(The Center Square) – Republican Steve Troxler is seeking a sixth consecutive four-year term as agriculture commissioner, trying to fend off the challenge of Democrat Sarah Taber and Libertarian Sean Haugh.
Troxler’s consecutive years within the Council of State is exceeded only by Democratic Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who beat Richard Petty in 1996 and is aiming to work with her sixth different governor. Troxler first won in 2004 during the Easley administration; a win on Nov. 5 would pair him with a fourth different governor.
Election Day is 27 days away, early in-person voting starts next week on Thursday, and absentee by mail voting has already begun.
By production compared to all states, North Carolina is No. 1 in sweet potatoes, tobacco, and poultry and eggs; No. 2 in Christmas trees, turkeys and trout; No. 3 in hogs and cucumbers; No. 4 in peanuts and broilers (chickens); and No. 5 in cotton. It is top 10 in 20 different commodities, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.
The now synonymous marketing slogan “Got To Be NC” was started by Troxler in 2005. More than 2,500 companies are part of the program.
Troxler is campaigning on his record of “developing new markets for North Carolina farm products, preserving working farms and protecting the state’s food supply.” When he began his tenure, the economic impact of agriculture and agribusiness industries was $59 billion. Today it is $111.1 billion annually, including $18 billion growth since 2020.
Taber proposes a three-part plan to attract new investment to the state’s No. 1 industry.
She wants farmers to grow crops such as berries, carrots, celery, sweet corn, tree nuts, pumpkins and orchard fruit rather than corn, soy and tobacco. Taber says net growth to the economy would be $7 billion. A second part is what she deems an “on-ramp for new people to become farmers.” She also encourages employee stock ownership plans, and profit-sharing and cooperatives to help agricultural investment, according to her campaign website.
Troxler earned his undergrad in conservation with a concentration in environmental studies at N.C. State. Taber says she earned a doctorate in plant medicine from Florida and her undergrad in environmental soil science from Brigham Young.
Twenty divisions and more than 2,000 employees are within the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. The commissioner “directs implementation of more than 75 different laws and programs,” the website for the department says. The department is charged with protecting, maintaining and enhancing “the ability of agriculture to produce an adequate supply of food and fiber in North Carolina” and is responsible for regulatory enforcement, and promotion of health, safety and welfare of all citizens.
