World Events and Local Impacts
It goes without saying that recent events have gripped a torn and war-weary world. For the first time in our history, The US House of Representatives removed its Speaker, bringing the entire Congress to a screeching halt. North Carolina’s Rep. Patrick McHenry was named Speaker Pro Tempore to reorganize the majority and elect a new Speaker. Through his leadership, the House Republican Caucus will nominate the next Speaker.
World events demand that our national leadership be in place and engaged. These events include China’s threats against Taiwan, North Korea’s rush to perfect long-range nuclear missiles, Iran’s drive to develop nuclear weapons, and Russia’s The Wagner Group destabilizing countries in central Africa – to name a few. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a massive increase in the price of energy, which in turn greatly inflated the cost of farming by affecting equipment, fertilizer, and other input costs. Because of high inflation, the cost of borrowing working capital has reached decade highs. The drumbeat by special interest groups to increase punitive farm regulations continues – all combined, they create enormous headwinds for small and medium-sized farming operations and agribusinesses.
A horrified Western world watched a brutal, terrorizing attack on the Nation of Israel this past weekend.
Israel is developing and implementing complex and appropriate responses at the time of this writing. This all-out war against a shadow government called Hamas will create uncertainty worldwide. Will it expand to other nations? Will there be terrorist attacks? Will it disrupt precious energy supply routes?
None of this is surprising as a man of Faith and a student of Christian Scriptures. But just because it isn’t surprising, it does not mean that there will not be difficult days ahead for Europe and the Middle East. Our farming economy is global, and the impact is felt at home. Much prayer for our nation’s leaders is in order.
High inflation, instability of international markets, unreliable supply chains, and the high cost of operating capital demand that the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization recognizes global events’ impact on American farmers. We must have a farm bill that not only preserves the regional capacity of our great nation to feed, clothe, and fuel ourselves but also provides an abundance of affordable food to export to an unstable world.
We must have significant reform to our farmworker guestworker program.
For DECADES, farmers have been caught between contentious immigration politics and labor union demands. Farmers must have access to a workable and affordable guestworker program that works for every segment of farming. It isn’t rocket science, folks!
We must get our own house in order so that America’s and North Carolina’s farmers can thrive, provide food security for our nation, and feed an increasingly destabilized world. Agriculture’s friends in the NC General Assembly overrode the Governor’s veto clarifying farming regulations in the Regulatory Reform Act and his veto concerning defining nuclear power as “clean energy” (farmers and businesses need reliable and affordable energy.) Nuclear and natural gas are the only way to transition to a cleaner energy economy reliably.
The NC General Assembly strongly supported North Carolina’s rural communities, businesses, and farms through the recently passed Farm Act and Appropriations Bill. They get it. We must find a way to help our Congressional Delegation convince their peers that punitive farming regulations, high energy costs, and an unworkable farmworker guestworker program threaten our nation’s security and destabilize other struggling countries.
With the right regulatory environment, access to a workable guestworker program, and a farm bill that helps moderate today’s risk, North Carolina farmers will provide America and the world with the foundation of food security – the building block of freedom and democracy.