THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square North Carolina’s agriculture and agri-business economic impact is an estimated $111.1 billion annually. | The Shelby Independent file graphic (The Center Square) – Plausible reductions in agricultural exports because of retaliatory trade policies stemming from aggressive U.S. tariffs could cost North Carolina farmers $695 million, a new report says. Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman of N.C. State University, for the conservative-leaning John

By Alan Wooten | From our partners at The Center Square Courtesy file photo (The Center Square) – Supply has increased and prices, in some cases, will be less this year for live cut Christmas trees from North Carolina. The nation’s No. 2 producer – 1 in 5 of all grown in America by more than 900 farmers overseeing 53 million trees on more than 33,000 acres come from the state – won’t be plagued by a hurricane disrupting the industry. The pitch from farmers is the offer of a f