Takeaways of the NC Chamber’s Ag Allies Conference
October 4, 2025
| Friends, This week, I had the pleasure of attending the NC Chamber’s Ag Allies Conference in Raleigh. If you’ve never made time to attend this event, you’re missing out on a year’s worth of industry perspective in a few hours. Ray Starling, Sarah Grace Lee, and the whole NC Chamber team put together a top-notch event, and I want to use this week’s Ag Dispatch to share some of my top takeaways. Takeaway #1: The health of the farm economy is a tricky discussion right now. Your answer to “how is agriculture doing” depends fully on what you produce, and farm-level cash flow is the prevailing issue with no simple solution. We’re hearing that additional direct payments could be coming at the end of this year to help build a bridge for producers to next season, but no firm plans are in place, and funding these ad-hoc programs through Congress is complicated. My favorite quote of the day was from Dr. Bart Fischer with Texas A&M, who said, “the only free market is in a textbook”, meaning that as a farm economy, we have outside forces to contend with that are unpredictable. In the absence of predictability, producers are left to manage uncertainty the best they can, and ad-hoc payments are a short-term band-aid for a much larger issue. Side note: Both Dr. Fischer and USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden mentioned USDA’s renewed interest in studying concentration and consolidation in the ag industry. This is not a new topic, but I found it very telling that two speakers brought it up. More to come from the USDA on their findings, especially in the fertilizer market. Takeaway #2: Andy Curliss with the National Pork Producers Council spoke about The War on Food in the U.S. He shared aerial images of major U.S. cities and reminded us that when developers build new homes and offices, they never consider where the food for those communities will come from. Meanwhile, opponents to agriculture and the food system have a lot of money to spend telling misleading and harmful stories about our producers. He made one comparison that will stay with me for a long time: we no longer have one-room schoolhouses or country doctors, but agriculture has been expected to maintain its storybook image while feeding a growing population. Our advocates need to reiterate the message that farmers are partners, not adversaries, and look for opportunities to earn positive media attention. With consumers focused on ingredients in their food and the cost of their groceries, how can we use this spotlight as a strength? Takeaway #3: This one is for my fellow policy-lovers reading this newsletter. USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden made it very clear to the audience that when the federal government asks for comments on a proposed rule, they read each and every comment and take it into consideration. Staying engaged with our friends in the federal government matters, and the only way to make sure they know what is going on at the farm and in agribusinesses is to tell them directly. It may not mean much to those who do not track the Federal Register, but hearing a top USDA official confirm its attention to these comments was encouraging. On a lighter note, the Raleigh Wide Open Music Festival is this weekend and I can’t wait to enjoy some fall weather with bluegrass music. Every year, I leave this weekend excited to learn to play the banjo, and every year I never learn to play the banjo. Maybe this will be the year I follow through… stay tuned! |
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| Tori Rumenik Executive Director, North Carolina Ag Partnership |