issue:
Farms
Our system has a long history of overvaluing money and undervaluing labor and work.
Our Need: Family farms are experiencing monumental challenges that make farming as a sustainable business almost impossible.
Perspective
We have over 2,000 farms in Randolph and Moore Counties. In fact, Randolph has more farms than any other county in the state. We need to make sure that there are protections in place to ensure the success of these farms, especially while we have an ongoing Middle East war inflating gasoline and fertilizer prices. In addition, our weather in NC has become more extreme, with both unprecedented flooding and exceptional periods of drought, making the tricky business of farming even more unpredictable.
Corporate buyouts of farms are bad for families with a deep tie to the land, and bad for the land itself and the products produced on that land (animal or vegetable) because of their typical practices (think monoculture).
We can help farmers reduce their expenses by letting Washington know that unwarranted wars resulting in fuel and fertilizer shortages are unacceptable. We can help with labor shortages by allowing hard-working undocumented workers to stay in the country while their documents are being processed. We can pass targeted agriculture legislation to expand small-farm grants, and extend conservation tax credits.
If you are a farmer and know more specific ways we can help, please help me be more informed--reach out to let me know what I don't yet know so you get informed help that will make a real difference.