest is Dr. Joe Sagues, the researcher featured in that article.

CALS Magazine - https://magazine.cals.ncsu.edu/roads-to-carbon-removal/

It’s that time of year again, the 155th time to be exact. Get ready for “The best day ever” with a trip to the North Carolina State Fair. While you may be thinking about the 87 different rides and more than 150 food vendors, the Animal Science Club at NC State has been thinking about how to help their show cattle put their best hooves and udders forward. You can find them at the Milk Booth, teaching willing visitors how to milk cows while answering questions about the dairy industry, and at the N.C. Cattlemen's Association Booth where they can tell you all about the beef industry. You’ll also find them in the ring in Graham Building showing off varieties raised and trained for showing. A handful of cows, and their student trainers, will make the trip from the NC State Howling Cow Dairy Education Center and Creamery with hopes they have the chops, and the hips, to win a blue ribbon.

This month, we're learning about all the creepy crawlies surrounding us, and how we should expand our view of them as not just pests. We sit down with entomologists Elsa Youngsteadt and Eleanor Spicer-Rice to discuss.

Learn more about researchers in this episode

Dr. Elsa Youngsteadt is an assistant professor and Extension leader at NC State. Her research in the Youngsteadt Urban Ecology Lab works at the interface of urbanization and climate change to understand how organisms, populations, and ecological interactions respond to anthropogenic stressors–and what we can do about it. 

Dr. Eleanor Spicer-Rice received her PhD in entomology from NC State and is a prolific author with articles covering myriad topics from belly button biodiversity to blue crabs in bath tubs. She is the author of several books including Dr. Eleanor’s Book of Common Ants, Dr. Eleanor’s Book of Common Spiders, Ants: Workers of the World, and Unseen Jungle: The Microbes that Secretly Control Our World.

On this week's episode we sit down with the new dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State Univeristy, Garey Fox. He shares with us his hopes and goals for the years ahead, and the direction he strives to lead the on.

Listen this month as we talk about pollinators gardens and your backyard. Learn some tips and tricks for how to make your garden a happening spot for your local pollinators.

On this episode, we hear from Dave Tarpy, head of the NC State University Apiculture Program, and Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, founder and CEO of Bee Downtown. Listen as they share their insights on the state of honeybees, apiculture and the future of the program at NC State University.

To learn more about how you can support the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association Faculty Award in Apiculture visit https://units.cals.ncsu.edu/honey-bees/.