This week’s likely vote on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the US Department of Health and Human Services presents an opportunity and challenge for North Carolina’s agriculture industry. As the new Trump administration dawns in Washington, its policies will impact this number one industry in North Carolina, valued at $111.1 billion.
“President Donald Trump came in this time, had a plan about what he wanted to accomplish, but maybe even more importantly, the kinds of people that he wanted to help implement it,” said Randy Russell, agriculture lobbyist and president of The Russell Group. “I’ve been doing this for over 45 years, and I think 2025 is going to be one of the most consequential years when it comes to policy.”
Russell spoke to a group of experts across all agriculture sectors in Cary, North Carolina on Tuesday concerning the industry’s challenges and opportunities from a policy perspective in 2025. Russell’s address was at NC Chamber’s Imagine Ag Day 2.0, a follow-up to last year’s event.
Russel is watching closely as the new administration’s campaign to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) yields policy initiatives. Kennedy is expected to pass a Senate confirmation vote later this week after the Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday 14-13 along party lines to advance his nomination to the full Senate chamber.
“I don’t necessarily agree with a lot of things that RFK Jr. talked about, but what you can’t disagree with is his description of the problem,” said Russell. “Americans are unhealthy; we have 70% of Americans are obese or overweight, 50% of Americans have hypertension and high blood pressure, and 15% of Americans have diabetes. His description of the problem is very hard to argue against. The challenge that we all face is he’s putting a lot of that problem at the doorstep of agriculture, including crop protection tools and things like high fructose corn syrup. He’s talked a lot about ultra-processed foods, so this is going to be a challenge for us as we go forward, and I do think he’ll get confirmed.”
Russell also identified areas where he saw opportunities for the agriculture sector in 2025.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), also known as the “Trump tax cuts,” expire at the end of this year if Congress does not extend or renew. If the tax cuts are allowed to expire, it means a hike in several tax categories: Personal income tax rates go up, the capital gains tax rate goes up, the estate tax exemption falls significantly, and the immediate expensing allowances go away along with many other issues wrapped up with this..
Russell believes that the tariffs President Trump has mentioned will lead to new trade agreements.
“The last administration did not negotiate a new trade agreement,” Russell said.
In 2011, the agriculture trade surplus ran at $37 billion. That surplus has become a $45.5 billion trade deficit in about 13 years. Russell emphasized that more market access and less regulation is key to success under the new Trump administration.
“The President has announced that for every regulation that his administration puts out, they will have to get rid of the ten rules, so that’s going to be very interesting to watch something,” concluded Russell. “You’re going to see a lot of folks finally on energy and unleashing America’s oil and natural gas. I think that’ll be a good thing for America. So lastly, let me say that in all my years of working on this, I’m not quite sure I’ve seen a time where somebody comes in as president, and so much has happened in 15 days.”