Dr. Sarah Taber’s claims about being a “farmer” do not pass the smell test

The North Carolina Ag Partnership covered that before running for office; Sarah Taber focused on building a social media brand that bashed family farms. Here’s the deal: before running for office, Taber did not identify as a farmer, rather, masqueraded as a “successful” crop consultant. Now? She claims to be a small family farmer. Her claims do not line up with the facts.

The Big Deal

North Carolina law says, “The Commissioner of Agriculture and the members of the Board of Agriculture shall be practicing farmers engaged in their profession.” If Taber is not a farmer, she may not even be eligible to hold the office.

North Carolina statute defines a farmer: “A qualifying farmer is a person who has an annual income from farming operations for the preceding taxable year of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more or who has an average annual income from farming operations for the three preceding taxable years of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more.”

The Problem

Taber’s mandatory ethics disclosure does not list any farm income. Her only property is a quarter-acre plot in the heart of Fayetteville, with a residence. She only lists income from her consulting business and her husband’s work.

In an interview this August, Taber claimed that she farmed “on the grounds” of her Fayetteville home. However, a Google Earth view shows that it is much more of a garden and not an operation capable of meeting the income threshold necessary to qualify as a farmer.

Bottom Line: North Carolinians deserve to know the truth. Either Sarah Taber failed to fill out the mandatory ethics disclosures correctly by omitting her farming income and property. Or she’s just another lying politician.

We say there’s a *slight* difference between calling yourself a bonified family farm, and backyard gardening – ESPECIALLY when you are campaigning to run the State Department of Agriculture.