Eighty of North Carolina’s 100 counties are considered rural -- the population density is less than 250 people per square mile. Our state has the second-largest rural population of any, just behind Texas. When many of us think rural, we immediately think agriculture. There are some 50,000 farms in our state, most of them small.I’d ask why a company would not want to be in a region so wonderful. This produced the recitation of rural problems, as true today as it was then. Despite conscientious efforts, rural areas still don’t have major road networks. [node:read-more:link]

A program is now in place to bring fast internet to hard-to-reach rural communities in Georgia. Now, lawmakers just have to fight about the money. Both chambers passed state Sen. Steve Gooch's Achieving Connectivity Everywhere Act last week, creating a grant program to fund broadband expansion. But the bill, which will go to Gov. Nathan Deal's desk, does not guarantee funding. [node:read-more:link]

Infant and childhood food allergy has now been linked to a mix of environmental and genetic factors that must coexist to trigger the allergy, reports a new study. Those factors include genetics that alter skin absorbency, use of infant cleansing wipes that leave soap on the skin, skin exposure to allergens in dust and skin exposure to food from those providing infant care. The good news is factors leading to food allergy can be modified in the home environment. [node:read-more:link]

 The Canadian government recently announced the launch of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a C$3 billion commitment that will help chart the course for government investments in the sector over the next five years. The partnership aims to help the sector grow trade, advance innovation and strengthen public confidence in the food system, the government said. In addition, business risk management programs will continue to help producers manage significant risks that threaten the viability of their farms and are beyond their capacity to manage. [node:read-more:link]

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) offers late spring and summer hog hunts on several wildlife management areas across the state? And you don’t even need a hunting license to participate in these great opportunities. Wild hogs, also called wild pigs, wild boars and feral pigs, are not native to Florida but were introduced over 500 years ago by Spanish explorers. [node:read-more:link]

The West Virginia Legislature approved seven rule changes related to the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, most of which will go into effect April 29. House Bill 4079 adopted several rule changes involving animal disease control, state apiary law, fruit inspection, auctioneers, noxious weeds, inspection of meat and poultry, and inspection of nontraditional/domesticated animals.“Technology innovations and federal guidelines change on a yearly basis,” Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt said in a Monday news release. [node:read-more:link]

The owner of a Tennessee meat plant where immigration officials conducted a raid last week is being accused of “willfully” attempting to skirt federal employment tax rules and filing false federal tax returns, according to the IRS search request that led to the raid. The affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court , Eastern District of Tennessee, Greenville Division, accused Southeastern Provision President James Brantley and others at the family-owned company of the tax charges in addition to employing “illegal aliens” in violation of federal laws. [node:read-more:link]

A declining flow of immigrants into the U.S. and aging population of immigrants already in the country is exacerbating challenges in the pork industry’s labor market, according to a study conducted by Iowa State University. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) commissioned the study, which it is using to support the organization’s argument for immigration reform that will provide them a larger labor pool.But the study states that immigration policy is only one of many factors that are changing the landscape in the rural Midwest, particularly in the hog industry. [node:read-more:link]

An opioid shortage affecting how hospitals care for patients has reached veterinary clinics and how they sedate pets during surgery. Since last year, less opioid medications have been manufactured because of concerns about the oversupply of the addictive drugs. And production facilities for opioids such as morphine and Dilaudid have shut down because of damage from the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico and floods in Texas in 2017.Hospitals, and now veterinary clinics, have to stockpile the sedatives they have, and are turning to alternative medications. [node:read-more:link]

When Danielle DiNapoli's English bulldog, Scruffles, died last year after being groomed at the PetSmart in Flemington, she found no real legal recourse in the event of possible gross negligence or recklessness when pets are in the care of others. [node:read-more:link]