Opinion
The high cost of our current energy policy
While Western civilization caps its oil wells, its enemies see the opening and are stepping up to cash in, economically and politically.
Opinion
Food access should be a PRIME concern for Congress
In a speech at Bradley University in September 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower told the crowd, “You know, farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from the cornfield.” Even though it was said 65 years ago that statement rings strangely true for North Carolina’s agricultural community, which is...
Opinion
Remembering our agricultural roots
Nearly half a million North Carolinians work in food processing plants. These workers rely on this sector to put food on their table, pay their mortgages, and secure a better future for their families; and these opportunities, along with the economic success of the state, are coming under fire as the Biden administration plans to...
News
Rising N.C. farm bankruptcies — canary in the coal mine?
Family farm bankruptcies are on the rise in North Carolina, a signal the rest of the state’s farm economy could be in trouble. North Carolina saw a 33% increase in Chapter 12 family farm bankruptcies from 2018 to 2019, with 16 filings, says a study by the American Farm Bureau, a trade association that advocates...
News
Trade dance with China beginning to make farmers skittish
In the midst of a whirlwind trade war, U.S. and Chinese officials are talking once again. But that doesn’t mean the Trump administration is closer to striking a deal to immediately help North Carolina’s struggling farmers, experts say, and a new poll shows rural support for Trump is slipping. Days after China announced it would...
News
Subsidies complicate farmers’ plight in growing trade war
North Carolina’s largest industry is riddled with angst. As China tangles with the President Trump over trade, North Carolina growers fear a collapse in demand, and say that even Trump’s proposed $12 billion boost in farm subsidies won’t stanch the billions they would bleed in a prolonged trade war. “When things are rough, they are...
Opinion
Carolina’s Stake in Farm Aid
Many agricultural commodities produced in North Carolina are completely outside of the federal subsidy system.
Opinion
Flashback: A Bumper Crop of Nostalgia
Nostalgia is a poor basis for setting government policy. In economic policy, it's a dangerous temptation – no more so when considering agriculture.
Opinion
Picking On The Farm Team
Those who say they want North Carolina farming to remain a viable enterprise should stop trying to cripple it.
Opinion
A Bumper Crop of Nostalgia
Nostalgia is a poor basis for setting government policy. In economic policy, it's a dangerous temptation – no more so when considering agriculture.
News
Farm Policies Cost Families a Bundle
RALEIGH — Agricultural subsidies cost an average American family of four about $200 a year, a UNC-CH doctoral candidate told an April 21 luncheon audience at the John Locke Foundation. While the United States differs from Europe in the implementation of farm policies, their effect is the same: less food at higher prices. And while agriculture may conjure up the rustic image of a small Mom and Pop farm receiving relief during hard times, the reality is large conglomerates qualifying for aid in good market times.
News
A closer look at Phipps staff indictments
A federal grand jury has indicted two former aides to Agricultural Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps, a U.S. attorney said at a press conference Tuesday. The charges against Linda Johnson Saunders, of Louisburg, and Bobby C. McLamb, of Raleigh, include conspiracy, extortion, wire fraud, and mail fraud, said Frank Whitney, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Saunders' attorney says that the government's ultimate goal is to indict Phipps.
