When it comes to the holidays, we rule

This has historically been one of our favorite "evergreen" posts each year around the holidays. (See what we did there? Evergreen? Christmas trees? Eh?) We here at the Dare Society love to (metaphorically) pump up our North Carolina chest this time of year -- and for good reason. 

North Carolina is one of the leading states when it comes to holiday-related foods and agricultural outputs. In fact, NC State updated those talking points recently.

Our state takes production bragging rights for at least three of the top holiday dishes. North Carolina ranks 1, 2 and 3 throughout the U.S. in sweetpotatoes, turkey and ham, respectively.

“I can just about guarantee that someone can make an entire holiday meal just on what is produced in North Carolina. Turkey, goose, duck, quail, chicken… sweetpotatoes, squash, sweet corn, beans, carrots, onions, broccoli, well I guess some people even eat cauliflower,” says Jesse Grimes, turkey management Extension specialist.

It's also easy to forget a few of those other non-A list crops as well, according to NC State. 

Don’t forget that the state grows a variety of fruits great for incorporating into desserts, including strawberry and blueberry crumble, peach cobbler, apple or pumpkin pie. And last but not least, there are nearly 200 wineries and over 300 breweries to add festive libations to any celebration.

And that's not all. As referenced at the beginning of this post, Christmas trees are also a point of pride as NC tends to rank in the top 2 of all Christmas tree sales.

Image courtesy of NC State

Happy holidays from N.C.!

Thanksgiving is this week, so now is as good a time as any to reflect on the many ways the Old North State impacts the holiday season ... namely through agriculture and forestry products.

It's almost impossible to have a Thanksgiving meal without some part of North Carolina touching the dinner table. To wit ...

In a streak that would make John Wooden's UCLA basketball run look "ok," North Carolina has dominated the production of sweet potatoes since ... 1971! This is mostly due to the "hot, moist climate and rich, fertile soil [that is] ideal for cultivating" sweet potatoes. According to USDA data, N.C. harvested nearly 95,000 acres of sweet potatoes in 2016, nearly 30,000 more acres than California, Louisiana and Mississippi combined!

North Carolina is the second largest turkey-producing state in the nation (behind Minnesota). Gobble gobble, y'all!

Maybe you prefer ham this holiday season? North Carolina is in the top four when it comes to pork production.

And, finally, some of y'all early birds already have your Christmas trees up. There's a great chance it came from North Carolina whether you live here or not. Nationally, N.C. ranks second (behind Oregon) in tree production; however, the Tar Heel State is first traditionally when it comes to Fraser firs. And as if that's not good enough, more White House Christmas Trees have come from our fair state than any other.


(Photo by Craig Adderly, Pexels.com)

It's the holiday season, y'all!

We like to puff our collective chest out here in North Carolina. And mostly for good reason. One area in which our fair state excels is agriculture. And this time of year, boy oh boy, is it a good ag time of the year.

As we are on the cusp of Thanksgiving and Christmas, it's a good time to take stock of where N.C. ranks among the typical holiday trimmings, such as turkey, sweet potatoes and even the literal trimmings (Christmas trees).

How does N.C. rank?
Sweet potatoes -- We're No. 1! We're No. 1! In fact, half of the U.S. supply of sweet potatoes come from our state.
Turkeys -- The Old North State is currently second, behind Minnesota.
Christmas trees -- No. 2 behind Oregon.
Pork (Ham) -- Also second. However, Duplin and Sampson counties are the top two hog-producing counties in the United States.

Nothing Compares. Indeed.

[Image from Pinterest]