Leaders ponder future of ag

Apr. 22—NEWTON GROVE — Congressman David Rouzer paid a visit to Sampson County on Friday with his fellow colleagues to hold a meeting of minds amongst those deeply invested in agriculture across North Carolina.

The event itself was for the 2023 Farm Bill Stakeholder Roundtable, which was held at Warren Farming Company in Newton Grove. It's purpose was for lawmakers to hear insight, concerns and hopes from agricultural professionals in Sampson and surrounding counties about their desires for the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill.

The Farm Bill is a package of legislation passed roughly once every five years that has a tremendous impact on farming livelihoods, how food is grown, and what kinds of foods are grown. Covering programs ranging from crop insurance for farmers to healthy food access for low-income families, from beginning farmer training to support for sustainable farming practices, the farm bill sets the stage for food and farm systems.

The bill expires every five years, then is updated. During that time it goes through an extensive process where it is later passed by Congress and is then signed into law by the President. Each farm bill has a unique title, and the current farm bill is called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.

That bill expires on Sept. 30, 2023, which is what brought Rouzer and company to Sampson County for the roundtable. They wanted to hear firsthand what farmers and those in agriculture in North Carolina wish to see in the 2023 Farm Bill before work on the new bill proceeds.

During the event, a multitude of diverse topics were shared among the dialogue, including labor shortages, farming safety nets, inflation effects, ag research and much more. Rouzer took a moment after the roundtable to talk with The Sampson Independent, sharing what he felt were the most important topics he got from discussions.

"So I've been on a number of these listening sessions, but today was a little more intimate of a session with a roundtable," he said. "But, a lot of the same issues came up just as everywhere else in the country. There's a big focus on improving the farm safety net, particularly as it relates to higher input cost and the effect of inflation on input cost. That's a pretty common topic around the country, everywhere we go."

"The other is labor — which labor is not a issue under jurisdiction of the House Agriculture Committee — but it's a key component for production agriculture," Rouzer continued. "You know, if you don't have labor, you're not going to have food and so that issue, generally speaking, comes up."

Another major topic that was heavily discussed was trade and the affects it has on local farmers, specifically when it comes to China.

"Trade, the importance of trade and opening up new markets is always a topic that comes up," he said. "The conservation programs, maintaining those, making sure that those programs aren't hijacked for purposes other than production agriculture, is an issue that comes up. So really, today, I think, was a good summation of all the issues out there affecting agriculture."

"Also animal agriculture, one issue that was mentioned today — that's really not in our jurisdiction of the Ag Committee either — is creating a safe harbor for production in animal agriculture," Rouzer added. "In particular, that's had such a target on its back by environmentalists, and trial lawyers as well, and of course, production. Animal agriculture in North Carolina is big for the state, economically and otherwise, and I know a lot of people that like pork chops."

Rouzer represents North Carolina's Seventh Congressional District. He serves on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he currently serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

With Rouzer were fellow NC Congressmen Don Davis (NC-01) and Wiley Nickel (NC-13), as well as Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson (PA-15) and Congressman Doug Lamalfa (CA-01).

As for the event participants, in attendance at the roundtable were representatives with the National Cotton Council, NC Agribusiness Council, NC Cattleman's Association, NC Corn Grower Association, NC Department of Agriculture, NC Farm Bureau, NC Grange, NC Growers Association, NC Peanut Council, NC Pork Council, NC Sheep Producers Association, NC State University, NC Sweet Potato Commission, Tobacco Growers Association of NC and US Tobacco Cooperative.

In closing, Rouzer shared a sentiment that he said pertains not only to the agriculture community in Sampson County, but in North Carolina: It is important to get the Farm Bill done right.

"Well, as you know, food security is national security," he said. "A farm bill, getting that right, the promotion of agriculture, domestically and internationally, is incredibly important — not only to the economy in North Carolina, but our national economy. It's incredibly important to our national security. A country that can feed itself and feed the rest of the world definitely has a leg up on others.

Reach Michael B. Hardison at 910-249-4231. Follow us on Twitter at @SamsponInd, like us on Facebook, and check out our Instagram at @thesampsonindependent.