President Barack Obama has named two men to lead efforts in rural North Carolina for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Aaron Martin will serve as North Carolina State Executive Director for the Farm Service Agency at the USDA. There, he will help provide loans for equipment, seed and fertilizer, and work to get disaster relief to farmers, Barb Barrett reports. The Farm Service Agency also obtains commodities to help low-income families through food aid programs.

Martin was most recently the district director of the Farm Service Agency for the western region of North Carolina. He also served as a crop disaster specialist and FSA director in Clay County.

Obama also named Randal Gore to be North Carolina state director of Rural Development for USDA. The division manages more than 40 housing, business and community programs to improve quality of life in rural areas.

Gore was area director of Rural Development in Asheboro for 11 years, and served as a multifamily housing specialist in Greensboro from 1990-1994. He previously was a vocational teacher at Whiteville High School and West Brunswick High School.

Gore donated $250 to Obama's presidential campaign and $250 to U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield's most recent campaign, according to federal election records.

Martin gave U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan $500 and U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler $500 in the most recent campaign, according to federal election records. He has given U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge $3,000 since 2007.

The mayor of Apex will soon advise his state representative.

Keith Weatherly will begin work Jan. 20 as administrative assistant to House Minority Leader Paul Stam, one of three representatives whose districts include Apex.

He had been working as the senior official to the Farm Service Agency in North Carolina for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, supervising 500 employees and an annual budget of $34 million. Because it is a presidential appointment, the job was ending soon, however.

Previously, Weatherly worked for Sen. Jesse Helms while the North Carolina Republican was chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, writing speeches and answering press inquiries for the committee.

Stam said he did not see a conflict between Weatherly's part-time duties as mayor and his new full-time job.

"Almost all town business is in the evenings," he said. "I guess the only conflict would be if a local bill comes up for Apex. I told him that I have independent judgment on those, which is true anyway."

Stam supported a local bill last session granting Apex a possible $5 vehicle tax increase. He said if there was a serious conflict of interest, he would let Reps. Ty Harrell or Nelson Dollar, who also represent Apex, handle the bill.

The two officials have some history. Weatherly's father, John, was Stam's seatmate years ago, and Stam joked that he relied on Weatherly to tell him how to vote when he came in late.

Richard Moore began accumulating property across Granville and Vance counties in 1989.

Today, his 856.9 acre farm is worth approximately $707,132.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate's initial purchase was a 4.31 acre property that included a house from Angier and Mary Ellen Duke. Since then, he has made nine purchases from 12 neighbors to expand the size of his property.

He receives a tobacco allotment from the Farm Service Agency on the land.

Moore also owns a 3,570 square foot home in Raleigh. The house, built in 1931, was remodeled in 1985. It has three full baths and two outdoor porches. He purchased the home from Frank and Mildred Liggett in 2003. That home is valued at $983,535.

He shares his parent's Oxford farm with his siblings. He received his 14.5 percent share of the farm on Salem Road on Sept. 30, 1993.

Farmers hurt by drought should apply for help, says U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge.

The Lillington Democrat, who serves on the House Agriculture Committee, said farmers who have suffered losses from the drought in 2007 should apply for crop disaster assistance, Barb Barrett reports.

Legislation that passed Congress last month extended the disaster assistance deadline to crops affected through Dec. 31, 2007.

To be eligible, producers must be in one of the counties declared a disaster area between Jan. 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2007, or be in a contiguous county, according to Etheridge’s office. Farmers must have bought crop insurance or coverage under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. They also must have suffered a loss of 35 percent or more.

Farmers can apply at their local Farm Service Agency service center. Farmers with questions can call their local FSA office or visit its Web site.

Eighty-five N.C. counties have been declared disaster areas because of the drought.