Economy / Food
From American Farm Bureau Newsroom
The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 31st annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.87, a 24-cent decrease from last year’s average of $50.11.
The big ticket item – a 16-pound turkey – came in at a total of $22.74 this year. That’s roughly $1.42 per pound, a decrease of 2 cents per pound, or a total of 30 cents per whole turkey, compared to 2015.
Written by Dr. Randy Woodson, Chancellor of North Carolina State University.
This Saturday, November 19 at Carter-Finley Stadium, the Wolfpack not only play host to the Miami Hurricanes, but we will also be celebrating our 4th annual Ag Day, a time to recognize the many contributions that agriculture and our farmers make to our state. Agriculture built North Carolina, and people around the world depend on what’s raised and grown right here at home.
NC State University and the faculty and staff of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences work hard with partners across North Carolina to ensure our state’s agriculture remains strong. Because of these combined efforts, remarkable things are happening.
With Election Day officially behind us, we thought we’d take a moment to recap how some of the key races in North Carolina turned out (or in a few cases, how they are likely to turn out). There’s an unbelievable amount of information to sift through and process before we can draw deeper conclusions, so we’ll save that for another day. Top line takeaways are that Republicans will control the White House, US Senate, and US House, and will maintain their supermajorities in the NC House and NC Senate, though the Governor’s Mansion could be occupied by a Democrat. Please note that there are a handful of races that are still “too close to call” despite a winner being listed because the State Board of Elections must complete its certification process — counting provisional and absentee ballots, conducting canvasses and recounts, etc. — before officially declaring a winner. Without further ado, here are your federal and state election winners:
Politics
As we speed toward Election Day and put behind us what will likely be known as the longest and most rancorous presidential race in recent memory, we must all remember that the importance of November 8th goes well beyond 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. And yes, we completely understand that looking beyond this presidential election—an election that has been the focus of the world and dominated the news for the past year—is not an easy task, especially given that we are a swing state AND a battleground state.
But, the truth is North Carolina voters have much more to consider. We have the opportunity to shape our future right here at home, and every single vote matters. In fact, we are voting in two very important races that are still considered toss-ups (you have seen the mass amounts of TV ads that prove it) with than a less than a week to go – U.S. Senate and Gubernatorial. Just look at what is at stake with these races – a potential change in the balance of power in D.C. and the leader of North Carolina for the next four years. These two races could come down to the wire with a candidate squeezing in by a couple hundred votes. It could even be a couple hundred votes from a rural county that makes the difference.
Beyond those two races, there are many important races and issues to be decided, and you should want to have a say. Here’s what most of our ballots will include: US House of Representatives, US Senate, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Commissioner of Labor, Commissioner of Insurance, Secretary of State, State Auditor, Commissioner of Agriculture, Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Treasurer, Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, NC House and NC Senate. Not to mention local races like County Commissioners and Register of Deeds. That is a lot of voting but it’s a great way to make your voice heard.
The point is that while our next POTUS is extremely important for the future of our nation, so are the elected officials that represent us right here at home. The elected officials that determine the future of our education system, public safety, healthcare, social security, our roads, bridges and highways, agriculture, sewer and water systems, and much more. We urge you to exercise your right to vote and to be a part of the future of this great state and nation!
If you need help finding out where you are registered to vote or what your ballot will look like, visit this page: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/voter_search_public/
If you want to learn more about the candidates on your ballot, visit: http://myballot.wral.com/build.do