Supporting more than 46,000 jobs and contributing $11 billion annually, hog farming plays an important role in North Carolina’s economy, especially in the eastern part of the state. But it’s been a tumultuous year for hog farmers, due to the recent hog nuisance lawsuits.

SEE ALSO: How Pig Farmers are Stewards of Sustainability

Now, for the first time since the lawsuits began, we get to hear from the farmers themselves. With the gag order lifted, Lynda Loveland had the chance to sit down and talk with Joey Carter, a hog farmer for the past 33 years, about the last few months in and outside of the courtroom, and what lies ahead now that he’s lost his hogs. Watch the interview in the video below.

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North Carolina Field & Family Spring 2026
Flip through the pages of the Spring 2026 edition of North Carolina Field and Family magazine. In this issue, impress your guests with creative yet easy spring holiday recipes, learn how farmers face challenges planning the future of their farmland, meet some North Carolina beef producers raising the steaks, start your engines with eight reasons to visit Richmond County, get crabby with Sheri Castle’s Deviled Crab recipe and much more.

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