Independence Day Ag Updates

July 4, 2026
Friends,

Two hundred and fifty years ago, North Carolina’s farmers were already feeding a revolution. From the Revolutionary War to the present day, American farmers have always been the foundation on which this nation was built and sustained. As we mark America’s 250th birthday this Fourth of July, North Carolina’s farmers continue to do what they have always done: rise before the sun, work through drought and heat and uncertainty, and feed a nation that depends on them.

We are proud to stand with you, and we wish all of our readers a safe and happy Independence Day.

Budget Wins for NC Agriculture

The North Carolina General Assembly passed the 2026 Appropriations Act this week with broad bipartisan support, sending the state budget to Governor Stein’s desk. You can read the conference committee report here and the full bill text here. The budget invests $50 million to preserve farmland. It strengthens protections for farmers by amending our right-to-work law to ensure that agreements conditioning the purchase of agricultural products on a producer’s union or nonunion status are invalid and unenforceable. And for western NC farm families still recovering from Hurricane Helene, the budget establishes a timberland loss deduction and reopens the application window for the timber loss relief program. We applaud the lawmakers who fought to include these important provisions for NC’s farmers and rural communities, and we encourage Governor Stein to sign the budget into law.

Farm Wage Relief in the Works

Our farmers have long depended on the H-2A program to fill critical labor needs. This week, House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson introduced the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, which would expand H-2A access to year-round agricultural operations, bring stability to the federal wage methodology that governs guest worker pay, and streamline a cumbersome multi-agency process that has long cost farmers time and money during planting and harvest windows.

Linda Pryor, an apple grower from Henderson County, said of the reforms, “Anything that we can do to make communication between the agencies that are involved easier and better, and help everybody know what’s going on, and be on the same page, I think will be a welcome change to the program.”

The bill would build on an important early court victory secured by a coalition led by the NC Chamber and the NC Farm Bureau, joined by the NC Agribusiness Council, the NC Growers Association, and the NC Sweetpotato Commission. We are grateful for their continued leadership on behalf of NC’s farmers.

USMCA Enters Review

On July 1, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement entered its review period after the Trump administration declined to extend the pact, opting instead for annual reviews. USMCA has been a cornerstone of North American agricultural trade since 2020, and the shift introduces uncertainty at a time when NC farmers can ill afford it. Canada and Mexico together account for nearly one-third of NC’s goods exports, support as many as 142,000 jobs across the state, and provide stable market access for key commodities including tobacco, pork, broilers, and soybeans.

Senator Ted Budd is already pressing for NC farmers in the process, leading a bipartisan Senate letter to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer calling for measures to protect American specialty crop producers from unfair competition from Mexico. The letter was endorsed by a broad coalition of NC farm organizations including the NC Farm Bureau, NC Chamber, NC Growers Association, NC Sweetpotato Commission, NC Apple Growers Association, and the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina.

NC Ag Partnership will continue monitoring developments as negotiations unfold. For a detailed look at what the USMCA review means for NC businesses, the NC Chamber Foundation has published a comprehensive briefing here.

Praying for Rain and Grateful for Your Support

Last Sunday, June 28, North Carolinians across the state joined together for a Day of Prayer for Rain for our farmers and the families and communities that depend on them. We are deeply grateful to everyone who participated, shared our call to prayer with their networks, and lifted up our state’s farm families in faith. The response was humbling and a reminder of the deep connection North Carolinians have to their agricultural heritage.

As of June 30, all 100 North Carolina counties were experiencing drought conditions, with 52 counties in extreme or exceptional drought. The drought has stunted pastures, dried up creeks and ponds, and left livestock producers scrambling for feed. We encourage our readers to continue praying for rain, for our farmers, and for the families and communities that depend on them.