(The Center Square) – North Carolina’s tobacco leaders hope Brooke Rollins will visit during planting and harvesting. Its pork producers say they need strong leadership to support agriculture at the local and national level.
Rollins has the eyes of the agriculture industry – an annual $111.1 billion machine from Murphy to Manteo – upon pending U.S. Senate approval of her nomination by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Texan – undergrad from Texas A&M, law degree over in Austin at the University of Texas – may not at first appear to be a fellow farmer. Don’t be fooled. She is, in addition, a former domestic policy chief during Trump’s first term and comes from steering the nonprofit America First Policy Institute.
“The policies set by the federal government ultimately impact our farmers in important ways,” Jennifer Daniels, president of the North Carolina Pork Council, told The Center Square. “That’s why we are committed to working closely with and briefing the members of the new administration.
“Our goal is to educate them about the challenges we face and encourage smart policies that ensure the health and viability of our industry for generations to come.”
Trump, in selecting Rollins, said she’s more than acclimated with the industry.
“From her upbringing in the small and agriculture-centered town of Glen Rose, Texas, to her years of leadership involvement with Future Farmers of America and 4-H, to her generational family farming background, to guiding her four kids in their show cattle careers, Brooke has a practitioner’s experience, along with deep policy credentials in both nonprofit and government leadership at the state and national levels,” Trump said. “As our next secretary of agriculture, Brooke will spearhead the effort to protect American farmers, who are truly the backbone of our country.”
North Carolina is No. 1 nationally in the production of 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.
A state since Nov. 21, 1789, agriculture has forever been king of its industries.
Matt Grissom, president of the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina, hopes Rollins will visit at planting and harvest in her first year. Concerns on his and tobacconists’ minds include adverse impacts related to export if there is a retaliation on trade tariffs, “flaws we are incumbered by regarding the H2A Adverse Effect Wage Rate,” and feasibility of eliminating the wage survey “as the litmus for determining the AERW.”
“From what we have read and heard from people that know her in the past administration, it is our expectation that she is very experienced in government policy and programs,” Grissom told The Center Square. “We look forward to a future dialogue specific to our specialty crop.”
State Agriculture Secretary Steve Troxler, according to a spokeswoman in his office, does not know Rollins, nor does Daniels. Still, each looks forward to collaborating with her to address industry challenges.
“Pork producers need strong leadership to support agriculture at the local and national level,” Daniels said. “Our priorities include addressing issues in the Farm Bill and Prop 12, expanding markets, improving labor availability, and preparing for foreign animal disease outbreaks.
“We remain focused on continuing to do what we do best – feeding your families across the state and country – with a safe and nutritious protein. And we will continue to advocate for policies that strengthen the future of our industry.”