U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr will be in Raleigh today.

The two senators will attend the AgFIRST! forum on food safety sponsored by the N.C. Department of Agriculture at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

They will be joined by U.S. Reps. Howard Coble, Walter Jones and Brad Miller. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is hosting the event.

The forum will focus on protecting state crops, responding to foreign animal diseases and developing programs for recalling tainted food.

Speakers include top officials with the Agriculture department, an assistant commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and representatives of Harris Teeter and Food Lion.

The event will be at the Kerr Scott building from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

Republican state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and Ronnie Ansley, the Democratic nominee for the office, both support a bill that would make it easier for hog farmers to rebuild or reconfigure their hog operations.

The bill strips away a neighbors right to halt changes to structures that are closer than the current law would allow. The current version of the bill, which cleared the Senate on Thursday, even allows hog farmers to build a new building closer than the setbacks under certain circumstances.

Hog farms would need the approval of the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources. But the big difference is that adjacent property owners would lose their right to stop the changes.

Opponents say the bill weakens 1995 reforms adopted to protect neighbors from the smelly and dangerous pollutants that arise from hog farms. Supporters say it's a minor change that would allow hog farms to keep up with the rising costs of hog farming.

"On balance, we think it's a good piece of legislation," said Brian Long, a spokesman for Troxler. "We don't have a problem with it."

Ansley, said he generally supports the bill because it would help farmers keep production costs low, which would benefit consumers at the grocery store.

But Ansley says he is concerned that lawmakers are pushing the bill too quickly. Opponents have had little public opportunity to speak against the bill.

"One of the big concerns I have is the rush that was put on it," Ansley said.

The bill, H 822, has cleared the Senate and now heads to the House.

Steve Troxler reached across an aisle usually reserved for walking down.

This past weekend, the Republican agriculture commissioner's son, Shawn, married the daughter of staunch Democratic supporter and activist Roni Roberg at the Long View Center in Raleigh.

The happy occasion led to more than one bipartisan moment, as many of the bride's friends and family ended up on the groom's side of the church, and vice versa, leading to a mixed crowd.

Still, Troxler stuck to his own party when it came to renting a place for the rehearsal dinner, choosing the Gov. Jim Martin building at the N.C. State Fairgrounds — named for a former Republican.

He was reportedly philosophical about the wedding. 

"You have to get votes any way you can," he said in a statement. "We both made a concerted effort to reach across the aisle."

The races for open seats for lieutenant governor and state treasurer could be close contests, according to the latest results from Public Policy Polling.

But while most incumbents for Council of State offices enjoy "solid leads" in the latest survey, State Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican, trails Democratic challenger Beth Wood.

PPP surveyed 616 likely voters on May 8-9. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

The full results in the various Council of State races after the jump:

   Comments (0)

Bill Daughtridge has received four high-profile endorsements.

The state representative, who is running unopposed for the Republican nomination for state treasurer, has been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and state Auditor Les Merritt.

Berry, Troxler and Merritt are currently the only Republican members of the Council of State. 

"Bill Daughtridge understands the challenges facing North Carolina," said Burr in a statement. "He understands the value of strong schools and sound economics. Bill knows business and he knows North Carolina. We are fortunate to have Bill Daughtridge as a candidate for state Treasurer and I hope my fellow Republicans will join me in supporting Bill's campaign."

Mike Easley has formed a task force to protect agricultural workers exposed to pesticides.

The task force comes after advocates for migrant workers said the state did a poor job handling complaints of dangerous pesticide exposure involving Ag-Mart, one of the nation's top suppliers of grape tomatoes, Dan Kane reports.

Two years ago, the state accused the Florida-based company of 369 violations of the state's pesticide law, but two judges recommended most of the charges be dropped because the state did not prove much of its case.

State Health Director Leah Devlin will lead the task force, which also includes N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. The task force will hold its first meeting next month and is expected to make recommendations to Easley in May.

More after the jump.

   Comments (0)

North Carolina plans to buy $3 million worth of hay to keep the state's cows from going hungry this winter.

The statewide drought has turned green pastures brown and left farmers who care for some 800,000 head of cattle without enough feed to get through the winter, Gov. Mike Easley said today.

Easley, a Democrat, and state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, a Republican, told the Council of State this morning that the state can get a better price on hay since it can buy in bulk. The state would then turn around and sell the hay — which goes for about $30 a bale — to farmers. The state would have to look across the nation to find as much as 100,000 bales of hay, Easley said.

“We think we can find it around the country,” Easley said.

More after the jump.

   Comments (0)

Raleigh attorney Ronnie Ansley said he hopes to challenge Republican Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler next year.

Ansley, 45, said he comes from an agriculture background in Northampton County and recently was elected president of the Future Farmers of America Alumni organization. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in agriculture education from N.C. State University and Clemson University, respectively, Rob Christensen reports.

Ansley's name might be familiar. He lost to Beverly Perdue in the 2000 lieutenant governor's race, to Brad Miller in a 2002 U.S. House race, and lost again in 2004's N.C. Supreme Court scrum.

Troxler was elected in a close race in 2004, edging out Democrat Britt Cobb after a several-month long dispute over the vote count. Cobb, who is now secretary of administration, had been appointed agriculture commissioner by Gov. Mike Easley after Meg Scott Phipps resigned as a result of a fundraising scandal.

Steve Troxler had a rebuttal for Gov. Mike Easley today.

The state agriculture commissioner was called on by the governor yesterday to do something about the state's drought, Sarah Ovaska reports.

Sure enough, it rained hard last night.

"I delivered," Troxler said. 

* Republican gubernatorial candidates Fred Smith and Bob Orr cross paths at Carolina Panthers tailgate party in Lincoln County. (Lincoln Tribune)

* John Edwards to appear on Bill Maher's show on HBO Friday night; with wife Elizabeth on Ellen DeGeneres' show Monday. (Marc Ambinder)

* Secretary of State Elaine Marshall receives honor from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for targeting counterfeit and bootleg products. (Triangle Business Journal)

* Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler picks winner in sub contest at State Fair; hangs with Jared Fogle from those ads. (News 14 Carolina)